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The Impact Of Marijuana Legalization On Youth

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Marijuana is a drug made of cannabis which provides a feeling of intense happiness and excitement or intoxication. Due to marijuana’s potential dangerousness, it has been strictly prohibited in most countries since the late 1930s (Guither, 2015). However, five jurisdictions in the United States legalized marijuana because of its incredible uses for medical purposes and low probability of harm, and it causes other countries to consider marijuana legalization (Owen Poindexter, 2014). Today, there is a trend in marijuana legalization like a domino in the states which could eventually affect all the state to legalize marijuana (Smith, 2015). There is a great diversity of opinions about marijuana legalization but the United States has shown its …show more content…

The youth could be influenced by marijuana more easily than adults because the maturity of mindset is still not built up completely (Mrug, Gaines, Su, & Windle, 2010). Hence, appropriate education system for child and adolescent is important, but there is a potential impact of marijuana legalization on youth due to its disturbance in education. First, marijuana promotion attracts children. In Colorado, after marijuana was legalized, marijuana industry produced marijuana products with appealing packages and promoted to children because children are the next customers of the market (DARE, 2015). Moreover, Joffe et al. (2004) claim that the young have inclination to follow and depend on to the trend which could result an increase in marijuana use of the youth after marijuana legalization. Children and adolescents could feel relieved and become curious about marijuana after it is legalized which could be a reason for them to try or start consuming marijuana (Joffe et al, 2004). Therefore, unban marijuana could negatively impinge on the youth about educating them the appropriate lesson such as …show more content…

There are two real consequences of marijuana legalization in the states, which disrupted the social order. In Colorado, special assemblies and businesses in marijuana market have guaranteed that, “marijuana is widely promoted … deaths have been attributed to ingesting marijuana cookies and food items.” (Sabet, 2014). Furthermore, Hopfer (2014) indicates the latest report showing the influence of medical marijuana demonstrated a higher proportion of marijuana use in the states where have such laws. Also, National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found not only a significant decline in teenage awareness of marijuana risk in Colorado more than nonmedical marijuana states but also a greater young marijuana addiction prevalence after extensive legalization of adult medical. In this way, marijuana legalization in Colorado could hardly be concluded as a success. Marijuana legalization has caused social corruption and damaged the youth with a wrong educational environment. The use of marijuana had grown more through the legalization and become more common and familiar to adolescents. As Hopfer (2014) states marijuana legalization arouses a growth of marijuana use and associated issues, as it has been proved and therefore, the rest states should continue to prohibit

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