Marijuana Legalization: Considerations for Texas The state of Colorado recently approved the legalization of marijuana. The act garnered a lot of attention and brought more attention to the marijuana legalization debate. Many of the questions raised by politicians involve matters such as the implications of a society under the influence of marijuana. Would a law like Colorado 's work in Texas? What are the advantages and disadvantages of enacting such a law? To answer these questions, we 'll look at Colorado 's law in detail, and consider the pros and cons of a similar law being passed in Texas. Colorado passed its marijuana law as an amendment to its state constitution. The amendment was presented through a ballot initiative which was voted
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A significant drop in marijuana related arrests would be beneficial. For example, Texas spent $251,641,800 in 2010 enforcing marijuana prohibition. In addition, 53.5% of arrests were from marijuana possession. (Texas) Marijuana legalization would allow for these numbers to drop which would save tax payer dollars and allow law enforcement agencies to focus on other (perhaps more important) issues. Economic benefits would also be likely if retail use of marijuana was authorized. According to the Washington Post, “Legal marijuana was a $700 million dollar industry in Colorado last year.” (Ingraham) It would be safe to assume that such figures would be greater in the state of Texas and would open up a new profitable industry in the state. The last benefit can be argued to have the most ethical implications if not addressed. This is the benefit of medical marijuana legalization. The advantages of marijuana legalization involving medical use stem from the relief it provides patients with chronic issues. Marijuana can serve as a therapeutic treatment to medical conditions such as seizures, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer 's, and many more. (Norml 2) Still, opponents of marijuana legalization highlight the disadvantages as greater than any possible benefits. We 'll look at a two of these in the next …show more content…
Legalizing marijuana in Texas (or any other state) creates a potential problem with far-reaching ramifications. So far the Obama administration has chosen not to enforce the federal law prohibiting marijuana, but this could very well change once President Obama leaves office. A future President could choose to enforce federal law by withholding federal funds, for example. The likelihood of negative consequences while under the influence of marijuana presents another issue. Accidents caused by driving while under the influence of marijuana would likely increase as a result of legalization. This could prove to be disastrous, but to what
A significant drop in marijuana related arrests would be beneficial. For example, Texas spent $251,641,800 in 2010 enforcing marijuana prohibition. In addition, 53.5% of arrests were from marijuana possession. (Texas) Marijuana legalization would allow for these numbers to drop which would save tax payer dollars and allow law enforcement agencies to focus on other (perhaps more important) issues. Economic benefits would also be likely if retail use of marijuana was authorized. According to the Washington Post, “Legal marijuana was a $700 million dollar industry in Colorado last year.” (Ingraham) It would be safe to assume that such figures would be greater in the state of Texas and would open up a new profitable industry in the state. The last benefit can be argued to have the most ethical implications if not addressed. This is the benefit of medical marijuana legalization. The advantages of marijuana legalization involving medical use stem from the relief it provides patients with chronic issues. Marijuana can serve as a therapeutic treatment to medical conditions such as seizures, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer 's, and many more. (Norml 2) Still, opponents of marijuana legalization highlight the disadvantages as greater than any possible benefits. We 'll look at a two of these in the next …show more content…
Legalizing marijuana in Texas (or any other state) creates a potential problem with far-reaching ramifications. So far the Obama administration has chosen not to enforce the federal law prohibiting marijuana, but this could very well change once President Obama leaves office. A future President could choose to enforce federal law by withholding federal funds, for example. The likelihood of negative consequences while under the influence of marijuana presents another issue. Accidents caused by driving while under the influence of marijuana would likely increase as a result of legalization. This could prove to be disastrous, but to what