The Effects Of Decriminalization Of Marijuana

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Currently, in the United Kingdom, marijuana is a class B drug. It is illegal to grow, distribute, sell or possess marijuana if you do not have the correct and appropriate license for handling and/or growing such a drug. By breaking these laws there are penalties such as imprisonment for up to 14 years, fines or even a combination of the two. Decriminalisation is the abolition of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts and reflects changing social and moral views. In 2006 it was made known that young people in Britain used more drugs than any other European nation, with on estimate, four and a half million people admitting to either smoking weed or taking ecstasy or cocaine2. However, out of all the available drugs, in 2005, it was declared that the most popular, illegal drug for people aged eleven to fifteen was cannabis, as they said it made them “feel good when feeling good” and “reflect when feeling bad”2. Not only do eleven to fifteen year olds smoke cannabis, a third of men aged sixteen to twenty-four admit to smoking it2. On average, three and a half million people every year use cannabis as a recreational drug2. Marijuana is known under many names, varying from weed to cannabis to kush or even wilder names such as “Zig zag man”. The drug comes from the cannabis plant, which has multiple uses, rather than just providing the recreational drug. Due to it being such a widely used drug with no deaths to its name, the question is; why is marijuana illegal?
The decriminalisation of marijuana has been a topic of discussion and an ongoing fight for many years, with politicians being involved and even political parties. Many people would like marijuana decriminalised due to its medicinal purposes, which have been known to ex...

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...ildren from gaining access to it, as they would be unable to purchase it without showing identification and proving their age, just like with alcohol, rather than from a dealer whom would sell whatever drug requested to whoever requested it. Marijuana being sold on the black market is also dangerous as it unites all drugs together, making a much more susceptible gateway, as someone who is dealing marijuana could also be dealing much more harmful drugs such as heroin and could suggest to their client to try it, even if they never had any intention of touching any other drug but the marijuana. However, although the idea and concept of black market does suggest a higher chance of creating a gateway to harder drugs, marijuana itself is seen to not be a gateway drug, as only 1 marijuana user out of 104 use cocaine, and less than 1 marijuana user out of 104 use heroin. 6

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