Legalizing Marijuana Research Paper

Substance use and abuse has always been a very complex issue that has been going on around the world for some time, however it now proposes more intricate questions about how the usage of certain drugs has evolved in medicine and in society. But there is one specific drug that people tend to be uncertain and cautious about even though it is the number one drug used today, Marijuana. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), “Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other related compounds” (1). There have been many disputes and discussions to what this drug can really do, and what

Due to this, one of the most common trepidations people have is that if the drug were to be legalized, it would find its way to be easily accessible to minors. In Colorado and Washington where marijuana is legal for medical and recreational use, the distribution of the drug is regulated by the supplier and is only sold to people who are twenty-one and older. As these rules and regulations apply, the dissemination of the drug is controlled by the law. With the ability to purchase marijuana legally, people also fear that it will cause for crime rates to increase. In “Legalizing Medical Marijuana May Actually Reduce Crime” by Matt Ferner, he quotes Michael Elliot, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group: “While this program is cumbersome for the small business owners in this industry, it is far better than choosing black market operators who use violence to dominate the sale of marijuana and prey on our children” (12). With Marijuana dispensaries controlling and being the ones to allocate the drugs to those who use, it deviates people resorting to buying from those selling in the streets who don’t always have the best intentions. As the debate of whether or not legalizing marijuana is a good idea, there are many pros as to why the legalization of marijuana would be a good

With the amount of money the marijuana business has consumed, it is a no brainer that it would be something that would only help our economy prosper. In his article “How Legalizing Pot Could Save America’s Economy,” S.E Smith mentions that “Legalizing marijuana on a federal level would provide economic benefits for the United States in the billions, precisely at a time when the federal economy needs a major boost” (3). With that being said, it could help the nation gain some money, as well as save money on law enforcement trying to keep it off the streets and out of hands of those who should not have access. Having marijuana legal gives opportunity to improve the economy with the ability to tax on it, create more jobs, and regulating the amount of marijuana out there. It is able to create more jobs that involve the growing, packing, as well as the distribution. According to an article on the Washington Post, “In 2014, Colorado retailers sold $386 million of medical marijuana, and $313 million for clearly recreational purpose. The two segments of the market generated $63 million in tax revenue, with an additional $13 million collected in licenses and fees” (Ingraham 1). This goes to show that with the legalization, it brings in money in ways that were not thought possible, helping the economy massively. Smith also indicates that