Does Making America Great Again Mean Going Backwards on Our Drug Policies?
There is constant chatter and conversation among teens, especially throughout the hallways of a high school. Each day at my school, I hear muffled conversation around me, kids around my age talking about this and that. Almost daily I hear kids talking about what drugs they are planning on doing after school and how they are possibly going to hide it from their parents when they get home. I hear the same words being thrown around, the typical slang, “Weed, getting high, getting totally wasted, etc.” I begin to roll my eyes, laugh and walk away. It’s not because I think that I’m above it all, but mainly because I have so little interest.
Kids think it’s cool to be able to do things that are illegal, especially teenagers. For some it gives them a sense of superiority to their peers, and for others it is used as an escape or for other reasons. I can’t even begin to try and explain why kids feel so inclined to take drugs, especially after so many years of drug prevention classes have taught them about the many negative effects. They continue to, for whatever reason, remain appealing.
But is there a way to take the coolness factor and the whole appeal of drugs and getting to do something illegal away? One common drug is marijuana, which recently is being moved towards becoming decriminalized in many states and we are left to wonder how this is now influencing how teens think about drugs.
In today’s society the topic of marijuana and its legalization is one that keeps being brought up. Many people, both adults and teenagers alike have many different opinions and questions about this particular topic. These questions come in a wide variety. As a matter of fact, just recently in Connecticut, my home state reports have stated that lawmakers are considering proposals for the legalization of marijuana this year. “Connecticut’s decision is being widely influenced by the choices that have been made in surrounding New England States, such as Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont.”
There seems to be two different standpoints on this story which are that marijuana should be legalized, and that marijuana should not be legalized. The debate seems simple in this case, either legalize it or not. But the issue is much more complex than that. As some people may know the federal government left this decision up to each state to decide individually. This was a decision that was made under the Obama Administration and has been carried over into the new Trump Administration. However, it still remains illegal at the federal level. Some states have taken advantage of this opportunity and have legalized recreational use of marijuana, whereas others have used to this to make marijuana legal but only for medicinal purposes. I think that marijuana should be federally legalized at least for medical purposes. This would have a variety of benefits for both revenue and people who are seeking treatment. As of 2018 the states that have legalized recreational use of marijuana are only a few. These states include California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and the District of Columbia.
Colorado is one of the states that is starting to tax marijuana, since legalizing it for medical and recreational use back in 2012. They have created a specific “marijuana tax” and some of the money is being used to build things like new schools. The cost of marijuana in the state of Colorado is around $30 including the taxes that are on it. The legal amount that both residents and tourists are allowed to buy in the state of Colorado is 28 grams. The revenue from marijuana legalization is slowly making a difference on the states economy. It is providing the state with money that they did not have before, which makes it possible for them to invest in things such as new schools, roads and even drug prevention programs and facilities. In just 2015 alone “Colorado collected more than $135 million in taxes and fees on medical and recreational marijuana. Sales in the state totalled over $996 million.”
California has the 8th largest economy in the world, and starting January 1, 2018 that economy continued to grow with the legalization of marijuana statewide. Although marijuana is legal statewide, counties were given the option not to legalize it. They were given this choice before the drug became legal all throughout the state. California is able to gain a lot of revenue off of the marijuana business because of its large population. California all by it self could be generating “$15 billion in sales revenue and $3 billion in tax revenue.” Within proposition 64 which was voted for in 2016, there is an outline of what the revenue is going to be used for in the state of California, which includes new research on marijuana, highway patrol, youth programs focused on drug education, prevention and treatment, and programs to help reduce driving under the influence. Programs like these are beneficial to not only marijuana users but also other people because making marijuana federally legal includes the revenue that is produced by it, should be required to go into funding these types of programs nationwide. They will have a very positive impact and be able to change the lives of many. Also, it will be a good use of the money because it will be used to fund programs, that typically don’t get that much funding.
The most recent state to legalize marijuana is Vermont. Vermont legalized marijuana on January 11, 2018. Unlike the other eight states Vermont was able to legalize the drug under legislation, instead of needing a referendum. Vermont’s hope with legalizing marijuana is that it will decrease the amount of opioid related incidents, as Vermont was one of the states that has been hit very hard by the opioid crisis. It has been shown through research, that in states where recreational marijuana is legalized there is a decrease in the use of opioids. By being able to work on eliminating one harmful drug, with one that is not as harmful or dangerous the lives of multiple people are potentially being saved, which would benefit our country as a whole.
Having marijuana in decriminalized areas that still generates revenue is good for both the economy and the people. Decriminalized means that there is a cease by legislation to treat something, in this case marijuana as illegal. People do not have to worry as much about being thrown in jail and the government is able to gain more money that they can use to put towards beneficial programs.
The revenue created by these changes are also benefiting other states, who have also decided to legalize it. There is an ever growing market for marijuana and now states are able to use it to their advantage. The revenue that is created from marijuana gives the states more money than they had before. Some states though, are not as ready to take the big jump of legalizing recreational marijuana. They are instead taking baby steps towards this and are starting with something smaller.
States such as Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Hawaii and New Hampshire have all legalized the use of marijuana but only for medical purposes. This began in California in 1996, with the approval of Proposition 215 by a 56–44 margin. Since then states have continued to follow California’s example with Florida and Arkansas being the most recent to legalize medical marijuana in 2016. Some of the things that medical marijuana has assisted with is cancer, insomnia, Lyme disease and other illnesses.
