Legalization of Marijuana. Argumentative Research Paper.
This is a secondary research paper based on a topic (approved by the instructor) of at least 2,500 words. Research must come from good, scholarly sources, governmental organizations, newspapers or magazines. Choose the type of argument that you want to write: arguing a position, proposing a solution, or justifying an evaluation. Pre-write for a few minutes to decide which topic you would like to write about. Use the technique of CUBING to pre-write on your subject. All material must be well-cited if the idea or facts are not your own or obvious common knowledge, cited and quoted, if necessary. The topic and paper must be in the APA format.
Argumentative Research Paper
Assignment: This is a secondary research paper based on a topic (approved by the instructor) of at least 2,500 words. Research must come from good, scholarly sources, governmental organizations, newspapers or magazines. Choose the type of argument that you want to write: arguing a position, proposing a solution, or justifying an evaluation. Pre-write for a few minutes to decide which topic you would like to write about. Use the technique of CUBING to pre-write on your subject. All material must be well-cited if the idea or facts are not your own or obvious common knowledge, cited and quoted, if necessary. The topic and paper must be in the APA format.
Your Readers: The writer needs to consider the uninformed reader who may or may not have heard of topic, considered the thesis statement, or believe the credibility of the writer. The credibility will be created by the affective use of sources, examples, and other forms of support.
Assignment Requirements: The researched essay should be at least 2,500 words in length; more words might be necessary. Your essay should
• Provide a clear, thoughtful introduction.
• Include the thesis in the introduction that reveals the overall organization.
• Follow a clear, logical organization with proper use of transitional expressions.
• Synthesize sources with proper in-text citations.
• Use APA formatting.
• Attach a References page in the appropriate format.
• Check spelling, grammar, and other stylistic concerns.
• Consider feedback provided by a peer reviewer.
Keep track of the word count when typing the document. Revise your essay by making sure that you provide a variety of sentence structure, proper use of punctuation, and a clear and logical flow of ideas.
Format: Make sure to include a heading, title, and paragraph indentation. The text should be double-spaced. The font size should be 12 pt. and the style Times New Roman. There should be clear transitions to mark each new paragraph. Include parenthetical documentation when incorporating citations. Each draft of the essay needs to be turned in during class with the previous draft attached in the order of the first draft on top with the most current draft on the bottom. This essay will be reviewed one time for feedback. It is suggested that the essay is proofread also by a third party either at the Center for Excellence in Writing or by another reader. Consider the comments and make appropriate changes. If there are any major concerns or questions, make sure to address them with the instructor.
Legalization of Marijuana
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Institutional Affiliation
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Legalization of Marijuana
Despite a century of prohibition, marijuana is the most widely consumed illegal drug across the world. It is a completely natural narcotic that has appealed to millions of people. Marijuana has been used for both medicinal and recreational purposes for thousands of years. Regardless of its attributed benefits, cultivation, consumption, and possession of marijuana remains illegal in most countries (Chemerinsky, 2017). However, this is not the case in the United States, where some states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes or both due to public demand. It is a trend that indicates an increasing prevalence of marijuana consumption and a sign that the perceived risk of harm from its products is diminishing (Cavazos-Rehg et al. 2015). The widespread prohibition of the drug appears to be a missed opportunity for both national and global economies. People still consume marijuana and its products despite the illegal status. Collectively, the illegal cultivation, processing, and sale of marijuana in the black market are worth billions of dollars. Considering the potential economic, social, and medical benefits of marijuana, it is evident that its legalization would yield more benefits than risks to individuals, families, and society, hence the need for its legalization.
Economic Benefits
The most prevalent claim supporting the legalization of marijuana is the anticipated increase in tax revenue. It would create a bring into the economy. Instead of spending huge amounts of taxpayers' money and effort in the war against its production and consumption, legalizing marijuana would, in turn a source of revenue for the government through taxes (Evans, 2013). Despite being a prohibited drug, the demand for marijuana has been high in various parts of the world. The demand for recreational marijuana has increased significantly in the last few decades owing to new laws that have made it legal in various states and countries. It is an indication that, once the drug is officially declared legal and the necessary regulations imposed, the drug would yield significant tax revenue (Todd, 2018). The price of marijuana in the black market relatively low because there are no tax-related costs involved. Authorities have the right opportunity to impose higher taxes on the drug while keeping the price at a competitive level with other drugs such as tobacco and alcohol.
