Outline for Opinion Paper: Legalization of Marijuana

1. Legalization of marijuana has adverse effects on the users and the country at large as it may result in increased use for the unintended purpose, substantial health care costs and increased number of traffic deaths.

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2. Use of marijuana may lead to increased cases of alcoholism among high school students.

I. According to Colquitt, (2015), adolescent marijuana users and alcohol and substance users are more likely to report higher involvement in substance abuse and involvement. More negative stigma is associated with marijuana usage.

II. Furthermore, marijuana usage leads to low performance in school in part due to increased substance usage and little interest in useful activities in academic and co-curricular activities.

II. In addition to unintended alcoholism that may result from increased marijuana usage, users are at risks of developing dependency and addiction. The severe and regular stimulation of the body can cause changes in the brain. People who use marijuana at an early age are most likely to develop use disorder than other users.

3. Marijuana use is associated with increased health care costs and put users at risk of developing health complications that increase healthcare expenditure.

I. Although marijuana is not a cause of a known health problem, smoking contributes to the development of other health complications like respiratory issues. According to (Pacula, Ringel and Truong, 2008). Higher healthcare costs are linked with cannabis comorbidity.

II. There is evidence that marijuana users are at higher risks of outpatient visits compared to no users. A 1993 study by Polen revealed that smokers are at 19% increased hospital visits for complications related to respiration and a 32 percent increased risks of injury. Besides, users are 50% more likely to have health problems than no smokers.

4. The relationship between traffic deaths and marijuana use has become increasingly relevant in the debate about marijuana legalization.

I. Concerns have been raised about the ability of users to drive safely when under stimulation of cannabis. Evidence shows that marijuana use has potentially detrimental effects on driving although the risks may disappear after controlling other risk variables.

II. According to (Wilkinson et al., 2016), the high incidence of motor vehicle accidents can partly be attributed to cannabis legalization.

III. From 2007 to 2014, the number of people driving under the influence of THC- a psychoactive cannabis chemical- increased from 8.6 percent to 12.6 percent (Healthline Media, 2018).). The number of marijuana drivers increased in Washington State after marijuana was legalized for recreational use in 2014 further postulate that the high incidence of vehicle collisions in Colorado, Washington and Oregon (3 percent higher than other states) could not have increased if these states had not legalized marijuana usage.

5. There is sufficient evidence that legalization of marijuana has detrimental effects on the society and users. Increased usage will put users at risk of engaging in unintended and harmful purposes like alcoholism, increase healthcare costs as well as the number of traffic accidents.

References

Colquitt, C. (2015). Up in smoke: the unintended consequences of marijuana legalization in the United States on public health and safety (Doctoral dissertation, University of Mississippi).

Healthline Media (2018). Does Marijuana Increase the Risk of Vehicle Crashes? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/does-marijuana-increase-risk-of-vehicle-crashes#1

Pacula, R. L., Ringel, J., Dobkin, C., & Truong, K. (2008). The incremental inpatient costs associated with marijuana comorbidity. 248-257

Polen, M. R., Sidney, S., Tekawa, I. S., Sadler, M., & Friedman, G. D. (1993). Health care use by frequent marijuana smokers who do not smoke tobacco. Western Journal of Medicine, 158(6),596.

Wilkinson, S. T., Yarnell, S., Radhakrishnan, R., Ball, S. A., & D'Souza, D. C. (2016). Marijuana legalization: impact on physicians and public health. Annual review of medicine, 67, 453-466.