The Legalisation of Marijuana Essay Example

Marijuana is a drug containing an active element called THC which provides feelings of euphoria and contains a significant volume of pain reliving properties. Marijuana is also known as pot, weed, cannabis, reefer or hemp and is legalisation has been debated for years and now it is at the spotlight more than ever (Caulkins, Kilmer, & Kleiman, 2016). Marijuana is one of the commonly used drug across the globe especially for recreational purposes. According to the United Nations, approximately eighty-eight percent of the global population use marijuana and the number is persistently rising (Crockett, 2014). A number of nations in the world have legalised the use of marijuana after imposing strict policies on its growth, sale and usage. The laws allow medical marijuana to be sold following a prescription. Advocates of the legalisation of marijuana believe it will prevent people from harming themselves and stopping of harm to the greater culture. Doctors and surgeons have called for the legalisation of marijuana in the interest of the public. The physicians believe that creating a regulated and legal cannabis market is the best way to ensure public safety, to roll back the negative impacts of strict enforcement on the public and cut-off illegal drug trade (Wilkinson, et. al., 2016).

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Marijuana has medical values. The drug is said to help cure illnesses such as glaucoma, cancer, and AIDS. Other individuals claim that is an essential useful medicine for pain and as a stress reliever. Physicians have prescribed the drug to people who have issues with sleeping and eating. Some people think that weed is a harmful drug while majority of the people in the world support the legalisation of the drug. In the United States by June 2014, twenty three states had passed laws legalising marijuana. The legalisation of marijuana is important for law enforcement, good for the communities and great for families (Anderson, 2015). The legalisation of marijuana in the different states have seen more people turn to it as a treatment option for several diseases. In the early 2600 BC, traditional doctors utilised marijuana to treat gout, insomnia, poor memory and digestive ailments (Mary Lynn Mathre, 2012). Numerous research conducted on the subject indicate that marijuana is a great drug with ability to cure neuropathic pain and cancer. The debate goes on regarding the use of marijuana the support from the drug is growing a more studies are done and published. A study published in Annual review of medicine, revealed great strides in the use of marijuana in treating glaucoma which is a leading cause of blindness (Wilkinson, et. al., 2016). It has revealed significant benefits in improving health of lungs. Physicians also discovered that cannabis can ease the symptoms of vomiting and nausea resulting from chemotherapy. Two drugs being, nabione and dronabinol, are cannabis based and are ratified by the food and drug administration for the cancer patients going through chemotherapy (Ingraham, 2016).

Marijuana has many uses and is filled with nutritional value. Its hearts and seeds are nutritious and can be used in numerous ways which can also be made into a protein concentrate (Leung, 2011). The plant is laden with great illness fighting properties inclusive of anti-stress, anti-flammatory, neuroprotective, and antioxidant properties. Physicians recommend the juicing and drinking of raw cannabis as a technique to experience its healing remunerations without getting a psychoactive effect. For instance, Courtney Kristen consumed raw weed by juicing it and drank the juice for a considerable amount of time. She was suffering from systemic lupus and her condition improved significantly. Since then she has been devoted to advocating for the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes (Anderson, 2015). The marijuana seeds have been fund to have lots of protein and vital fatty acids inclusive of omega-3 and linoleic acid which act in supporting health.

According to William, (2018), looking at marijuana legalisation from an economic standing there are several reasons to legalise it.

For one it would raise a substantial amount of revenue for national and state governments, legalisation of marijuana could make a lot of money for departments of the government. In the United States a study carried out by new frontier data estimated in 2017 discovered that legalisation of cannabis could generate one hundred billion dollars aggregate in tax revenue. The government goes from collecting zero revenue from cannabis to generating billions annually.

Secondly, legalising marijuana would develop a lot of employment opportunities. It could create a vast job market as workers are put in direct contact with the marijuana plants. They could work directly as farmers, processors, retailers and distributors of the product. Indirectly through consulting firms, financing and lending companies, software developers and constructing firms which would be involved in the marijuana business as they are tasked in building in one way or another of the business of marijuana.

Third, investors in the business stand a chance of benefiting from a long-term growth of the marijuana industry. Investors can retire comfortably when the marijuana industry takes on after its legalisation. Like any other industry it would require time to fully start-up but soon it would pick up bringing a lot of money to the industry investors (Evans, 2013). Illegal state of Marijuana means investors cannot take full advantage of its great growth potential. Legalisation of Cannabis would make its' stocks to be free to list on reputable stock exchange sites which would improve is liquidity and increase reporting trends.

