In the last general election on Nov. 6, Colorado and Washington passed ballot initiatives that legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over. Putting aside the cumbersome complications of state law contradicting the federal law, which still views marijuana as an illegal drug, it’s high time that we revised our viewpoint on marijuana.
From a purely economic standpoint, legalizing marijuana yields many economic benefits, and not just from increased sales of Doritos and donuts.
According to a report from the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, via the Huffington Post, regulating marijuana in a similar manner to alcohol will produce hundreds of new jobs and raise $60 million annually in combined savings and revenue, which can go toward the construction of Colorado public schools.
The numbers may seem too good to be true, but the increased funds cumulatively come from an instant reduction of criminal costs (police and court costs could be delegated to more serious crimes) and future revenue from sales taxes.
Yet numbers are only a small part of the issue, especially for parents. There are worries that making marijuana legal, if only for adults, will guarantee an unhealthy increase in exposure among youth to the controversial herb.
These fears are, quite bluntly, unfounded. First of all, restricting access to marijuana is already a losing battle. A survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that marijuana was the easiest drug to obtain on school grounds. Medicinal marijuana clinics and smuggling from across the border have made obProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ining the drug virtually unimpeded by those who seek it.
In addition, youths are constantly exposed to similarly regulated substances that are regarded as harmful (if not more harmful than marijuana), such as cigarettes and alcohol. Yet, not all youth smoke and drink; in fact, those who smoke and drink are the minority, not the majority. Critics need to have more faith in the decision-making capabilities of younger generations.
Some sling the term “gateway drug” in regards to marijuana. These critics base their disapproval of marijuana on the premise that the usage of marijuana, though comparably less harmful, will cause the users to gravitate to harder drugs, such as cocaine and meth. However, according to the Huffington Post, it’s likely that marijuana usage is only an indicator of a bigger underlying cause that increases susceptibility to hard drug use.
Numerous studies, including a study published by the Center for Drug Research of the University of Amsterdam, show that the Dutch, who legalized marijuana in the 1970s, now smoke marijuana, on average, half as often as Americans. This is likely a result of approaching marijuana as an adult civic liberty rather than an illegal substance.
History demonstrates that trying to ban an already popular substance doesn’t quite work. Just take a look at the Prohibition, in which alcohol was made illegal. The fact that many ignored the law and continued to drink cannot be contested. And that’s not where the parallels end. During the Prohibition, many turned to alternatives that were still legal but were far more dangerous than alcohol. A popular alternative was Jamaica Ginger extract, or Jake, which ultimately caused paralysis.
Due to the illegal nature of marijuana, many turn to legal synthetic marijuana products, such as K2 and Spice, which are actually much more harmful and difficult to regulate. If marijuana were legal and subsequently regulated, fewer people would turn to the more dangerous alternatives.
Colorado and Washington are headed in the right direction; it’s time the rest of the nation realizes that the grass may be greener on the other side of the legalization debate.