Legalization of Marijuana The legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington has brought about controversy within the American public within the past year. Reason for this was because it was such a radical move by these states and no one knew what was going to happen. Now it has already been a year since the states have legalized marijuana and both have become economically prosperous. In this essay I will be comparing the themes of media articles and academic journals on how they cover the legalization of marijuana. I won’t be focusing so much on the content that is being covered by each article or journal, but I will be analyzing the difference sources in order to see the differences and similarities on how they explore the same subject. In the first article published by the Huffington Post examines the positive effects marijuana has had in Colorado in the field of law enforcement. For example in the article “Colorado and Marijuana Legalization One …show more content…
This is expressed when they state “[b]y shifting away from unnecessary marijuana arrests and focusing instead on public health, Washington is better positioned to address the potential harms of marijuana use…” This is intended to show how even though they have legalized marijuana they understand the risks that come with it. But in “Colorado and Marijuana Legalization One Year Later: What Has Changed?” they display an emphasis on how police have to change their previous conceptions of marijuana when it comes to enforcing the law. Because “[p]olice are now forced to change their ways and simply focus on whether or not there is imminent public safety harm due to marijuana use.” (Colorado and Marijuana Legalization One Year Later: What Has Changed?, 2014) This is a key difference between both media articles on how they depict the legalization of
In the 2015 article “What will Federal Marijuana Reform Look Like?”, Alex Kreit states how the current stance towards marijuana has changed. For this reason, a need for a new policy is necessary, as the present strategy of implementing laws on federal marijuana prohibition is no longer sustainable. This shift of mindset towards legalization of marijuana leads Kreit to say that legalization is inevitable. As an illustration, in 1996, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Congress opposed California’s approval of medical marijuana. In contrast, the year 2013 was when the Department of Justice announced new guidance to deprioritize enforcement of marijuana laws. Because of this shift, Kreit propose that efforts should go to crafting marijuana
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.
Works Cited "The California Marijuana Vote." New Yorker 23 Dec 1996: 62+. Brookhiser, Richard. "Pot Luck." National Review 11 Nov 1996: 27+ Simmons, Michael. "Give Pot a Chance." Rolling Stone 26 Dec 1996: 111+. Rist, Curtis and Harrison, Laird. "Weed the People." People 21 Oct. 1996: 75+. Funk and Wagnall's Volume 23 "Marijuana" 1996 Baum, Dan. "California's Separate Peace." Rolling Stone 30 Oct. 1997: 43+ Brookhiser, Richard. "Lost in the Weed." U.S. News & World Report 3 Jan. 1997: 9 Buckley, William "Legalization of Marijuana Long Overdue" The Albuquerque Journal. Online. 8 June 1993.
In this journal article, Todd Subritzky of the National Drug Research Institute in Perth, Australia, discusses the many different parts of the commercial cannabis market in Colorado. There are some major problems that Subritzky asserts such as the black market and loopholes. he is also able to bring up the dollars that are coming from the state alone along with the market as a whole. The taxes that are raised from this law are then used to help children in school (7) He then shows that when a problem comes about the state can easily change something that is going on. This article is written in easy to follow language, but has some parts that are very complex.
Across the United States, men and women are serving multiple years in prison for marijuana related crimes. According to King and Mauer’s research about war on drug, “New York experienced an 882% growth in marijuana arrest including an increase of 2,461% for possession offenses” (King & Mauer). The essential issue about an increase in marijuana related arrests diverts law enforcer’s attention away from greater criminal activities. It has such an immense effect on citizens today because they are forced to break the law in order to relieve their chronic pain, similarly; arresting citizens for marijuana possession creates a criminal record that they will forever carry along their life. Over the past years, the arguments about marijuana have concerned many citizens whether if it should be used for medical purposes or as a recreational drug. It is important to realize marijuana is considered to be less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol combined. So how did marijuana become illegal in the first place? It began back in the early 1900’s century; when hemp turned into a huge industrial usage because it could turn into, fuel, paper, food, textile, and oil. Soon enough hemp was going to be the next billion-dollar product; it became a threat to several multi-billion dollar markets across the nation. William Randolph Hearst owned a chain of newspaper companies, and used everything in his power to have marijuana outlawed. The real threat against Hearts was because hemp could produce paper much more efficient and could easily turn his company down, so he then began printing stories in the newspaper about a new drug called “marijuana,” and said people were smoking it, and made black people rape white women’s. Within the next few years, congress ...