Fourth, huge amounts of money would be saved in costs for law enforcement upon legalisation. Legalisation of cannabis would not only profit the industry by bringing money in but also in reducing the amount of money flowing out from the system. Law enforcement uses a lot of money in ensuring marijuana is not in the streets and that all drug traffickers are arrested and put away. The police departments dedicate a lot of their hours to arresting, booking and incarcerating cannabis users and sellers. Removing cannabis from the list of controlled substances would reduce drastically the number of court cases that go to trial. The decreased number of court cases mean fewer imprisonments meaning expenditure that would have gone towards meeting prisoners' needs are stripped off thereby saving money.

Fifth, the potential increases for controlled prices of marijuana and its long-term production. Marijuana legalisation would lead to commoditization of dried cannabis in the long run and thus reduced prices of weed. Medical patients would benefit as products such as cannabidiol oil would become more affordable.

Cannabis is environmentally friendly and it can easily be grown (Caulkins, Kilmer, & Kleiman, 2016). Growth of cannabis does not require a lot of tending and it ca grow in almost any climate in the world. Cannabis plants are mould resistant and frost resistant and neither fertilisers nor chemicals are needed in its growth and development. Independence from fertilisers and chemicals make it ideal for the environment. The cannabis plant has the ability to clean up toxins underground making the soil healthier and better from farming. The fibre content in cannabis is useful in the production of bags, ropes, clothing, paper including envelopes and cardboard and instrument straps (Poisa, & Adamovics, 2010). The oil from cannabis seeds is used in the production of varnishes, paints and lubricants. The use of the fibre in this ways reduces the need to cut down trees for pulp that makes paper products. Moreover, according to Poisa, & Adamovics, (2010), the marijuana plant can be used in place of cotton to make all types of clothing. Cotton is one of the products that need pesticides in its growth and therefore using cannabis as an auxiliary decreases usage of damaging chemicals. Additionally, the marijuana plant can be used as an alternative source of fuel. The hemp plant produces more biomass than any other crops grown in the nation. Biomass includes materials that can be converted to forms that are usable like ethanol and biodiesel which produce less carbon dioxide and reduced sulphur dioxide. Legalisation will increase the use of marijuana in ways that promote a healthy environment and promote sustainable development

Conclusion

Marijuana needs to be legalised and research supports this opinion. Marijuana has a lot of benefits raging from medical uses, economic advantages and its environmentally friendly nature. The legalisation has to be controlled to ensure the enacted policies are met. Marijuana is not harmful drug and it has even considered to be much safer than tobacco and alcohol. A great number of people have been brought up to believe cannabis is a dangerous drug that can lead to mental incapacity or has the potential to end the lives of people who consume it. A lot of people have a negative mind set towards marijuana but have never used it. Marijuana is not a harmful drug although its indiscriminate use can have negative impacts on mental and physical health but if used appropriately it benefits the consumer. In the debate about risks and relative harm associated with consuming cannabis, it has been proven to be way less harmful than other products such as tobacco and alcohol. Excessive drinking and smoking of cigarettes are among the most leading causes of preventable death in America. There however, is no record of the number of deaths caused by marijuana use. Doctors and surgeons have been involved in discussion and have called for the legalisation of marijuana in the interest of the public. It is surprising to learn of the different usefulness the cannabis plant has especially to the environment and in medicine. A great number of innovations would be made after the legalisation and would go a long way to solving a number of present issues.

References

Anderson, D. (2015). Top 10 reasons to legalise marijuana. Listland.com. Retrieved from: www.listland.com/top-10-reasons-to-legalize-marijuana/

Caulkins, J. P., Kilmer, B., & Kleiman, M. A. (2016). Marijuana legalisation: what everyone needs to know Oxford university press.

Crockett, T. (2014). Legalisation of marijuana.pdf

Ingraham, C. (2016). More and more doctors want to make marijuana legal. The Washington post.

Evans, D. (2013). The economic impacts of marijuana legalisation.pdf.

Leung, L. (2011). Cannabis and its derivatives: review of medical use. The journal of the American board of family medicine, 24(4), 452-462

Mary Lynn Mathre, R. N. (Ed.). (2012). Cannabis in medical practice: A legal, historical and pharmacological overview of the therapeutic use of marijuana. McFarland.

Poisa, L., & Adamovics, A. (2010). Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) as an environmentally friendly energy plant. Scientific journal of Riga technical university. Environmental and climate technologies, 5(1), 80-85.

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

William. (2018). Economic reasons to legalise marijuana. The motley fool. Retrieved from: https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/06/09/5-economic-reasons-to-legalise-marijuana.aspx