Legalization of Recreational Use of Marijuana

Legalization of Recreational Use of Marijuana: A Critical Evaluation
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Table of Contents Abstract 3 Introduction. 3 Legislations on Marijuana Use in America: A Historical Perspective. 4 Details of Marijuana Legislation. 7 Marijuana's Use in America: A Statistical Review.. 8 Legalization of Marijuana: Overview of Implications. 9 Social Implications. 9 Healthcare Implications. 10 Legal Implications. 11 Economic and Financial Implications. 13 Personal Opinion on the Legalization of Marijuana. 15 Conclusion. 17 References. 19   Legalization of Recreational Use of Marijuana: A Critical Evaluation
Abstract
Marijuana is the most widely used drug in America, whose recreational use remained banned for decades for its biological and social impact on human beings. However, since 1990, in light of new evidence and public demands, the demand for the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana has gained momentum. Consequently, more than 30 American states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. However, this legalization entails several legal, economic, social, and biological implications that contradict its legalization. Moreover, the conflicting clauses within the state legalizations also hamper the smooth and effective implementation of these laws. In the same way, contradictions exist between federal and state governments regarding the legal status of marijuana. Finally, the ethical and moral issues related to the legalization of marijuana have not been taken into account; thus, based on these facts, one may consider the legalization of marijuana a highly controversial step that should be revoked for the nation's best interest.
Introduction
In the modern age, among the most used drugs in the United States, Marijuana occupies one of the topmost positions. However, the history of marijuana's use as a drug in America goes as far back as the colonial period; nevertheless, the origin of marijuana use for its medicinal properties occurred in Asia in approximately 500 BC. Throughout history, the debate over the medicinal significance of marijuana and its potential legalization has erupted into several controversies. However, besides being used as a drug and medicine, ancient American society of the colonial period also grew this drug to manufacture textiles and ropes. For the same reason, throughout the seventeenth century, the American government encouraged hemp production for industrial and trading purposes via active legislation. However, in the early decades of the twentieth century, the recreational use of marijuana became a significant concern for American authorities, and they issued legal bans on its misuse (Stringer & Maggard, 2016). This trend of imposing bans and running campaigns against the recreational use of marijuana continued till the end of the twentieth century.
Despite its criminalization in the 1930s, several social, economic, and political factors have contributed to the increase in public demand for marijuana' legalization; this unprecedented change in public and policymakers' perception has been prominent since the 1990s. Based on one scholarly research, the role of media, especially television, in promoting the legal use of marijuana has been instrumental (Stringer & Maggard, 2016). Consequently, several American states, including Colorado and California, have developed legislation legalizing the use of marijuana for various purposes. As far as the number of marijuana users is concerned, one estimate reveals that more than 8 million individuals are reported to be frequent users of this drug for various purposes (Wilkinson et al., 2016). Thus, the use of marijuana in the United States is on the perpetual rise, and legalization of its recreational use at federal and state levels has expedited its misuse. Therefore, the following discussion makes a critical estimate of the legalization of marijuana's recreational use to make a concluding remark on the justifiability of this legalization on moral, social, and medical grounds.
Legislations on Marijuana Use in America: A Historical Perspective
The industrial and medical use of marijuana has been under legal protection in America since the seventeenth century. For instance, in 1619, the Virginia Assembly legalized growing hemp as a trade commodity to be used as a legal tender; for the same reason, till the beginning of the twentieth century, legalized growth of hemp plants flourished throughout the country. However, in the early years of the twentieth century, geopolitical events, mainly the Mexican Revolution, introduced an influx of Mexican immigrants to the United States. Subsequently, the trend of recreational use of marijuana increased exponentially in the American population. This increase in drug abuse triggered fears of negative social and cultural implications, and American states began to impose bans on the recreational use of the drug (Yu et al., 2000). As a result of this fear of a rise in social crimes, the federal government enacted the Uniform State Act in the 1930s, binding the state government to regulate the recreational use of marijuana in their domains. Finally, the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937 officially criminalized the recreational use of marijuana (Yu et al., 2000). Thus, the possession of marijuana became a criminal offense unless it is for limited industrial or medicinal purposes.