The potential revenue worth of marijuana production and consumption has been exhibited in various regions in the recent past. For example, the state of Colorado, U.S., legalized marijuana since the beginning of the year 2014. The state has proven that legalizing the drug and its related products makes the industry a reliable source of tax revenue (Todd, 2018). It has gained global interest from being one of the first states in the country to legally allow the production, selling, and buying of marijuana. Reports indicate that Colorado collected a significant amount of tax revenue immediately after the legalization. For example, a year after allowing buying and selling of the drug, there were about the one-billion-dollar worth of sales in 2015. As a result, the state's revenue authorities collected more than $130 million as tax revenue and fees from the new recreational marijuana industry (Grigsby, Hoffmann, & Moss, 2020). The state ensured a considerable economic boost and positive outcomes from the industry by channeling the generated tax revenue to the construction of public schools and public programs such as campaigns against drugs and substance abuse and regulation of marijuana. It is a way of countering possible adverse effects that may result from the legalization initiative by repaying using the tax revenue it generates.
Legalizing marijuana can create more job opportunities ever than before. Under government approval, more people can be employed in various sectors in the new industry. These range from growing, packaging, and distribution of cannabis and its products (Cavazos-Rehg et al., 2015), more employment opportunities emerge where, for instance, individuals can work in educational programs and other health promotion initiatives to create awareness and encourage the safe consumption of marijuana. Legalization can only occur alongside various regulations and restrictions that bound the entire system. The amount of effort, both monetary and nonmonetary, that the government used to spend in enforcing anti-marijuana laws would reduce significantly. Therefore, the legalization of marijuana would eventually reduce drug-related incarceration and enforcement costs if well implemented.
In most countries, marijuana ranks second as the most commonly consumed substance in the black market after alcohol. Legalizing the drug for recreational purposes could create a multi-billion marijuana industry where government authorities can collect large amounts of revenue, which would be impossible in the black market. The commercial model of legalization needs intense scope for regulation, unlike the individual or small-scale use of marijuana for recreational purposes (Pacula & Smart, 2017). Most states require separate licenses for producers, retailers, and testing facilities. Some restrict the number of licenses a single firm can have, the scale of production, and the time and manner in which the firms operate. Some states require all marijuana for recreational use to be purchased through state-licensed retailers, thus discouraging local or home cultivation. Others allow home cultivation by adults but up to a given number of plants. Similarly, they use different taxation approaches, which can be based on a flat-rate tax specific to all marijuana-related retailing or based on the scale of production (Sacco & Finklea, 2013). Although different states have different policies addressing marijuana legalization, their effectiveness of marijuana consumption and its related disorders is subject to how they influence the market structure, price, and availability, and perception of risk and social approval.
Social Benefits
The ever-increasing worldwide demand for marijuana products is attributed to the growth and spread of black markets. Just like any other illegal market, black marijuana markets are operated and controlled by cartels and illegal drug dealers who solely outsource and distribute the products without any form of accountability. These encourage multiple forms of uncouth social behaviors and moral decay in society, including gang-related conflicts and violent tendencies amongst the sellers and consumers of the drug (McGinty et al., 2016). In areas where marijuana is still outlawed, illegal distribution prevails, and possession of small amounts of the drug is a criminal offense. However, the situation would be different if the drug is legalized and special governing agencies established to impose necessary regulations that control its production, supply, and consumption. Taking control of these processes, the legalization of marijuana can minimize the expansion and prevalence of its black market, which breeds several unlawful activities and other social evils across the world (Chemerinsky, 2017). This is to say that; its legalization can significantly resolve some of the social problems associated with the marijuana black market.
Marijuana's black markets across the globe have indiscriminative tendencies of involving children. Studies indicate that teens and children are increasingly active in the production, distribution, and consumption of the drug, in both developing and developed economies. Several studies propose that legalizing marijuana would potentially reduce minors' direct contact with the black market activities since all parties involved shall be directly accountable under the government's control (Anderson, Hansen, Rees, & Sabia, 2019). Legalization would eradicate all means of illegal access points, which would be beneficial by minimizing children and youths' participation in illegal activities and depriving drug dealers' power over the youth.
Public Health Benefits
Several countries and states have legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Each jurisdiction has the autonomy to implement laws and define qualifying conditions. Some have legalized only the non-psychoactive extracts of marijuana, while othe...