MARIJUANA: Good or bad?
LEGALIZING CANNABIS, Marijuana should be legalized in the United States due to its economic and health benefits.
What if America woke up one day and found out that she has had the solution to most of her illnesses all along but could not use it because it is criminalized? She would feel bad about herself.
What if this drug is marijuana or commonly referred to as weed? Most people in the United States of America know the negative effects of marijuana but know nothing about its purported positive effects.
Cannabis is criminalized by most of the American states but there those that have already made it legal such as Canada. Cannabis is known to cause adverse effects to the user’s health such as loss of memory among others (Behere et al, 2017). It is an addictive substance and has the ability to cause more harm than good if wrongly used.
On the other hand, it has some benefits that, although still under research, could make it the most important plant in the world.
Therefore, the society is divided in terms of opinions on whether it is worth the risk to legalize a plant, though still legalized, is still being smoked in the American streets. Marijuana should be legalized in the United States due to its economic and health benefits.
“The federal government spends a lot of money to capture, persecute and imprison marijuana users”.
The government is using too many resources on pursuing and prosecuting marijuana users that can be diverted to other projects if marijuana was decriminalized. The war on drugs rages on and by the look of this, the federal government is losing especially when it comes to fighting the use of weed. The war has serious economic implications that the government can avoid if it legalized weed. This is due to the resources that the government is using every day to stop the sale and use of marijuana in the streets but people still use it. These resources could be used in other more important projects if the drug was legalized.
According to Moffatt, (2018), the federal government spends a lot of money to capture, persecute and imprison marijuana users. In addition, people are still using it despite the government’s efforts. According to Behere et al (2017), there are over 147 million marijuana users in the world today. This is over 2.5% of the world’s population. Governments should seize this opportunity, especially with the claims of its medical value and legalize bhang.
INCREASE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Also, another economic benefit of legalizing weed is that it will increase employment opportunities. The unemployment rate is growing at a high rate in the United States. Legalizing marijuana is crucial as unemployed youths would play a huge role here.
For example, Krishna (2018) argues that setting marijuana nurseries for new seedlings would be the first step in realizing this dream. Dealers and store owners would be required to buy these nurseries or seedlings for their project hence job creation.
Also, research shows that thousands of jobs would be created by this decision. “A RCG Economics and Marijuana Policy Group study on Nevada says that legalizing recreational marijuana in the state could support over 41,000 jobs till 2024 and generate over $1.7 billion in labor income” (Krishna, 2018). Legalizing weed has the economic benefit of creation of employment and diverting the resources used to capture and prosecute weed users to other government projects among others.
These are critical in economy growth and are some of the benefits the united states would enjoy by legalizing weed.
MEDICINAL USE IN UNITED STATES
The United States should decriminalize marijuana so that her citizens can benefit from its medical benefits. The study and argument about the use of marijuana to treat various conditions has been going on since California legalized it in 1996. Behere et al (2017) argues that marijuana use is on the raise as it treats debilitating conductions such as cancer, posttraumatic stress disorder and migraines among others. These conditions are harmful to individuals and it is unimaginable how legalizing marijuana in others states would benefit more citizens.
In addition, Wahlberg (2019) says that it “reduces gut pain and inflammation from Crohn’s disease”. It has also been found to assist in digestion and prevent anxiety. These healthy benefits show another reason why other states should also legalize marijuana. Studies by Behere et al (2017) show that more people in the world are now using marijuana than previously. They use it for both medicinal and recreational purposes. One can only wonder what if marijuana has been the cure to scourging diseases and people could not benefit because it was made illegal. How long should this continue?
In conclusion, Marijuana should be legalized in the United States due to its economic and health benefits. The economic implications of the war in weed can be avoided if the government legalized it. Money used to keep marijuana off the streets can be used in other important projects. Legalizing cannabis would also provide job opportunities to the youth who would be planting the nurseries and supplying them. Weed has been found to cure diseases and other conditions. These include cancer, anxiety, posttraumatic stress and Crohn’s disease among others.
Legalizing marijuana is not only beneficial to the citizens but also to the government. The citizens will enjoy its recreational and medicinal benefits as well as the job opportunities it creates while the government will benefit from an improved economy. Therefore, despite its negative effects, marijuana should be legalized because of its benefits.
