Pros and Cons of Legalized Recreational Marijuana

Pros and Cons of Legalized Recreational Marijuana

Pros and Cons of Legalized Recreational Marijuana

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The best benefit of legalizing regular marijuana for all purposes is the fact that the

government is working and listening to what the people want. A topic like this is constantly

brought up and people want to see these changes. It should not be up to the government to decide

individual freedoms and their rights to make choices, unless it harms the greater good

(Legalizationofmarijuana.com, n.d.). Many people are now for the legalization of the

recreational use of marijuana and it is important that their thoughts are heard.

Another great benefit is the financial gains that states and business can make. For example,

Colorado earned around 69 million dollars in marijuana taxes, while alcohol taxes only brought

in 42 million dollars (Basu, 2016). (If you start a sentence with a number it must be spelled out.)

Forty-three million dollars came from a 10% sales tax on retail sales and around $26 million

from a 15% tax on wholesale sales (Basu, 2016). Better yet, these current figures do not include

regular state and local taxes, meaning the total income for recreational marijuana sales was

essentially greater (Basu, 2016).

A huge benefit with the legalization of marijuana will be to hurt the drugs rings that sell

illicit drugs. By selling legal supplies of presently illegal drugs, the price will drop, leading to a

downfall in the illegal drug business as well as a decrease in crimes that users and suppliers do to

obtain these products (Legalizationofmarijuana.com, n.d.). People are going to smoke marijuana

if they really want to, which means they are going to obtain it illegally. By making it legal,

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having legitimate businesses sell it to customers, allows those profits to leave the streets and help

the money go towards an appropriate cause.

Some cons of legalizing it are that one half or the other of the population will be unhappy, it

might create new drug consumers, lead to the use of worse drugs, and it gives an impression to

the younger generation that teenagers can use them (Legalizationofmarijuana.com, n.d.).

Whether recreational marijuana is legalized or not, half of the population is going to be upset

with the verdict. If it is legalized, then the people who were against that are going to feel that it’s

huge mistake. The Gateway Theory is a theory that if you try one drug, it is going to lead you

down a dark path were you seek harder drugs and consume more of them

(Legalizationofmarijuana.com, n.d.). They are afraid that children are going to assume if one

substance is okay to use, then all are okay to try. Some see the terrors of drug addiction and what

it does to people and feel that legalizing marijuana will be the start of something terrible.

Pros and Cons of Legalized Medical Marijuana

Some pros to legalizing medicinal marijuana that it is a viable and safe treatment for patients

that suffer from cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, glaucoma, epilepsy and other symptoms

(ProCon.org, 2017). Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General, wrote an article stating

that the vast and detailed evidence is that marijuana can relieve certain types of pain, nausea,

vomiting and other symptoms caused by illnesses or in fact the other harsh drugs that are used to

treat them (Elders, 2004) . She also noted that marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs

people get prescribed to them daily (Elders, 2004). The science and evidential support to several

doctors is apparent and needs to be reviewed in order to bring these patients calm and painless

lives.

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Another huge benefit is that some early studies have shown that medical marijuana could be

associated with decreased prescription opioid use and overdose deaths (National Institute of

Drug Abuse, 2017). More detailed research has shown that legally protected medical marijuana

dispensaries were associated with a decrease in opioid prescribing, self-reports of opioid misuse,

and treatment admissions for opioid addiction (National Institute of Drug Abuse, 2017). When

people go on pain medications, some become addicted to them and keep seeking them after their

treatment should be over. Their bodies get used to it because of the addictive properties in

prescribed drugs. Having marijuana as a medical option brings this dependency down.

Some cons for legalizing medicinal marijuana are that many believe it is too dangerous to

use, it is not FDA approved, and with all the other medicines available to people it is

unnecessary (ProCon.org, 2017). Many feel that legalizing medicinal marijuana is just the start to

legalizing its recreational usage (ProCon.org, 2017). Other medications are out there for a

reason, and opponents of this feel no need to legalize another substance when it is not necessary.

Pros and Cons of Recreational Charlotte’s Web

The benefits of legalizing Charlotte’s Web for all purposes are that any child who is in need

of this medicine can now get it. Sometimes it is hard for people to get their hand on a

prescription; such as if they do not have a doctor or their state does not legalize the use of it as a

medicine. If it was legalized, for example, then a parent could administer this to their child at a

moment’s notice without the hassle of trying to get a hold of a doctor or fill a prescription at a

pharmacy.

