Marijuana
Marijuana has been used by humans for both medicinal and recreational purposes for centuries. Still, in many jurisdictions, it remains an illegal drug, meaning that those found in its possession risk being penalized. However, in recent years there is an increasing call for legalization of marijuana, particularly for recreational purposes, which has created an interesting public debate. Both sides of the debate have substantial reasons for or against legalization. In that line, the general observation is that the support for legalization is ever rising, but there are not enough medical or social justifications for legalization.
The proportion of the population opposing the legalization of recreational marijuana has been declining in recent years due to changing ideologies. According to a report by Pew Research, two-thirds of American adults are in favor of the legalization of Marijuana (Daniller, 2019). It is noted those opposing legalization dropped to 32% in 2019 compared to 52% in 2010 (Daniller, 2019). Similarly, a Gallup report has shown 66% of the support of legalization in 2019 (Jones, 2019). In both Gallup and Pew reports, it is shown that the majority of people support both medicinal and recreational use of marijuana. According to surveys, most of those who oppose the legalization of marijuana are mainly those leaning on conservative political ideology and concerning party identification; they are mostly republicans. The older generation has a high proportion of those opposing the legalization of recreational use of marijuana compared to the younger generations. The indication is that support or opposition to the legalization of marijuana is more of an ideological and generational issue than being focused on health and social consequences.
The use of marijuana is on the upward trajectory due to decreased negative perceptions regarding its use and related consequences. Some of the factors that have increased the use include decreased negative perception of risks of using marijuana, the view that there is no legal penalty for personal use, and that marijuana has become readily available (Azofeifa et al., 2016). In the same line, several states such as Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and DC have legalized the use of recreational marijuana while others are considering legalizing it (Pepin, Hoss, Schauer & Holmes, 2017). A study by Ta et al. (2019) that showed that despite these states legalizing recreational marijuana, the use among adolescents either declined or remained stable.
The implication is that even though there is evidence of why recreational marijuana should not be made legal, there is equal evidence on why it should be decriminalized.
The case against the legalization of recreational marijuana is based on public and individual health effects. Those who support legalization usually avoid discussing the adverse health effects of its use. It is cited that marijuana is addictive, which is against the public myth that says it is not addictive (Wilkinson, 2013). It has been argued that marijuana use is associated with psychotic disorders, and thus legalization will increase such diseases. Other reasons against legalization include cognitive declines among users, harmful effects on the respiratory system, and other organ systems such as the reproductive system (Wilkinson, 2013). It is also shown that it impairs judgment increasing the risk of road accidents. It is argued that legalizing recreational marijuana increases the use of adolescents since it lowers their perception of high negatives health effects. It implies that if the debate is focused on public and individual health effects and not on public opinions, recreational marijuana should not be legalized.
The legalization of marijuana debate has attracted the interest of political parties’ candidates with both current Republicans and Democratic presidential candidates, preferring the decision be left to the states. However, Democratic candidates have been known to support legalization in some way (Daniller, 2019). Some of the political arguments for legalization are that marijuana is not as harmful as tobacco, while the latter is legal. The other argument is that the criminalization of marijuana has led to the arrest and prosecution of many innocent persons. However, what such arguments overlook is the long term health implications of using recreational marijuana.
In summary, there is a strong force to have the use of recreational marijuana legalized across the country, but there is also equal resistance for legalization. The recreational use of marijuana should not be legal because of health implications and the risk of abuse. Besides, although studies have shown that the legalization of marijuana will not change its use that much, countries are safer with it being illegal.