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The Social Impact of Legalization of Recreational Marijuana on Adolescents in California
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Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc4868623 \h 1Problem statement PAGEREF _Toc4868624 \h 1Literature review PAGEREF _Toc4868625 \h 2Methodology PAGEREF _Toc4868626 \h 4Data collection. PAGEREF _Toc4868627 \h 4Sampling PAGEREF _Toc4868628 \h 5Proposal Budget PAGEREF _Toc4868629 \h 5Ethical consideration PAGEREF _Toc4868630 \h 6References PAGEREF _Toc4868631 \h 7
Introduction
Drug and substance consumption has increased all over the world, with an estimate of twenty million people in more than 120 countries been affected. The sequence around production, intake, and administration of the illicit drugs has rapidly improved. These rapid changes have been recorded in developing countries involving more significant populations such as Asia and Latin America. For instance, many Europe countries experienced waves of heroin consumption between the 1960s and 1990s (De & Estrada, 2015). The trends to consumption keep increasing with the emergence of new drugs such as marijuana and cocaine.
Typically, these illicit drugs have played an integral role in the emergence and development of social and economic problems in communities. In the United States, multiple studies have been established to examine the social, physiological, and medical impacts of marijuana since its legalization in Washington and Colorado in the past seven years. Currently, nine states have legalized marijuana, and the number is expected to increase in the future. Studies in the past have established similarity of adverse effects from state to state (Caulkins, 2015).
Problem statement
Heated confusion and misinformation around the legalization and decriminalization of marijuana has been a subject of debate. Although these concepts are not similar, different people have found it hard to differentiate between the two aspects. Whereas legalizations account for the use of cannabis in the confines of the law, decriminalization means the illicit trafficking and consumption. In November 2012, Washington and Colorado's voters unanimously supported the certification of marijuana. However, the states only authorize recreational marijuana to persons older than twenty-one years. As a result, licensed retail marijuana shops have been established (Caulkins, 2015). Since then, nine more states have authorized the practices in their land among them California. Although researchers have confirmed the legalization have led to various social benefits related to social justice, crime, and public health in medical marijuana, increased drawbacks have emerged among the adolescents who have found their way in the gaps (Jones, 2019). Therefore, the study seeks to examine the social effects in the legalization of recreational marijuana to adolescents in the state of California.
Literature review
Available information submits that drug and substance among the young people is narrowed to a small minority who experiment with illicit drugs at an early age. Further, evidence suggests that youths who use such substances in the old generations are more likely to develop drug problems later in life, such as addiction and cognitive ailments (Vaughn et al., 2015). Constant drug use among the minors is often associated with highly problematic population increase matched with the psychological and social disorders that have contributed to the underlying societal problems and neurobehavioral pathways. This explains the rapid rise in the consumption of cannabis among states that have authorized the drug.
The social cognitive theory by Albert Bandura 1986 asserts that the behavior of persons remain informed by the processes, environment and the response itself an individual is exposed to. Moreover, the theory is in line with the behavioristic approach of classical and operant conditioning. The increased globalization and cultural degradation, have contributed to the increased rate of marijuana intake by the youths (Pilgrim, 1999). It matches with the observational learning theory that assumes that children are likely to imitate their peers as illustrated by the Bob and Doll experiment.
The prevalence of cannabis use among youths has increased in the modern era. According to Caulkins, (2015), highest incidence has been observed among Africa, America, and parts of Asia. For instance, a study by Yang et al. (2018), 14% of adolescents were reported to use the drug. Yang Further argues the increased rate linked to the increased social media influence and advertisement. According to (Vaughn 2015) findings, an increase in 10% in the intake of cannabis among close family or friends leads 5% increased probability on youth to consume the drug.
Moreover, research by the United States monitoring survey established that 49% of college students used drugs or illicit substance with half of the victims have taken it in less than thirty days with the most consumed drug being marijuana. The study further concluded that 47% of the students were prone to marijuana with males being more affected than females (Light & Westling, 2017). He further argues that more significant risks to cannabis consumption is more familiar to the youths than other comparable ages.
Regular use of cannabis leads to increased social effects in the family and community settings. These effects include increased crimes, disrupted families and communities, decreased stability in relationships, poor performance in education increased health hazards and lack of interest in work and employment. Reports on disrupted societies and families due to cannabis are common in literature. For instance study by Lambert (2015), showed that 10% of the youths between the ages of fifteen to twenty years were addicted to marijuana which leads them to opposing the cultural traditions and services. Other reports are in agreement; in Mexico, 22% of the street families were minors who are cannabis addicts (De & Estrada, 2015).
Excessive use of marijuana leads to increased health problems and as a result impairing the quality of life and threatening survival. A study by Lambert (2015), showed that more t...