Legalization of Marijuana: Analyzing the Societal and Economic Impacts

This essay presents a position in favor of the legalization of marijuana, arguing that it offers numerous benefits to society. The author highlights the potential for reduced alcohol and drug use, as marijuana can be used for medical purposes. The essay cites research suggesting that legalization can decrease teen cannabis use while increasing adult usage, and that marijuana use has fewer harmful effects than alcohol. The author also points out that legalizing marijuana allows consumers to purchase quality products from authorized sellers, allows for age restrictions, reduces black market activity, and generates tax revenue for governments. The essay also touches on the medical advantages of marijuana, such as its potential in treating diseases like cancer, depression, and PTSD. The author concludes that the recreational use of marijuana should be legalized, emphasizing its potential to decrease crime rates and reduce the power of drug cartels. The essay references several studies to support its claims and underscores the importance of considering the advantages of marijuana legalization.

Running head: LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
Legalization of marijuana
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Name of the Author:

1
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
It is a very hot debate all around the world about the usage of marijuana. There are a lot
of advantages as well as disadvantages of the consumption of marijuana. Over the years a lot of
research have been conducted on the various ways by the aid of which marijuana can be used for
medical purposes. It has been found that there are a lot of ways by the help of which marijuana
can be used for curing diseases among the people. With the implementation of these various uses
it has been stated that marijuana can be used for medical treatments. There are certain other
advantages of marijuana which is letting many state government around the world to legalize its
uses for recreational purposes. To reduce alcoholism and drug use an individual can turn to
marijuana as if the product is taken in proper amounts then there are certain diseases which can
be cured. In this essay a position for the legalization of marijuana will be taken.
It has been observed by a lot of researchers that legalization of cannabis for recreational
use in some states have decreased the number of teens who use cannabis. The number of adults
have increased using marijuana in the states in which weed have been legalized. It can also be
seen that usage of marijuana have less harmful effects on individuals than the usage of other
drugs and alcohol. In some instances it has also be seen that with the intake of weed drivers
make better decisions. In highways the drivers who drive after the intake of weed have been
known to take better decisions than other drivers which consume alcohol before driving (Lin,
Ilgen, Jannausch & Bohnert, 2016). While changing lanes or speeding up and overtaking other
vehicles the drivers whom consumer weed take batter steps to ensure that no accidents occur.
The decision making qualities of the drivers are highly improved.
After the legalization of marijuana in certain states also gives the consumers a chance to
buy their products from an authorized seller. If the consumers buy the marijuana from the street
vendors then they have no idea of the quality of the product and whether it is goof for their

2
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
health or not. The product which is provided to the consumers might be having certain fungus
and even damaged quality which might have adverse effect on the health of the people (Hall &
Weier, 2015). Buying the product from the stores will be giving the consumer know about the
product they are buying in detail and also get premium quality product which will not be causing
any kind of harm to the them. With the aid of legalization of the product the government will
also gain the power of allowing age restriction on the product. With the aid of this process the
government will also be able to restrict the children from buying weeds and consume them
(Livingston, Barnett, Delcher & Wagenaar, 2017). The government will be able implement
children resistant packing if the product is sold from stores. With the sale of the product on the
streets the government will be having no control on the age restriction and it won’t be able to
fight against the consumption of weed by the children.
A big advantage of legalizing marijuana is that there will be an increase in the black
market which are selling weeds. It has been confirmed by US patrol that there is a huge decrease
in the transportation of weed in the borders after its legalization in many states across the country
(Lin, Ilgen, Jannausch & Bohnert, 2016). In this decade it has been seen that the illegal transport
of weed have decreased by a huge margin after the legalization of the product. Hence it can be
said that legalization of weed not only helps the government in controlling the consumption of
weed among the children but also help in shutting down the black markets. The demand for the
marijuana is also decreasing in the USA after certain states of the country have legalized
recreational usage of weed (Hall, 2015). The Mexican drug cartels who used to sell weeds to the
American dealers have faced a lot of loss after the product was legalized in certain states across
the country.