Many people have a fear of legalizing marijuana because they are afraid that people may die from doing this. Although with some drugs the risk of overdose is high, marijuana is different in that it is not likely for people to be able to overdose on it. According to the NIDA “ people can experience extreme anxiety (panic attacks) or psychotic reactions (where they lose touch with reality and may become paranoid).” So the answer is no, you can’t overdose or die from marijuana, it is not very likely.
Unlike some other drugs, Marijuana is a plant and it contains THC which is what people get high off of. The only way that you could die from using marijuana is if it was laced with a deadly drug. This is likely to be the case when drugs are bought from illegal dealers or off the black market, but if marijuana was legal and issued by the states. This wouldn’t be an issue and people would not have to worry as much. With this knowledge people should be less apprehensive to legalize this drug.
Most recently in January of 2018 Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that he wanted a nationwide crackdown on marijuana. His goal is to make sure that marijuana stays illegal all over the country. Sessions way of dealing with the situation is very reminiscent of the “War on Drugs” mentality of the 1980’s. This includes mass incarceration for small crimes, which is not helping with the problem of overcrowding in American prisons. Sessions in January of 2018 stated that “ the Obama-era memos that directed prosecutors not to interfere with state activities when it came to legal pot undermined the rule of the law.”Many senators disagree with Sessions decisions and believe that there are more important things that we need to be focusing on. For example Vermont Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy said that “Well, you know, it’s interesting. The Justice Department doesn’t have enough people to go after the opioid crisis that’s killing people. We don’t have enough people to go after Russian hackers and Korean hackers,” Leahy said. “But, by golly, you got some grandmother smoking a marijuana cigarette in a state where it’s legal, we’ve got to go after that.” Many people including other senators agree with Leahy and believe that sessions is taking this crackdown a little too far.
American prisons are already very overcrowded. It does not make sense to throw someone in jail for using a drug when there are laws in place that make it legal in some states. But there are laws in place that make it possible for someone to be punished with jail time for drug usage, while this is also the punishment for bigger issues. These clearly bigger issues need to be addressed throughout the country. Also, to be able to keep people in prisons it is costing taxpayers to pay more as a result of the overcrowding and necessary need for improvement of prisons. The more inmates there are, the more taxpayers have to pay. Since the legalization of marijuana states like California have released inmates who were put in jail on marijuana related charges. In 2017 California made it possible for inmates to apply for release and have their charges dropped due to the legalization of marijuana in the state. By “December 14, 2017 4,800 people had applied to be released.” Some states are attempting to follow in California’s footsteps, but there has been push back from legislators. Although, states will continue to work to reduce the amount of marijuana related incarcerations.
Some states however, have decriminalized the use of marijuana. These states include Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Although marijuana isn’t entirely legal in some of these states, you will not be thrown in jail. The consequences for having possession of marijuana encompass having a criminal misdemeanor in some states but no threat of jail time. Some states have a set amount for the amount of marijuana you are allowed to have possession of, but it ranges from state to state. The threat of incarceration is taken away in these decriminalized areas with the knowledge that you might receive a fine and that’s all, no need for incarceration.
The way that Sessions is attempting to take care of this situation, eliminates the use of states rights which is something that the republican party argues strongly for.
Although, the states have the decision to legalize marijuana or not, the federal government still has the final say in the decision on whether marijuana gets legalized or not. While Sessions remains Attorney General it does not seem as though nationwide legalization is something that will be achieved under his watch. Although the federal level makes the final decision it is still up to the people to advocate for their rights and voice their own opinions on the issue, which is exactly what I’m doing right now. Each state has its own state rights and the people of those states can speak up, as a citizen in the United States I live in one of the fifty states. Therefore I have a right to use my states rights to speak up and be vocal. When states band together and are a unified front against the federal government some change can be made and can override what the federal government says. As it states in our constitution “We the People…” we are the people and we deserve to be heard about what we believe in and not be silenced by the attorney general, just because he wants to go back to a 1980’s state of mind.
Through all of my findings I have come to the conclusion that it would be beneficial to legalize marijuana nationwide. As seen in the few states who have done this they have been able to use it for tax revenue, and build things like new schools. Also, the death rates from use of the drug are slim to none and if we don’t legalize it at the federal level people will continue to get the drug illegally as they are now.
Many legislators are advocating for legalization of marijuana as long as it does not have an extremely harsh impact on young children. The governor of Vermont, Phil Scott said “I personally believe that what adults do behind closed doors and on private property is their choice, so long as it does not negatively impact the health and safety of others, especially children,”. If we are going to legalize marijuana nationwide, there needs to be guarantee that the legal age for having possession of the substance is enforced. If kids have access to the drug to early on in life there can be horrible consequences. There is a risk that if the legal age is too high that kids will be able to gain access to the drug from illegal dealers. It should be enforced nationwide that the legal age to use this drug should be 21. At the age of 21 your prefrontal cortex is mostly developed and you are less likely to make irrational decisions. Also in my mind, it makes sense that you should be the same age to have access to alcohol as you are to have to marijuana. Also, the threat of illegal dealers and the black market would be eliminated with the legalization of marijuana.
If marijuana were to be legalized than we could use the revenue to strengthen recovery programs for people that are already addicted this and other drugs. By using methods like incarceration, the demand of marijuana will increase but will provide the country with no added revenue. The threat of being incarcerated drives people away from the treatment that they need. If we eliminate the criminal factor and address the mental health and addiction issues that people may have, then people will be more willing to get the help that is necessary and still contribute to the economy. Legal marijuana will increase nationwide revenue that we will be able to put forward into things that have the potential to change peoples lives, just like California and Colorado are already doing. If we can follow their example we will be able to make our already great country even greater. By creating a policy that can help change people’s lives in a productive, mature and civilized manner we will finally be able to address this often controversial issue.