Final Paper (choose one topic)

Opinion Paper on the Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Student’s Name Institution Course # and Name Professor’s Name Submission Date Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc167450729 \h 3Introduction PAGEREF _Toc167450730 \h 4Background Information PAGEREF _Toc167450731 \h 4Figure 1: The United States Weed Map PAGEREF _Toc167450732 \h 6Literature Review PAGEREF _Toc167450733 \h 8Pros for Legalizing Marijuana PAGEREF _Toc167450734 \h 8Economic Benefits PAGEREF _Toc167450735 \h 8Criminal Justice Reform PAGEREF _Toc167450736 \h 11Consumer Safety Regulation PAGEREF _Toc167450737 \h 13Cons for Regulation of Recreational Marijuana PAGEREF _Toc167450738 \h 14Youth Access and Use PAGEREF _Toc167450739 \h 14Social and Environmental Impacts PAGEREF _Toc167450740 \h 15Public Health Implication PAGEREF _Toc167450741 \h 17Discussion PAGEREF _Toc167450742 \h 18The Good from RML PAGEREF _Toc167450743 \h 18Against RML PAGEREF _Toc167450744 \h 19Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc167450745 \h 22Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc167450746 \h 23References PAGEREF _Toc167450747 \h 25 Abstract The past decades have seen a transition in the United States criminal l justice policies, with many legislators and citizens calling for a stop to mass incarceration, over-criminalization, and an unnecessary war on drugs. Marijuana has been at the center of this revolution because it accounts for many drug convicts in correctional facilities. The idea of legalizing recreational marijuana presents a better solution to retroactive legality. Having been categorized as a Schedule I drug by the federal government, marijuana has found medicinal uses in United States hospitals, and many states have approved its use. Recreational use is still a hotly contested area of debate because of its pros and cons. Proponents of legalizing the recreational use of marijuana cited the economic benefits that will be realized, the need to stop the black markets from thriving, the increasing number of unnecessary convicts due to possession of marijuana for recreational use, the reduction of criminal activities associated with illegal access of this drug and safety of its consumers. However, there are many disadvantages associated with legalizing recreational marijuana. Youth access to the drug will disrupt the moral fabric in society, public health implications on issues like road safety and mental health status, and environmental concerns on cannabis growing are some of the disadvantages. Some states, territories, and regions in the United States have legalized recreational marijuana despite federal prohibition. Recommendations for mitigating the cons of this legislation include developing comprehensive regulatory frameworks, implementing robust social equity programs, promoting environmental sustainability, and strengthening law enforcement and legal protections. Even though legalizing recreational marijuana presents a unique set of challenges, states can create a balanced and practical approach that maximizes the pros and minimizes the cons. Introduction The mass incarceration in the United States criminal justice system has caught the attention of not only its citizens but also the entire world population. Correctional facilities, jails, and prisons have many individuals undergoing rehabilitation or serving their sentences. One of the offenses that have gotten many citizens behind bars is illegal substance abuse, uncommonly possession of marijuana for recreational purposes. The verdict on such cases is based on the fact that the federal government prohibits marijuana, and any form of possession or use attracts punishment from the state. However, the past decades have seen a shift in perceptions of the use of marijuana for recreational reasons. Having benefitted from medical marijuana, many states are considering giving the green light on recreational marijuana. Some states have already legalized recreational marijuana within their territories due to the numerous benefits that it has and the possibility of implementing restrictions on its misuse. Moreover, the black market has been supplying vast amounts of marijuana to the United States despite decades of federal restrictions. The advantages of legalizing recreational marijuana use are significant. At the same time, the disadvantages of legalizing recreational marijuana can be managed by implementing restrictions on the growth, supply, and access of this drug. This paper will review the literature on recreational marijuana, discuss the pros and cons of recreational marijuana legislation (RML), and give recommendations for overcoming the cons of legalizing marijuana. Background Information The Controlled Substances Act (CSA) recognizes cannabis as a Schedule I drug at the federal level. Schedule I drugs lack any accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse, hence prohibiting its use for any reason whatsoever. However, federal laws do not override individual states' laws on the growth, trading, and use of cannabis. There are specific states in the United States that have relaxed federal government laws on the cultivation, possession, and domestic distribution of cannabis from one state to another. The National Conference of State Legislatures (2024) reports that many states have overruled federal government restrictions on the recreational use of marijuana. The District of Columbia, 24 states, and two territories have legalized adult recreational marijuana use but in small amounts. The most recent states to legalize recreational marijuana