Legalizing marijuana has long been a topic of particular concern for American citizens from Hawaii to Maine since the green, plant-derived, leafy psychoactive substance was made illegal at the federal level by Henry Anslinger, then-Commissioner of the United States Federal Bureau of Narcotics, and company through the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
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Understanding the Issue
Today, countless Americans – more than half of the 330-odd-million people that live across the nation – oppose both the federal government’s solemn stance against the recreational and medicinal use of cannabis. With support on both sides of the Congressional aisle, both red and blue policymakers alike, marijuana is relatively likely to lose its Schedule I classification – this Controlled Substances Act (CSA) classification is shared with harmful drugs with zero medicinal value like heroin and now-outlawed Quaalude’s main ingredient, methaqualone – within the next decade.
The perceived probability of such a widespread legislative outcome taking place becomes considerably more likely when considering that medicinal cannabis use is approved in 29 states, recreational use is decriminalized in 13, and full-fledged recreational use of marijuana completely legal in nine states.
Like every major legislative debate, potential nationwide legalization of marijuana use will unarguably have handfuls of upsides and drawbacks. Let’s look into the various pros and cons of legalizing the ever-popular leafy-green, psychoactive substance known as cannabis.
Pro – A Regulated Cannabis Market Equates to Tons of Tax Revenues
Without taxes, governments would have very little resources to:
- Design, create, and maintain roadways,
- Fund politicians’ compensation packages for serving their localities, states, and countries,
- Fuel necessary government bureaus like emergency medical services, police stations, and fire departments,
- Maintain a military force worth its weight in salt,
- Operate social-minded programs like Social Security; The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and
- Countless other uses that countless Americans take for granted on a day-to-day basis.
When any product is legalized and regulated, governments are able to collect tax dollars that are ultimately allocated to any of the many utilizations mentioned above. States that haven’t legalized marijuana aren’t privy to any tax revenues stemming from the cultivation, distribution, and eventual sale of the substance.
From July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, Washington State’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LBC) amassed some $186 million in taxes related to cannabis. Just one year later, it brought in $315 million exclusively from the sale of legalized cannabis.
Con – Many Believe Societal Harm Could Stem from Marijuana Legalization
Societal costs of tobacco, for example, recently bogged down the United States to the tune of roughly $200 billion dollars’ worth of various consequences of wide-scale use, says the Maurer Foundation. Tax revenues don’t knock a dent in offsetting such societal baggage; The Daily Caller indicates such efforts earned just $24 billion in 2009.
Though tobacco is unarguably more harmful than cannabis, opponents of legalization have a collective right to be concerned of potential federal approval of marijuana use.
Con – Psychoactive Substances Commonly Associate with Mental Health Issues
People diagnosed with cannabis use disorder, says the American Psychiatric Association (APA), are more likely to develop mental health problems like depression. Increased use of marijuana via its legalization could result in more mental health problems for Americans.
Pro – Marijuana Legalization Linked to Less Opioid Misuse
The aptly-named opioid epidemic has ravaged the United States in demographic-ignoring fashion, with an estimated 115 people passing away every day – that’s in the U.S. alone – due to opioid overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA).
Per National Public Radio, states with open-minded cannabis rules and regulations have experienced fewer cases of illicit opioid abuse and improper use of prescribed opioid medications.
Tying It All Together
Cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years for various purposes, all without substantial harm to societies of yesteryear. Modern research even indicates that cannabis use has countless positive properties, ranging from the stifling of some cancers to easing chronic pain.
With the potential of legalizing marijuana on the coming decade’s horizon in the United States of America, informing one’s self of the various pros and cons of lifting cannabis laws is essential to sensibly take a side on the issue.
