Marijuana Research Paper

What Are the Challenges of Marijuana Legalization?

Marijuana legalization is one of the most important and discussed public concerns. Different stakeholders have so many controversial points of view that it makes this issue even more complicated. The focus of the article would be on adverse effects and limitations of full-scale cannabis legalization. It will show the experiences of few governments with such laws. As more and more countries are concerning about regulating the turnover of marijuana, it’s essential to analyze the impacts on the societies and try to predict future outcomes. Although it seems risky, the governments have to regulate the market of cannabis and to reduce it’s all adverse effects on society.

Analyzing issues starts with understanding the historical context of marijuana usage. This substance is one of the oldest psychoactive. The first industrial use (in medicine) was many centuries ago in China (Caulkins et al. 20). Nowadays, the biggest marijuana use is in the United States. It is several times more than the average level in other economies (19). The US market increased the mass-production of Cannabis in the sixtieth years of the twentieth century. It was used for producing the hemp paper.
Moreover, different parts of marijuana were used for food, fiber, and even fuel. Nevertheless, it is the most popular illegal drug in the world (Caulkins et al. 5). There is no exact number of people who use marijuana as narcotic. The approximate figure lies between 125 million and 225 million people during a year (Caulkins et al. 19). But a lot of users do not want to admit their usage so that the numbers could be even higher. The situation is even worse because among these people there are teenagers and children.

One of the primary challenges of marijuana legalization is its adolescent usage and its prevention. Children and teenagers don’t have self-control. They are very easy influenced and very often peer pressed. The curiosity may lead to serious problems either with health, school or law. In 2012 four states of America decided to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Washington and Colorado are among them. Students of eighth and tenth grades from Washington increased the Cannabis use in the past 30 days (Cerda et al.). Authors consider the change only in one state because Colorado had much liberal medical marijuana laws before the legalization. In 2009, when this state allowed usage of Cannabis in medicine, the teenagers increased using this drugs (Schuermeyer et al.).

Marijuana legalization must have strict limitations for the prevention of teenage usage. So the market has to be transparent in showing the health risks of this drug. That’s another challenge because the Cannabis market may create an appealing advertisement for marijuana for adolescents. That was in the alcohol industry. The sellers of Cannabis can protest that their auditory is only adults, but the teenagers can’t be isolated from such messages (Hall and Weier). School students need to know and understand the adverse effects of marijuana. So health educators have the challenge to show teens the danger of dependence and daily usage of this drugs in their young lives. The risk to be addicted to drugs is 1 in 10 for those who ever tried marijuana and 1 in 6 for those who first use in young age (Hall and Weier). The dependence produces depression and careless way of life. Such students have worse academic results than other. They may leave school earlier and can decide to stay unemployed. The regulator has to find the solution how to protect children from drugs and cooperate with school authorities to reduce adverse outcomes.

Moreover, legalization touches not only educational challenges but also situation on the roads. The societies are afraid to have increasing numbers of impaired drivers after changes in the law. The risk of collision doubles after the cannabis. According to the researchers, marijuana is second after alcohol substance, detected in the blood of drivers in case of car crashes (Porath-Waller). The influence of Cannabis on the driver becomes a few times more harmful with the addition of alcohol. The ability for driving is affected by drugs. The reaction becomes very slow, and the driver can’t be attentive on the road. Unfortunately, this happens more often than wanted. The police are obligated to know how to find if the driver is impaired by drugs or not. So the most appropriate test must be applicated to protect drivers from dangerous situations and accidents. It needs expertise and time to create all the necessary regulations.

One more challenge occurs with the countries which signed the UN drug treaties. They need to ignore the arrangements or find the consensus with the world community. For instance, Canada has signed three UN drug treaties, which prohibits Cannabis (along with other drugs). The country delayed the legalization of marijuana until 1 July 2018. It provides a time for finding the solution how to do it appropriately.

Legalization is opposite to prohibition. It opens a free market for the product, but at the same time, it needs some restrictions. The black market will reduce, and the situation can become more transparent. At the same time, the Cannabis regulation has to prevent its abuse. Consumption of intoxicants will lead to losing control of users and can harm others. US practice shows that some states legalized this drug and others not. That provides a lot of opportunities for breaking the law with smuggling. So the regulator has to prevent this too. The regulations must also include cultural, religion and ethnic context of the country. It makes the process uncertain and unpredictable in a lot of ways. The badly managed legalization can lead to very harmful outcomes. The increase in heavy use among adolescents will destroy everything. There should be limiting user sanctions and fines. The prices on Cannabis should be very close to current to prevent work in “shadow.” Furthermore, all the sellers have to indicate the chemical composition of their products (Caulkins et al. 265). The right government influence based on the relevant and profound investigations may lead to reducing of heavy alcohol abuse and eliminating the illegal drug market.

Conclusion

The legalization of marijuana has a lot of complicated challenges. The primary concerns include adolescent usage of Cannabis and all the outcomes of it. That influences their health and educational performance. At the same time, adverse effects include the danger of impaired drivers on the roads. So the authorities can’t leave the situation in such conditions. They need to create appropriate programs for the legalization of Cannabis which will base on relevant and trustworthy investigations. It will eliminate the black market
and reduce the adverse effects on the communities.

Works Cited

Caulkins, Jonathan P et al. Marijuana Legalization. 2nd ed., Courier Press, 2016.
Cerdá, Magdalena et al. “Association of State Recreational Marijuana Laws with Adolescent Marijuana Use.” JAMA Pediatrics, vol. 171, no. 2, 2017, p. 142. American Medical Association (AMA), doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.3624.
Hall, Wayne, and Megan Weier. “Has Marijuana Legalization Increased Marijuana Use Among US Youth?” JAMA Pediatrics, vol. 171, no. 2, 2017, p. 116. JAMA Network, doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.3917.doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.3917.
Porath-Waller, Amy. “Clearing the Smoke on Canadian Youths’ Perceptions of Cannabis.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 140, 2014, p. e180. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.02.504.
Schuermeyer, Joseph et al. “Temporal Trends in Marijuana Attitudes, Availability and Use in Colorado Compared to Non-Medical Marijuana States: 2003–11.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence, vol. 140, 2014, pp. 145- 155. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.04.016.