use are Maryland, Delaware, Rhode Island, Ohio, Missouri, and Minnesota. These states legally allowed individuals who have reached the age of 21 to possess specific quantities of cannabis for leisure use. Amongst the federal states that have permitted recreational use of marijuana, some of them also allow growing cannabis at home. However, there are restrictions on the number of cannabis that one can grow at home at any given time, and this varies from one state to another. There is a trend in many states in this nation on the legalization of marijuana. Currently, 33 states and the District of Columbia have approved the Medical Marijuana Laws (MML). California was the first state to implement the MML in 1996; many other states have joined them. Over the next decades, many states followed suit by implementing MML. The medical use of marijuana represents a promising area of therapeutic intervention, offering relief for a variety of conditions where traditional treatments may fall short. This laid the groundwork for broader acceptance and a push toward recreational legalization. According to Wu et al. (2021), there are 11 states in the USA that started by implementing MML and then followed by recreational marijuana laws (RML). Weed consumers can easily access marijuana in the United States, whether through legal sources or illegal sources. The map below clarifies regional stands on the legalization of marijuana, either for restricted medical access, full medical access, recreational use or strictly no access. It can be stated without any reasonable doubt that more than half of the citizens in the United States have accepted that recreational weed should be worth federal consideration. From the map below, it is evident that many regions are continuing to accept that marijuana has been and will continue to be part of contemporary society. Even in states where marijuana use is restricted in their territorial boundaries, weed use is allowed in their central business districts as seen in the map below. The situation is even worse for states that have total restrictions on marijuana use, yet the immediate neighbors have legalized its use. It will be next to impossible to restrict citizens from crossing the border to obtain weed from the neighboring state and then come back with it to their original state. Figure 1: The United States Weed Map https://covercannabis.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/usweedmap-1920x1079.jpg In the map, Kansas has branded marijuana as fully illegal, yet Oklahoma and Colorado have legalized its use. Citizens seeking to buy recreational marijuana can access it via the neighboring states, hence making restriction efforts less effective. This is even worse because the total prohibition of marijuana use in a state advantages the drug cartels in their black markets. Illegal marijuana will be easily accessible but more expensive in Kansas because recreational users have limited or no legal sources. Wu et al. (2021) point out a pattern of starting with implementing medical marijuana legislation followed by recreational marijuana legislation. This is an issue that the federal government should look into shortly. Marijuana has been a drug used by human beings for many years, but most legislations that restricted its use and distribution were taken seriously from the 20th century. In the USA, the use of marijuana approval in individual states has been realized through either ballot initiative or through a legislative process. There have been differing opinions from citizens on the ballot or through their representations in state governments. In 2018, Arizona voters disapproved of the commercial production, distribution, and sale of recreational marijuana. In that same year, Nevada, California, Massachusetts, and Maine approved the recreational use of marijuana (National Conference on State Legislature, 2024). Vermont passed the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act in 2018, which legalized the use of marijuana in the area but under some state restrictions. Moreover, there are many recent decriminalization enactments on the use or possession of marijuana in states that have implemented their own MML and RML. In Louisiana, possession of up to 14 grams of marijuana attracts a fine that does not exceed 100$ with no time spent in jail or prison. In 2019, Hawaii state punished the possession of up to 3 grams of marijuana with a maximum fine of 130$. In North Dakota, half an ounce of marijuana attracts a fine of up to 1000$, while in New Hampshire, possession of up to three-quarters of an ounce of marijuana attracts 100$ up to 2000$ for the first two offenses (National Conference on State Legislature, 2024). Legalization of marijuana in these states has eliminated jail terms and reduced the maximum amount of fine that can be slapped on a citizen’s face. The classification of marijuana is an area that has drawn interest from many stakeholders, and advocacy groups and activists have been calling for a comprehensive review. The federal government identifies marijuana as a level I drug as outlined in the CSA. However, marijuana use in the world defies the characteristics of schedule 1 drugs. Cannabinoid drugs are used for medicinal purposes, and many drugs have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that are derived from marijuana. Another feature that calls for a review is that even though marijuana has a high potential for abuse, different states have shown that they can regulate its supply and use. According to the National Conference on State Legislature (2024), New Jersey removed marijuana