Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2012, in the states of Washington and Colorado, the debate on whether the federal government of the United States of America should also legalize the use of recreational marijuana has grown. In 1996 the first state, California, legalized medical marijuana. In the years following, a total of 22 other states and one district has legalized marijuana with different restrictions ranging from the type of marijuana to the amount of marijuana.
In 2012, the first states to legalize recreational marijuana were Washington and Colorado, and since then, two other states, Alaska and Oregon have also legalized the substance. In 2015 the District of Columbia has made it legal to possess, gift, and grow the drug, but they cannot sell it. Either way, the United States in the state level, separate from the federal government, are moving towards legalizing marijuana. “In 1972, President Richard Nixon’s National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse recommended that Congress adopt this policy nationally in the United States.
Since then, more than a dozen government-appointed commissions in both the U. S. and abroad have recommended similar actions. None of these commissions have endorsed continuing to arrest and jail minor marijuana offenders…” (NORML). Even though the federal government has given recommendations of the legalization of marijuana, there is still a debate, and still a prohibition on the drug. The use of marijuana has never been directly connected to a death, neither has it ever been proven to be addictive; “marijuana’s only clear health risk is respiratory damage from smoking” (Zimmer, Lynn).
This respiratory risk is also found in our legal cigarettes. There have been “more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking” (NORML). For a comparison, marijuana has no toxic substances and has no way to cause a death by overdose, marijuana is a virtually harmless drug under reasonable use. Reasonable use entails that you don’t smoke too much due to the lung risks related to the smoke itself. The legalization of marijuana will only help the United States.
In 2011 the percentage of arrests relating to marijuana possession is 43. 3 percent in all of the United States drug arrests and 6. 2 for illegal sales of marijuana (“Persons Arrested,” 2011). That was even before the legalization of recreational use in Colorado and Washington. In 2013 the possession dropped a total of 2. 7 percent and the sale arrests dropped 0. 6 percent (“Persons Arrested,” 2013).. In August of 2015, Colorado alone recorded an annual revenue of thirteen million dollars because of the marijuana tax (Conroy).
When the legalization of marijuana is passed, the drug related crime will go down, the amount of tax dollars toward drug related crime will go down due to the drop in crime, and the tax dollars collected by the state will increase due to the tax placed on marijuana sales. The U. S. Supreme Court, in 2001, ruled that California and any other ‘legal’ states’ cannabis clubs may not legally distribute marijuana (Perez). Why should the people ever go against the supreme law of the land?
Those who support the cannabis movement are deliberately going against the U. S, government. “Good medicine is not conceived at the polls, but through routine clinical trials (Souder). ” This narcotic is not supposed to be used for recreational purposes nor use under medical prescription. Some would say that when the Food and Drug Administration approves this substance, then and only then will it be okay to use. Currently the FDA has not approved marijuana. Marijuana, as it is today, is not a safe drug. Marijuana disturbs the user’s mind and keeps them from being able to do certain tasks.
A man under the influence of marijuana is not safe; they can be unpredictable, they won’t be able to drive correctly or safely, and they won’t be in their correct state of mind to make rational decisions. The effects of marijuana can last up to twenty-four hours after the last time of use. “Marijuana affects many skills required for safe driving: alertness, the ability to concentrate, coordination, and reaction time (Administration). ” The debate on marijuana will possibly always be around, just as the debate on other legal and approved drugs are still being looked at.
Marijuana isn’t addictive but, at the same time, it isn’t safe either. As Robert Volkman said, “a drug is a drug, whether legal or not… all are drugs with psychological and physiological effects in the body. ” He also said, “ the distinction between legal and illegal may seem irrelevant, because all of these substances have a similar set of consequences (Volkman). ” This gives an idea that even if we keep it illegal or if we legalize a drug, like marijuana or cigarettes, there will always be a good and bad side.
There may be the side that says a cigarette is harmless and one that says the opposite. That same man may say that marijuana is harmless and the other man may say cigarettes kill almost half of a million a year. Both sides are true. When a drug is used correctly or in a ‘safe’ manner, it won’t be a problem. In 1920 the U. S. prohibited the manufacture, storage, or sale of alcohol. Some time into the 1930s, the U. S. found that it is safer to let the people have their addictive, mind distorting substance.
In 1933, the prohibition of alcohol ceased, but in exchange, the U. S. put a tax and many local and federal regulations on the use of alcohol to keep the use of alcohol as safe as possible. The use of marijuana may not be safe, but neither is the use of other legal drugs or even alcohol. Marijuana should be legal, but at a price. Marijuana by itself and on it’s own price won’t be a deterrent to using this seemingly safe but ultimately dangerous substance. The U. S. Supreme Court should rule the use of marijuana to be legal.
In exchange, the federal government will request a tax, a percentage extra to pay for the inevitable misuse of this narcotic. The federal government may be able to tax a 15-20% tax on the sale of recreational marijuana The states will also be granted to put their own tax on marijuana, up to a certain point. Currently, the state of Colorado has a tax of 10% state marijuana tax, 2. 9% state sales tax, and 15% extra plus any local taxes on the retail — recreational — sales of marijuana, a total of 27. 9% plus local tax.
If a state is ultimately against the use of marijuana, they may be able to tax up to a total of 45% tax, including local taxes, but a state that is for the use of marijuana can tax no lower than a total of 15%, excluding local tax. These tax regulations would be able to deter the use of marijuana without making it completely unobtainable by a legal venue. The last concern of the use of marijuana is the safe parameters. A man, or woman, under the influence of marijuana will not be allowed to smoke in marked, non-smoking areas, neither will it be allowed in marked, non-marijuana areas.
Marijuana will be illegal to use while or before driving. The regulations of marijuana will also be able to be added onto by the state or local ordinances. Medical marijuana will be completely legal but will need to be monitored by the doctor. As this drug is medical and recreational, the use of each will be enforced differently, being more lenient but not law breaking on the medical, and being more strict on the recreational. Taxes will also reflect the difference in medical and recreational marijuana.