The marijuana prohibition in British Columbia and Canada is an issue that needs to be addressed; it does not reduce the total number of people using the substances, increases the cost spent on law enforcement, and is a six billion dollar industry in B.C alone that we are unable to tax (Maclean, 2005). In this paper we will examine three innovations British Columbia could enact the first is legalization of marijuana in B.C and Canada, exploring decriminalization, and leaving the marijuana laws the way they are.
Background
In British Columbia and across Canada 40 percent of youth currently going to school have admitted to using marijuana, and approximately 12.6% of the Canadian population or about 4.39 million adults have used cannabis at least once in the past year (Henry,2009; Flister, 2012). It has impacted our streets and schools and our residential neighborhoods are becoming more dangerous because drug dealers are targeting our youth to use and sell their substances (Maclean, 2005). According to Mark Maclean in his article “Vancouver Drug Epidemiology and Drug Crime Statisitics 2000” seventy one percent of the drug crimes committed in B.C. alone involved cannabis. This will eventually get worse now with the The Safe Streets and Communities Act that is already in affect outlines individuals who grow 6 or more weed plants will be facing a minimum of 6 months in prison (Little & Nash, n.d).
Flitser (2012) notes if we are to legalize marijuana in Canada while maintaining the current retail prices to a marijuana cigarette, which is approximately $8.60. This will be tax equivalent to the difference between the current street prices and the costs of production and will amount to high profits for the government (Filtser,...
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...alizing it. However, it is good to have knowledge of all the potential areas of a product.
Mulgrew, I. (2012, February 14). Legalize marijuana, former B.C. attorneys-general say Colin Gabelmann, Ujjal Dosanjh, Graeme Bowbrick and Geoff Plant say the 89-year-old marijuana prohibition has failed. The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Legalize+marijuana+former+attorneys+general/6152280/story.html
This is an article of four former B.C attorneys-general calling for the legalization of marijuana for several reasons this includes that regulating and tax pot will raise government revenue, reduce gang violence, to better protect our communities, and will improve health outcomes. It compares the marijuana prohibition to the alcohol probation we had in the 1920’s and 1930’s that has been uplifted and the same should be done for marijuana.
About one out of five 10th graders and about 1 out of four high school seniors used marijuana in the past month (Facts for Teens, 1). It is the second most popular drug among teens in the US (Encarta, 1). Teens, ages 12-17, that use marijuana weekly are nine times more likely than non-users to experience with illegal drugs and alcohol (Fed. Study, 1). More 13 & 14 year olds are using drugs, fifteen pe...
The series “High Profits” demonstrates the works and restrictions of the United States government regarding the issue of legalizing recreational marijuana. Breckenridge Cannabis Club business owners, Caitlin Mcguire and Brian Rogers, demonstrate both the struggles and profits of this up and coming industry. This series portrays virtually every viewpoint possible by including opinions from an array of political actors who discuss the influence of the government on this topic and the impact this topic has on the general public.
People often associate Mexico and Southeast Asia with the main source of drugs because a significant number of drug activities in these two regions are often globally reported on televisions. Nevertheless, Canada also has a problem of drugs, especially regarding the issue of marijuana. In the journal article “Canadian Cannabis: Marijuana as an Irritant/Problem in Canada-US Relations”, Paul Gecelovsky claims that Canada-US relations may be strained because a large amount of marijuana has been illegally exported to America continuously, and American wonder that Canadian policy base on marijuana problem is too light. By reflecting the marijuana issue on the relationship between Canada and the United States, the author presents a strong and reliable argument by appealing to logos through using statistical evidence, appealing to ethos through citing scholarly articles, and using the claims of cause and effect.
Should marijuana be sold at corner stores to anyone? Recently, some of Canada¡'s politicians have claimed to introduce the legislation of legalizing marijuana. According to the policy, the possession of marijuana will not be considered as a criminal sanction. Indeed, marijuana will become a legal substance. People who are over 16 can buy it over the counter just as alcohol or tobacco. Although legalizing marijuana may be beneficial to those people with medical purposes, it will create more problems and dangers to the society. The problems that associated with legalizing marijuana are causing negative impacts on public health and increasing marijuana consumption among youths. Also, the misuse of marijuana may cause people to drive under the influence of the drug, and hence, more accidents may occur, causing more expenses on public health care. Clearly, the downsides of legalizing marijuana outweigh its benefits.
Justin Trudeau, newly elected prime minister of Canada, and the Liberal Party made many promises during their election campaign to better the lives of the Canadian people, economy and make a positive change. With that being said he and his liberal party promised to legalize cannabis. In this paper, I will outline the promises made by Trudeau, discuss why Trudeau and the liberals are making this promise, explain how the promise will be kept and provide information to shed light on how legalization is a good idea for Canada.