Despite these restrictions, geopolitical events, especially World War II, accelerated the mass cultivation of marijuana because of its extensive manufacturing of military equipment, including parachutes and cordage. As a result of the Hemp for Victory Program, industrial hemp was cultivated over an area of approximately 375,000 acres (Luginbuhl, 2001). However, the restrictions on recreational use continued and even became stricter; for instance, enactment of federal laws, such as the Boggs Act of 1952, made the possession of marijuana for recreational use a criminal offense punishable with 2 to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to 20, 000 dollars (Yu et al., 2000). Other similar acts included Narcotics Control Act (1956), the Controlled Substance Act (1970), and Anti-Drug Abuse Act (1986). These acts also contributed to imposing bans on the sales, usage, and cultivation of marijuana for recreational purposes (Yu et al., 2000). These facts indicate how marijuana's use for recreational purposes was limited via strict laws because of fear increase in crime rates and social ills.
The trend of imposing restrictions on the recreational use of marijuana began to subside from the 1960s onwards when social scientists, medical professionals, and psychologists came up with new research. The new findings about the effects of marijuana contradicted the previous claims that regarded marijuana use as the cause of social ills. Based on these medical reports, the decriminalization of marijuana began in 11 American states (Hopfer, 2014). However, this process did not eliminate the criminal status of possession of marijuana; instead, it only reduced the penalty for drug possession. However, this change in perception set a trend that culminated in practical efforts to legalize the use of marijuana. One of these official attempts was made in 1993 when Surgeon General Elder made a proposal demanding a scientific study of marijuana's effect in the light of discovery to pave the way for the legalization of the drug. In the beginning, California was the first state that passed Medical Marijuana Laws in 1996, which were later adopted by 33 states. Among them, 11 states have also legalized the recreational use of this drug (Yu et al., 2000).
Throughout the two decades of the twenty-first century, the legalization trend of marijuana spread across the United States. Currently, 21 states and the Columbia District have enacted laws that make the recreational use of drug legal (Zheng et al., 2022). In this regard, Colorado State presents an interesting example as this state legalized the recreational use of marijuana in 2014, and Washington also followed it (Hopfer, 2014). More recently, political support from democrats and republicans has also accelerated the legalization of marijuana's recreational use. In April 2021, a Marijuana Decriminalization Bill was passed in Congress, and several other legislations are also in the process of approval, including the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act. In this regard, Joe Biden's statement about issuing pardons to criminals in prison for the possession of marijuana (Bailey, 2022). Thus, all these factual details reveal that the decriminalization of marijuana recreationally is a rapidly growing process in America; however, its social, political, and moral implications are still debatable. The following figure shows the states where the recreational use of marijuana enjoys legal protection:
Source: (Brown, 2019)
Details of Marijuana Legislation
Despite having an understanding of the historical trend of legalization of recreational and medical use of marijuana, without understanding the details of recent legislation, one cannot understand their real impact. Thus, it is important to understand some of the legislations related to marijuana's recreational use to make an opinion about their validity. Colorado was among the first American states which legalize marijuana's recreational use in 2012. Thus, a thorough understanding of its marijuana legislation will help assess its implications on the American social and cultural fabric. Based on these regulations, an American adolescent residing in Colorado can grow up to six plants and have legal protection for using or giving up to 12 ounces of marijuana. However, public use of marijuana is still deemed illegal by this recent legislation (Blake & Finlaw, 2014).
In terms of sales tax imposed on marijuana, the law imposes an additional 10% sales tax on the purchase of marijuana; additionally, the retailers are bound to pay a 15% excise tax to the cultivators of marijuana (Blake & Finlaw, 2014). Thus, Colorado state laws on marijuana do not legalize the unsparing use of marijuana and practice extreme caution in allowing the use of once-banned drugs by the public. Nevertheless, these laws allow the general public and business people to use this legislation for commercial consumption and trading. In this way, this law provides a way out for drug users and increases the number of recreational consumers of marijuana. On the other hand, in Washington, the legislation permits the possession of one ounce of marijuana by an adult of 21 or above. However, this state law gives more options for marijuana use as it allows possession of 16 ounces of the drug in the form of its product; it also allows possession of 72 ounces of the liquid product of marijuana. Additionally, this law imposes a 37% sales tax on its sales (Clarke et al., 2018).
