Introduction
Legalization of marijuana has been a hot-button issue in the United States for quite some time. The supporters argued that legalization would increase state revenue, increase public safety, lower crime rate, and the black market and lower government spending on crime-fighting. The opposition argued the crime rate would increase, the black market would thrive, decreased public safety, and more government spending spent on crime fighting The opposition has fought valiantly against legalization, but has lost in a number of states, whether that be for medicinal or recreational purposes. Since Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana in 2012, effects are just now being seen. While there are negative effects that have derived from legalization, the positives have outweighed them. Medicinal marijuana has been found to help cancer and Crohn’s patients regain their appetites and ease the pain, along with helping depression, bipolar and other mental illnesses.
Literature Review
Marijuana is good for public health. Marijuana is commonly used by a segment of the population who has a high school degree or less and with little earning power. D. Mark Anderson’s research, an economist at the University of Montana, proclaims that marijuana and alcohol are actually substitutes, not complements. Instead of using marijuana and alcohol together, people are more likely to use one instead of the other . Alcohol’s social costs can be higher than that of marijuana. Alcohol can cause work-related problems such as overuse of sick time, lower productivity, greater risks of accidents, and are most likely to become and stay unemployed. Family life can also be affected. Family members who become alcohol dependent can cause mental and physical damage to other family members. The impact of alcohol dependence can cause mental illness not only to the member who is drinking but those around them. Alcohol was found to be twice as harmful to the user and five times as harmful to society as marijuana. Alcohol dependence is three to four times likelier than marijuana dependence, but ten times likelier to lead to violent behavior. Heavy marijuana smoking is less dangerous than alcohol abuse. According to a national survey conducted by Pew Research Center, when asked whether marijuana or alcohol was more harmful, a majority selected alcohol. Cannabinoids are relatively nontoxic to humans, while alcohol is toxic. Marijuana cannot cause fatal overdoses, unlike alcohol and prescription painkillers. States that have legalized medical marijuana have seen decreases in painkiller-related deaths. In those states, heroin addiction treatments have dropped 20 percent. Anderson also states in a paper that suicide rates among twenty to thirty-year-olds have dropped in states with legalized medical marijuana. Findings Traffic fatalities in Colorado have dropped 16 percent from 2006 to 2011, but a new study found they only dropped fourteen point eight% from 2007 to 2012. While in 2006, five percent of traffic fatalities involved the operator testing positive for marijuana, but in 2011, it increased to 13%. In 2007, 7.4 percent of traffic fatalities involved the operator testing positive for marijuana, but in 2012, it increased to 16.53%. However, this increase is not due to the fact that more people believe it is okay to drive while under the influence. These increases can be explained by the sheer number of people who started smoking marijuana once it became legal. The stigma of the drug has decreased with every state that legalizes the drug. It begins a domino effect and brings more people into accepting the drug like …show more content…
More people are beginning to accept marijuana and is leading more people to use it. The possibility arises that legalization is not a consequence of more people using marijuana, but the cause of it. The state’s effort to legalize the drug like alcohol and cigarettes may give people the idea that marijuana is similar. Along with this, supply and demand begin to affect. The idea is that the more people using marijuana, the prices would plunge. In Colorado, the prices from high-quality marijuana have stayed lower than that of medium grade. This would be due to the fact that more people are buying high quality. However, both low grade and high grade have seen dramatic fluxes in
Legalization of marijuana has been a hot-button issue in the United States for quite some time. The supporters argued that legalization would increase state revenue, increase public safety, lower crime rate, and the black market and lower government spending on crime-fighting. The opposition argued the crime rate would increase, the black market would thrive, decreased public safety, and more government spending spent on crime fighting The opposition has fought valiantly against legalization, but has lost in a number of states, whether that be for medicinal or recreational purposes. Since Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana in 2012, effects are just now being seen. While there are negative effects that have derived from legalization, the positives have outweighed them. Medicinal marijuana has been found to help cancer and Crohn’s patients regain their appetites and ease the pain, along with helping depression, bipolar and other mental illnesses.
Literature Review
Marijuana is good for public health. Marijuana is commonly used by a segment of the population who has a high school degree or less and with little earning power. D. Mark Anderson’s research, an economist at the University of Montana, proclaims that marijuana and alcohol are actually substitutes, not complements. Instead of using marijuana and alcohol together, people are more likely to use one instead of the other . Alcohol’s social costs can be higher than that of marijuana. Alcohol can cause work-related problems such as overuse of sick time, lower productivity, greater risks of accidents, and are most likely to become and stay unemployed. Family life can also be affected. Family members who become alcohol dependent can cause mental and physical damage to other family members. The impact of alcohol dependence can cause mental illness not only to the member who is drinking but those around them. Alcohol was found to be twice as harmful to the user and five times as harmful to society as marijuana. Alcohol dependence is three to four times likelier than marijuana dependence, but ten times likelier to lead to violent behavior. Heavy marijuana smoking is less dangerous than alcohol abuse. According to a national survey conducted by Pew Research Center, when asked whether marijuana or alcohol was more harmful, a majority selected alcohol. Cannabinoids are relatively nontoxic to humans, while alcohol is toxic. Marijuana cannot cause fatal overdoses, unlike alcohol and prescription painkillers. States that have legalized medical marijuana have seen decreases in painkiller-related deaths. In those states, heroin addiction treatments have dropped 20 percent. Anderson also states in a paper that suicide rates among twenty to thirty-year-olds have dropped in states with legalized medical marijuana. Findings Traffic fatalities in Colorado have dropped 16 percent from 2006 to 2011, but a new study found they only dropped fourteen point eight% from 2007 to 2012. While in 2006, five percent of traffic fatalities involved the operator testing positive for marijuana, but in 2011, it increased to 13%. In 2007, 7.4 percent of traffic fatalities involved the operator testing positive for marijuana, but in 2012, it increased to 16.53%. However, this increase is not due to the fact that more people believe it is okay to drive while under the influence. These increases can be explained by the sheer number of people who started smoking marijuana once it became legal. The stigma of the drug has decreased with every state that legalizes the drug. It begins a domino effect and brings more people into accepting the drug like …show more content…
More people are beginning to accept marijuana and is leading more people to use it. The possibility arises that legalization is not a consequence of more people using marijuana, but the cause of it. The state’s effort to legalize the drug like alcohol and cigarettes may give people the idea that marijuana is similar. Along with this, supply and demand begin to affect. The idea is that the more people using marijuana, the prices would plunge. In Colorado, the prices from high-quality marijuana have stayed lower than that of medium grade. This would be due to the fact that more people are buying high quality. However, both low grade and high grade have seen dramatic fluxes in