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The negatives for legalizing Charlotte’s Web for all purposes are that we do not know all of

its long-term effects yet. Although we see the positive effects it has on patients, such as a

treatment for recurrent seizures, we do not know how it will affect them in the future. As of now,

marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug, which means it cannot be studied or researched on a federal level

(All Weed News, 2015). Currently, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not approve of its

use unless it is a life or death situation (All Weed News, 2015). Until more research is out about

long term effects, then it will not be approved for use.

Pros and Cons of Medicinal Charlotte’s Web

The benefits to legalizing Charlotte’s Web for medical purposes are that you are relieving

adults and kids alike of symptoms from illnesses that are usually very painful and upsetting; with

a drug that cures them without the hallucinogen affects. There is no better reason than this, to

provide help to kids who are most vulnerable and need medical attention the most. No parent

ever wants to see their child suffering, and Charlotte’s Web seems to be a safe and effective

answer to their symptoms from current research.

The negatives to legalizing Charlotte’s Web for medical purposes are that people may use it

as an excuse to get it themselves. Just as with any other prescription drug, people could abuse it

if they see fit. Even though it is without the hallucinogen effects, people may become dependent

on it just because they feel like they will always need it.

Legalized States

The good news is that even though some states have no laws concerning the legalization of

medical or recreational marijuana still permits partial access in some situations (Governing,

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2017). For example, Alabama and Mississippi have laws that allow medical marijuana for health

conditions such as epilepsy (Governing, 2017). There are still also some grey areas with certain

states, such as Virginia. They have laws that allow the possession of marijuana if they have a

prescription for it, but Virginia doctors cannot write prescriptions for medical marijuana, just

recommend it (Governing, 2017).

States that legalized marijuana recreationally or medically in the 90’s include California

(1996), Alaska (1998), Oregon (1998), Washington (1998), and Maine (1999) (FindLaw, n.d.).

States that legalized marijuana recreationally or medically in the 2000’s include Colorado

(2000), Hawaii (2000), Nevada (2000), Maryland (2003), Montana (2004) , Vermont (2004),

Rhode Island (2006), New Mexico (2007), and Michigan (2008) (FindLaw, n.d.). States that

legalized marijuana recreationally or medically in 2010’s include Arizona (2010), District of

Columbia (2010), New Jersey (2010), Delaware (2011), Connecticut (2012), Massachusetts

(2012), Illinois (2013), New Hampshire (2013), New York (2014), Georgia (2015), Minnesota

(2015), Arkansas (2016), Florida (2016), North Dakota (2016), Ohio (2016), and Louisiana

(2017) (FindLaw, n.d.).

States that have legalized medical marijuana are Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska,

Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Hawaii, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arkansas,

Louisiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware, Maryland,

New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Hampshire (Governing, 2017;

FindLaw, n.d.) States that have legalized recreational use of marijuana are Washington, Oregon,

California, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Maine (Governing, 2017). Some

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states that have legalized Charlotte’s Web for medical usage are Georgia and Colorado

(Governing, 2017).

References

All Weed News. (2015, November 25). Medical Marijuana for Kids: Pros and Cons. Retrieved

from All Weed News: https://allweednews.com/medical-marijuana-for-kids-pros-and-

cons/

Basu, T. (2016, May 18). Colorado Raised More Tax Revenue From Marijuana Than From

Alcohol. Retrieved from Time: http://time.com/4037604/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue/

Elders, J. (2004, March 26). Should Marijuana Be a Medical Option? . Retrieved from

ProCon.org: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001325

FindLaw. (n.d.). Medical Marijuana Laws by State . Retrieved from FindLaw:

http://healthcare.findlaw.com/patient-rights/medical-marijuana-laws-by-state.html

Governing. (2017, March 23). State Marijuana Laws in 2017 Map . Retrieved from Governing:

http://www.governing.com/gov-data/state-marijuana-laws-map-medical-recreational.html

Legalizationofmarijuana.com. (n.d.). Pros & Cons of Legalizing Marijuana . Retrieved from

Legalization of Marijuana: http://legalizationofmarijuana.com/pros-and-cons-of-

marijuana.html

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National Institute of Drug Abuse. (2017, April). Marijuana as Medicine. Retrieved from

National Institute of Drug Abuse:

https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana-medicine

ProCon.org. (2017, June 20). Should marijuana be a medical option? . Retrieved from ProCon:

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/