OPINION EDITOR – MARIANA CHAMORRO
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON NOV 10, 2022
The attempt to make marijuana legal in the United States has been controversial for many years. Recently, various states across the country have made cannabis legal. Other states, however, refuse to make this change. The real question to be asked is why? Why have some states decided to legalize marijuana, while others are against it?
Already, 19 states have legalized cannabis for adult recreational use. One reason for it is the economic benefits their state has reaped. Sales of marijuana have resulted in massive tax revenues. According to Investopedia, “In 2021, Washington collected $559.5 million of legal marijuana revenue, over $85 million more revenue than in 2020. Meanwhile, Colorado collected $423 million of marijuana tax revenue in 2021, up almost 10% from the year prior.” States like California and Nevada have created numerous jobs and economic impacts just by setting up dispensaries for medical marijuana. 41,000 jobs in the state of Nevada could be provided just by the legalization of recreational marijuana, according to an RCG Economics and Marijuana Policy Group study on Nevada. In California, about 81,000 direct and indirect jobs were created by legal marijuana sales. If they were to make marijuana legal all over the U.S., billions of dollars could be saved. Making and keeping something illegal is incredibly expensive and leads to money spent on things like enforcement and even incarcerations from trials. Also, individuals who already use medical marijuana would be saved a considerable amount of money due to commoditization and prices dropping overall. Public support states that legalizing cannabis will reduce street crime and even reduce business operations from drug cartels. If marijuana becomes legal, it would be subject to undergo required testing to be FDA-approved and could require testing and child-proof packing so that usage becomes safer in general.
Despite the economic and even health benefits of legalizing marijuana, there is no denying the downsides. If a drug was made more accessible to the general public, more teens would consume the drug, possibly causing accidents and medical emergencies. Opposition to the legalization of marijuana states that the revenue benefits, stated prior, would not be as beneficial due to the costs of possible hospitalizations or treatments for those who become addicted and could cause decreased productivity in the general population. This mindset bases itself on studies that show a correlation between marijuana use and lower focus and productivity. However, because the legalization of this drug is relatively new, long-term effects and consequences have not been completely made aware.
Some studies correlate the use of marijuana and other substances, such as alcohol. A study reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse claimed that college students who consumed both alcohol and marijuana did report more negative effects than students that only participated in alcohol use. It also claimed that students abused more alcohol when they also used marijuana than when they only drank alcohol.
However, what is really behind decisions like legalizing a drug is the government. Democrats and Republicans have opposing views when it comes to this topic. Democrats are mostly in favor because they believe it to be “normal” by societal standards. They stand for legalization, especially in medical use and are prescribed by a doctor since it has proven to reduce pain significantly. Republicans reply that doctors should prescribe other drugs instead of marijuana and that legalizing medical marijuana will lead to the same path as recreational marijuana.
General support for legalization is growing, but it is not seen as strong as the opposing side. The opposition will likely continue on this path if the view of cannabis is seen as harmful overall. Opposing sides involved in the government are behind these decisions, and as long as change like legalization is on the horizon, it is important to be informed.