What is Marijuana? According to, “What is Marijuana?” (2005), it explains marijuana is the commonest drug in the world, which is often called weed and pot. Also, people will get excitement when they smoke marijuana, but it is a dangerous drug because there has a chemical in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that can change people’s feeling and see something in different ways. Many think that marijuana should be legalized; however, should marijuana become legitimate in Canada? This topic has been argued for a long time because marijuana is an illegal drug, and smoking marijuana will bother other people who are not smoking it. Therefore, marijuana should not be legalized because it can cause a few negative effects such as problems on health, social and society.
Mekdlawit Demissie IGED 130-06 Informative Speech Outline Topic: Marijuana Speech Goal: To inform the audience about the long and short term effects of marijuana usage. Central Idea: Marijuana is the most commonly used drug amongst young people in the United States. Introduction: I. Attention getter:
Lately it seems that drug policy and the war on drugs has been in the headlines quite a lot. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the policies that the United States government takes against illegal drugs are coming into question. The mainstream media is catching on to the message of organizations and individuals who have long been considered liberal "Counter Culture" supporters. The marijuana question seems to be the most prevalent and pressed of the drugs and issues that are currently being addressed. The messages of these organizations and individuals include everything from legalization of marijuana for medical purposes, to full-unrestricted legalization of the drug. Of course, the status quo of vote seeking politicians and conservative policy makers has put up a strong resistance to this "new" reform lobby. The reasons for the resistance to the changes in drug policies are multiple and complex. The issues of marijuana’s possible negative effects, its use as a medical remedy, the criminality of distribution and usage, and the disparity in the enforcement of current drug laws have all been brought to a head and must be addressed in the near future. It is apparent that it would be irresponsible and wrong for the government to not evaluate it’s current general drug policies and perhaps most important, their marijuana policy. With the facts of racial disparity in punishment, detrimental effects, fiscal strain and most importantly, the history of the drug, the government most certainly must come to the conclusion that they must, at the very least, decriminalize marijuana use and quite probably fully legalize it.
Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While marijuana has a small amount of negligible effects to its users, the herbal drug more importantly has remarkable health benefits, and legalizing one of the oldest and most commonly known drugs would redirect America’s future with the advantages outweighing the disadvantages.
“Marijuana should be removed from the criminal justice system and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco. Legalizing and regulating marijuana will bring the nation's largest cash crop under the rule of law, creating jobs and economic opportunities in the formal economy instead of the illicit market. Scarce law enforcement resources that could be better used to protect public safety would be preserved while reducing corrections and court costs. State and local governments would acquire significant new sources of tax revenue from regulating marijuana sales.” (Drug Policy Alliance)
...ent size of the illegal marijuana market, the Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates that $33 billion is made on marijuana consumption annually. This is based on a street price of $185 an ounce and an annual consumption of 180 million ounces sold (Bernasek).
Let’s begin with US revenue gain that would occur from legalizing marijuana. Marijuana Offers Extreme US revenue boost in several different ways. Shouldn’t we want to collect revenue due to taxation other then criminalization? Marijuana is too expensive for our justice system and should inst...
The legalization of marijuana will have a huge impact on the economics of the United States to the point that I feel that government will assist in the continuation of these companies. If it is passed in the government the selling of marijuana could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. Colorado is the latest state that has approved the selling of marijuana for recreational use. This topic has been tossed around by the officials for years now. Legislators in Colorado have “consider excise and sales taxes on marijuana of up to 30 percent combined” (Frosch, 2013). With the rapidly growing market and marijuana industry rules and regulations had to be put into place. Even this tax charge needs to be implemented and enforced. “These taxes are set high enough to finance the administration of new laws, but not so high that customers are driven back to the black market” (Frosch, 2013). There are many financial benefits as a state can help pay for the enforcement and other fundamental issues. One bad thing about taxing so high is that you can simply crowd out the regulated market. It is important to find the right balan...
It is a common belief among today’s youth that marijuana is a low risk drug and that using it is harmless to their health (4). This widespread misconception is a large factor in why marijuana use is so regularly accepted by today’s youth. The percentage of young people using marijuana in Canada is one of the highest in the world, with Ontario sitting among the leaders in that percentage (CAMH). According to a survey done by the Canadian Public Health Association, “Marijuana use represents 90% of the illegal drug use among students” (CPHA), 2012 CP). With so many Canadian youth blindly abusing a substance with no real understan...
As you know, marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the U.S., causing a huge controversy in today’s society. I think that in some ways, not legalizing marijuana could hurt us and our country. I know that you, as a member of the CALM, feel very strongly about your opinion of legalizing marijuana. The CALM does make very convincing arguments about crime, youth, and health with the use of marijuana. While some of these arguments can be persuasive to many, I think that my following propositions on crime, health, and medicinal marijuana also provide a swaying argument.