The Four Stages Of Marijuana Legalization

Marijuana: The Steps to Legalization

Keyosha Bowden

University of Nevada Las Vegas

The word policy has several different meanings. The definition of policy that is used as the base word for policymaking in the United States government, relates to a projected idea or program consisting of objectives to achieve a desired outcome or change. Public policymaking is an intangible cycle that is hard to understand but it can be simplified into four stages or steps that must be followed. Step number one is to identify and diagnose a problem with an agenda setting. Generating a decision or nondecision is what happens during step two of public policy making. The third stage is the implementation of a new program or change in an old public

In comparison, many of American natives have spent billions of dollars on the purchase of marijuana, which is almost the same amount that the purchase of alcohol puts into our economy. The profit from the marijuana goes back into the drug dealing cycle and the country does not get any benefit from the profit made because the government is not the distributors. Our federal government continues to complain about how expensive the “war on drugs” is and that our economy crisis does not need the continuation of unsuccessful programs that add to the debt. In reality the states in America spend billions to enforce marijuana laws. “In national surveys, 6.5 percent of high school seniors admit to daily use (Khamsi, 2013).” With the increasing deficit and the increase of users, some states chose to legalize the most popular drug in the U.S. According to Roxanne Khamsi, Washington and Colorado became the first to make recreational marijuana legal in their November 2012 general election, albeit in limited quantity, for individuals over age

“Government surveys indicate that high school students admit that getting marijuana is as easy as ordering hamburgers and fries at the counter.” Therefore, the billions and billions our federal government spends to try and stop the distribution of marijuana, basically means that it is money gone to waste. Another point to consider is the use of cigarettes that contain tobacco. Tobacco is used to alter or relax the body similar to marijuana but it is very harmful to people. The health risks tobacco imposes on many smokers after habitual use has been proven and is publicized, yet it is legal? Alcohol damages the liver and accounts as a leading factor in most fatal automobile accidents, but yes it is legal to individuals over 21 years old. .” It is obvious that the known effects of marijuana use being illegal are identical to the effects of alcohol and tobacco, yet marijuana remains illegal in most