3
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
In the present scenario of the world it has been seen that both tobacco and alcohol is
legalized all over the world. Both alcohol and tobacco cause a lot of harm to human beings and
they are responsible for many diseases as well. In comparison to these substances it can be said
that marijuana is very much safe if consumed at proper quantities. A lot of accidents occur
around the world when people drive after they consume alcohol. Huge consumption of tobacco
can lead to lung cancer among the people. More consumption of tobacco causes lung cancer
among people. With proper consumption of marijuana there will be no such risks among people
(). The consumption of proper amounts of marijuana have been proved to be very helpful for the
people as it has certain medical advantages (Gilman et al., 2014). In research it has also been
found that consumption of marijuana have helped people in curing their cancer. There are a lot of
medical advantages of marijuana which aids to the fact that it must be legalized all over the
world.
Certain diseases like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder can be cured by the
help of marijuana. People who are suffering from depressing can gain a lot of advantage by the
consumption of marijuana in proper amounts. With the implementation of marijuana in people
who are suffering from stress disorder can be very helpful. There are many instance in which it
has been seen that people from all around the world have taken certain steps by the aid of which
they have been beneficial from marijuana. In the present context of drug overdose and addicting
problem of alcohol it can be said that recreational use of marijuana is a much better option. Many
doctors from around the world have approved the fact that a limited consumption of marijuana
will be helpful for the human body rather than causing any kind of harm. With the
implementation of marijuana in the medical field there have been a lot of option of helping
patients suffering from a variety of diseases. Diseases like Cancer, Epilepsy, Sclerosis and many

4
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
other disease are cured by the help of marijuana (Pergam et al., 2017). The usage of marijuana
have become very much a common norm in the medical industry. The consumption of marijuana
has been identified as a major process by the aid of which proper treatment can be given to
people who are suffering from certain diseases.
With the legalization of marijuana in countries the government of the countries will be
able to generate extra taxes from the states in which the legal use of marijuana will be
implemented. This extra tax which will be generated by the company will be used in doing
betterment for the state in various other purposes. It has also been identified by researchers that
with the consumption of marijuana people have the heightened sense of creativity in them. With
the implementation of creativity people tend to perform task properly and the mental state of the
people are maintained in a proper way. With the legalization of marijuana government around
the world open the doors to certain amounts of jobs. A lot of people who are having no jobs at
present will be getting full time jobs in the stores where the product will be sold (Hall &
Lynskey, 2016). The dependency on other drugs which are potentially harmful for the people
will be decreased by a huge margin with the implementation of marijuana legalization. The state
which do not have the implementation of marijuana the police spend a lot of time in chasing after
people who are consuming alcohol. Instead of doing this the police can focus on other jobs if
marijuana will be legalized in the state. In the present scenario it must be taken into account that
legal use of marijuana must be implemented by all countries around the world
To conclude it can be said that there are a lot of advantages of marijuana which makes it
easier to come to the fact that it must be legalized all over the world. There are various states
which have already implemented the regulations of legalizing marijuana. The recreational use of
marijuana must be legalized by the governments of all the countries. The various advantages of

5
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
marijuana suggests that countries all over the world must implement the various steps by the aid
of which they will be able to consume marijuana without the presence of the any kind of
restrictions. In the context of modern scenario it must be said that the usage of marijuana must be
legal for the as there will be decrease in the rates of crime as well as a decrease in the revenue of
the drug cartels. There are a lot of people around the world who consume weed on a daily basis.

6
LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
Reference List
Gilman, J. M., Kuster, J. K., Lee, S., Lee, M. J., Kim, B. W., Makris, N., ... & Breiter, H. C.
(2014). Cannabis use is quantitatively associated with nucleus accumbens and amygdala
abnormalities in young adult recreational users. Journal of Neuroscience, 34(16), 5529-
5538.
Hall, W. (2015). What has research over the past two decades revealed about the adverse health
effects of recreational cannabis use?. Addiction, 110(1), 19-35.
Hall, W., & Lynskey, M. (2016). Evaluating the public health impacts of legalizing recreational
cannabis use in the United States. Addiction, 111(10), 1764-1773.
Hall, W., & Weier, M. (2015). Assessing the public health impacts of legalizing recreational
cannabis use in the USA. Clinical pharmacology & therapeutics, 97(6), 607-615.
Lin, L. A., Ilgen, M. A., Jannausch, M., & Bohnert, K. M. (2016). Comparing adults who use
cannabis medically with those who use recreationally: Results from a national sample.
Addictive behaviors, 61, 99-103.
Livingston, M. D., Barnett, T. E., Delcher, C., & Wagenaar, A. C. (2017). Recreational cannabis
legalization and opioid-related deaths in Colorado, 2000–2015. American journal of
public health, 107(11), 1827-1829.
Pergam, S. A., Woodfield, M. C., Lee, C. M., Cheng, G. S., Baker, K. K., Marquis, S. R., &
Fann, J. R. (2017). Cannabis use among patients at a comprehensive cancer center in a
state with legalized medicinal and recreational use. Cancer, 123(22), 4488-4497.