Marijuana is a drug that is often depicted in the media as something that is baneful, society tells our kids not to do it and vilifies those who do, but the bottom line is regardless of whether marijuana is harmful or benign, the legal status of marijuana is something that should be revisited.
Approximately 4% of the world’s population consumes marijuana in one form or another, its usage being most prevalent among teens and young adults, where almost 1 in 3 university students have …show more content…
The truth is, even when the police do catch someone with marijuana, they don’t often press charges. I know people who have been caught by the police while in possession of marijuana, and every time they were simply issued a warning and sent along their way. Perceptive cops know that throwing people in the legal system for such a minor offence not only harms the users, but indirectly causes unnecessary traffic in the legal system.
In the United States, Colorado recently legalized the recreational use of marijuana, as of 2014 the state now has stores that sell regulated marijuana that is taxed by the government. Following the legalization, violent crime in the city of Denver fell, and the economy is on the rise, yet opponents of marijuana choose to argue that legalization will increase crime.
The implication of legalization is that it takes away from the dealers and puts both the money and power in the hands of a regulated system. Through the process of legalization, the money is essentially confiscated from the hands of dealers and criminals and subsequently invested back in the community as tax …show more content…
The money that goes to these dealers goes to suppliers, and ultimately ends up in the hands of international suppliers and dealers that fuel crime in Mexico and other countries where marijuana is grown.
So what would happen if marijuana were legalized? We can look to Colorado as an example of the effects of legalization. Colorado is a large urban city with a growing economy and population. With the first marijuana store having opened January 1st 2014, the economy and tourism have gone up, while crime rates and incarcerations have gone down.
If marijuana were to be legalized, there would be a legal age of 21 to purchase and consume it legally. This age restriction makes it tougher for minors to acquire and consume marijuana, something that both sides of the argument want.
With Marijuana being decriminalized, people suffering from addiction will be more likely to seek help, knowing that they cannot be prosecuted and that some of the stigma behind recreational drugs has been