as a Schedule I drug and legalized specific personal uses of the drug. This courageous move ultimately challenges the federal government to review its classification of this drug. A reclassification of marijuana will allow financial industries to consider venturing into or funding the cannabis industry in the United States. Literature Review Pros for Legalizing Marijuana Economic Benefits Marijuana legalization on a recreational basis has garnered support from a significant number of citizens in the United States. Dave et al. (2023) studied the impact of RML laws on wages and employment. The authors noted that despite more than 70% of the United States population voicing their support for RML in the country, their counterparts still insist on how this drug can harm health, negatively impact cognitive function, and diminish motivation. This study used alternative policy estimates generated using an artificial control design and dynamic difference-in-difference estimates to account for biases in the interpretation of findings. There was little to no evidence of significant adverse impacts of using RMLs on the labor market. The findings from this study suggest that legislators should now focus on maximizing the benefits of this new legal industry. Ouanhlee et al. (2022) used multivariate regressions to highlight the potential link between economic performance and marijuana legalization. This study extracted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to establish a substantial association between the use of marijuana and economic activity. The legalization of cannabis has been a debatable topic of late due to the rapid increase in literature and cannabis industry growth for centuries despite many restrictions labeled against it. The authors found that marijuana use has maintained proper growth in associated industries and firms and has a substantive impact on employment. Another study that supports that marijuana has economic benefits in the United States was done by Polanski (2021) in Ohio. The author analyzed the monetary value of costs and benefits caused by RML implemented in the state. This study focused on the labor market, tax revenue, public health and safety, the criminal justice system, and educational attainment. Polanski (2021) discovered that legalizing recreational marijuana in Ohio will result in positive benefits, including economic gains that will propel the state forward. Lower drug arrest crimes, job creation, and tax revenue will bring a value of more than $444 million in net benefits. The variable used in the study derived a positive net social benefit that will be economically beneficial for Ohio in case recreational marijuana is legalized in the region. Having legalized medical marijuana in 2019, Ohio should follow suit with other states by legalizing recreational marijuana after realizing the medical benefits of marijuana to its population. The economic benefits of marijuana vary from one state to another, and the economic success achieved by one state may never be realized by its neighboring state. Thorpe and Lean (2020) did a comparative study on whether marijuana legalization will have economic impacts similar to those in Kansas, as it has had in Colorado. The study utilized online surveys to target the entire population in Kansas and obtain their personal views on the legalization of marijuana in their state. Emails and social media platforms were used to distribute the surveys to a large pool of participants. The contents of the survey were inquiring on whether recreational marijuana can be legalized and then regulated similarly to alcohol. Surprisingly, 93.30% of the study participants were in favor of legalizing marijuana. The respondents based their decision on the anticipated impact on youth behavior, reduction in crime rates, and the tax revenues generated from recreational marijuana. The study also found that males aged 18-24 years were the most active marijuana consumers; hence, they are the most impacted by restriction policies on the distribution of this drug. The countries that signed the United Nations Drug Convention in 1961 have been prohibiting the use of cannabis within their territories, and the United States is one of those nations. At that time, the proponents of this law assumed that cannabis had no benefit to the human body and only caused harm to society and the economy. However, Hall (2020) presents contrasting arguments by arguing that the costs of restricting cannabis use financially drain the economy of nations and disproportionately decrease the amount of funds available for investing in constructive areas. Hall (2020) insists that the knowledge available to the world on the harmful effects of cannabis is incomplete and full of unrealistic explanations that are based on emotions rather than contestable evidence. With religious organizations teaching the masses that cannabis influences promoting wayward behavior and eroding morals, many national governments have undertaken costly steps to restrict the recreational use of cannabis. Moreover, studies done in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand indicate modest adverse health effects on individuals abusing cannabis compared to other drugs like alcohol, opioids, and tobacco. Hall (2020) also states that the economic impact of cannabis has been underrated for many decades in the world due to the lack of any recent historical experience with an unrestricted market. Even before the United Nations suggested prohibitions on marijuana use, most countries that used it had other reasons for its extraction, and there were no rep...