People should stop arguing about the use of marijuana and how marijuana is bad, because people only like to research the cons instead of including the pros. Despite the fact that people believe everything they hear, they should look up more and try to see how good marijuana can be for them. Marijuana is good for their health, and it has helped to cure people who are very ill. Marijuana is less harmful than tobacco or alcohol, there has been studies proven that people have died over drinking other than by smoking marijuana. Marijuana will be able to have less people prosecuted for the possession of carrying it around, which will help people not get arrested for a small amount of marijuana.
Marijuana—a prominently used, yet widely opposed substance. Marijuana usage has been and is an immensely debated subject within the states. Many liberal states favor the drug due to its economic and medicinal values. However, many conservative states abhor the narcotic due to its psychoactive effects on the brain and its minimal medicinal value. These anti-marijuana fans emphasize the drug’s relation to the usage of more potent substances such as cocaine. Overall, there is high tension between those who advocate the drug versus those who protest against it. Economically, taxation on marijuana provides a supplemental income to the state that results in a higher budget for the states’ respective governments; medicinally, the narcotic eases pain for terminally ill patients and alleviates the sense of disorientation. Furthermore, the drug has less harmful effects to the body in comparison to tobacco and alcohol; therefore, the legalization of the previous two should justify the legalization of marijuana. Marijuana’s pros exceed its cons and thus, the substance’s legalization is justifiable.
The effect of Marijuana on American Society has been a highly popularized point of concern and discussion for many years. This topic has become more frequent in the past months as two states voters have allowed its widespread recreational and medicinal use. This research paper will focus on some of the history of marijuana, details of this drug, and conclude with my findings of why this drug has become increasingly popular which may surprise the reader.
In a article reported by Jonah Bennett he remarks that, “Marijuana taxes have been incredibly productive over the past year…. it will bring in tens of millions of dollars that will be reinvested in our state.” The state of Colorado is on the track to a brighter future for its residents due to all the income the state is generating. Imagine California and all the other states that have yet to legalize the use of recreational marijuana with such a high number of tax revenue, public schools would have more funds, defence programs, veterans benefits and much more would all be additional funded to fill the gaps where money was once needed. Many people don’t realize how much money marijuana brings in if taxed, tax revenue is a huge advantage and benefit on why marijuana should be
Raabe, Steve. "Legal Pot Stirs Debate about Impact on Colorado." The Denver Post, 31 Mar 2013. Web. 30 Mar 2014. < http://www.denverpost.com/ci_22903892/legal-pot-stirs-debate-about-impact-colo-economic.>
Drug policy is a crucial topic in the country today. Substance abuse, as well as drug-related crime rates, are a huge problem. This is a fact. The way to fix the problem of substance abuse, however, is widely disagreed upon. Some think that stricter laws regarding drug possession and use would solve the problem, while others believe that loosening the restrictions would be a better option. The issue of legalizing drugs, especially marijuana, is one that is debated all the time. In fact, in 1995, a survey was conducted on the most important policy issues and eighty five percent of the country placed drugs at the top of the list (Falco 1996). Many states are actually beginning to decriminalize, and even legalize, marijuana use for medical perposes. In fact, two states, Washington and Colorado, have legalized the recreational use of marijuana for anybody over the age of twenty-one since 2012. (Hawken, Caulkins, Kilmer, and Kleiman 2013)
“Marijuana.” Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library (2010). Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 11 Jan. 2012.
Stevens, Amanda L. "COMMON SENSE Legalizing Marijuana Allows Police to Focus on Violent Crimes." The Raw Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
Marijuana continues to be one of the most used illegal drugs in the United States. Marijuana has been used for many years and at one time was legal to consume. Throughout the years, marijuana has been used for treatment of different medical conditions and has been used recreationally by people of all ages. While the use of medicinal marijuana has proven to be effective in treating medically ill patients, society continues to question its recreational use and the long term effects it will have on its users. Some feel that legalizing marijuana will only open up avenues for the use of more potent drugs, causing an increase in criminal activity. However, a number of people question why it is considered illegal being it is a naturally growing
The legalization of marijuana is a controversial topic, but marijuana should be legalized because it has many positive effects and there is a lot of evidence to support why marijuana should be legalized in all states. Marijuana is a preparation of the cannabis plant and it can be used as a drug or as medicine. The primary component of cannabis is THC (Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol). This drug has mind-altering and physiological side effects when consumed. Marijuana can be used for spiritual reasons or recreationally. It is the third most popular recreational drug used in America, referring to “About Marijuana.” According to government surveys, more than 14 million Americans, out of 25 million Americans who have smoked marijuana within the past year, use marijuana habitually. Although marijuana is illegal in most