The marijuana legislation in Alaska also provides significant insight into the nature of this legislation. In this state, an adult can also possess up to one ounce of marijuana and grow six plants. It also imposes a sales tax on marijuana sales and excises tax on its cultivators (Brandeis, 2015). These details are substantial in understanding the nature and effects of the modern legislation permitting limited recreational use of marijuana in America. This understanding is crucial to estimate the causes behind the rapid increase in marijuana consumption in the wake of these laws. Besides, these legislations also help understand the positive and negative implications of these legislations on American societies' social and cultural fabric.
Marijuana's Use in America: A Statistical Review
Marijuana is the most common drug used in America; based on one estimate, approximately 8.3% of the American population above twelve years consume marijuana for recreational purposes, while the proportion of adults in the age group of 12–17 years used it once in a lifetime (Yu et al., 2000). The use of marijuana in the American population grew substantially from the 1990s onwards, accelerated by findings of new research and the gradual lifting of the ban on its recreational use. According to the data obtained by National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), recreational marijuana consumption started first in young Americans in the 12 to 20 years age group. Additionally, the rise in marijuana consumption was seen in white and black Americans more than in Hispanics or other marginal communities. This use has been more prominent in males than females; moreover, blunt smoking has been the most preferred means of marijuana consumption (Golub et al., 2006).
One study surveyed 2630 American adolescents aged 14 to 18 years to find the emerging trends in marijuana consumption. The researchers utilized social media advertisements to recruit these youngsters and studied their responses to understand the patterns of different forms of marijuana consumption. The researchers studied vaping, smoking, and edible use of cannabis that these youngsters employed for consuming marijuana. Based on the finding of the survey, the researchers concluded that smoking (99%), vaping (44%), and edible use (61%) are the preferred ways of cannabis consumption (Knapp et al., 2019). These factual details corroborate the notion that due to ease in restrictions over marijuana's recreational consumption, the American youth is increasingly getting addicted to its use. Moreover, this increasing use has led to a rapid increase in physiological and psychological complications in young adults.
Based on these facts, it is mandatory to comprehensively understand the implications of legislation in favor of marijuana consumption. Understanding these implications will facilitate making a sound judgment over the legalization of marijuana with specific reference to American society and the population.
Legalization of Marijuana: Overview of Implications
The legalization of marijuana in American states entails several implications that range over a wide spectrum of social, economic, political, and ethical domains. Understanding these implications is imperative as this understanding helps estimate the impact of this legalization on America's society. Using these implications as a reference point, one can deduce a rational inference regarding this process's positive or negative impact. For ease of understanding, these implications must be analyzed separately, and the following sections systematically deal with this procedure.
Social Implications
One of the most prominent social implications of the legalization of marijuana is linked with workplace ethics and the code of conduct, as both criteria prohibit the use of drugs on duty. Legalization of limited use of marijuana for recreational purposes poses several challenges for both employers and employees. For instance, the workplace code of conduct entails that an employee is not supposed to be on drugs while on duty; however, modified legislation allows the use of marijuana and makes a disciplinary action against the user only when marijuana' intake impairs their work and behavior (Kilmer, 2019). Thus, when employees are tested only for the detection of the psychoactive component of cannabis, the action taken against them is illegal since they are not tested for impairment induced by marijuana. Thus, disciplinary action against such an employee may be considered illegal and create confusion and dispute. Moreover, employers with employees working in different American states must be aware of the difference in cannabis consumption laws to implement their code of conduct policies (Kilmer, 2019). Thus, these legalizations may cause massive legal and ethical dilemmas in the workplace.
Growing public demand for drug legalization also poses serious challenges to state authorities. According to recent estimates, as of 2022, more than two-thirds American population demands legalization of the recreational use of marijuana at federal and state levels. Although in 1969, only 12% of American adults favored the legalization of marijuana, in 2021, this number has soared to an overwhelming 68% (Kilmer, 2019). Thus, the question arises: if the recreational use of marijuana is to be made legal, wouldn't it be equivalent to exposing an overwhelming majority of the country to a potentially harmful substance? This issue should be a top priority for the authorities to consider before expanding the legalization of recreational marijuana to a broader level. Thus, the following section discusses the health issues related to marijuana use to highlight the health-related implications of this legalization.