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November 23rd 2016

Legalizing Marijuana

The Marijuana market throughout the years has drastically increased in British

Columbia. With more Canadians now using cannabis for their own recreational purposes,

the demand for marijuana is higher than ever. Yet there are those who are still opposed to

the legalization of marijuana and there reasons can be respected. Yes with having

marijuana available to the public youth will be able to access it easier. But Canada’s

children are already able to get it in their own ways. Legalizing the recreational use of

marijuana isn’t for allowing kids the get high easy and whenever they want. It’s to help

improve Canada’s economy while lowering crime rates and improving health issues.

Recreational use of marijuana should be legalized in order to improved Canada’s

economy while expanding the market and allowing Canada to benefit from these

changes.

Marijuana will always be the number one argument across Canada and

worldwide. Forever with two parties, one party supporting the other opposing. Neither

right nor wrong yet with the increased demand for marijuana now wouldn’t legalize only

provide only positive benefits. Recreational marijuana use should be legalized, as it will

improve our counties economy. The marijuana business today is nothing like the one

your parents grew up in, it has turned into a $19-21 billion dollar industry in Canada with

many people turning new leaf and joining this industry. Canadians spend up to around

$1.3 billion policing and prosecuting Canada’s marijuana industry each year. Yet

probably more than half those Canadians opposing have most likely tried marijuana in his

or her lifetime. So why not legalize? If the marijuana industry is already making this
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much money without any government or legal support, could you imagine if they did?

The economy would be booming with not only jobs but regulating cannabis could create

new sources of revenue for governments. It’s believed that 60 to 90% of marijuana grown

in Canada is “exported” to the United States. Now if Canada would legalize cannabis the

amount of money the government could gain through taxing it would be through the roof.

Source Canada health states, “The international Journal of Drug Policy, pegged the retail

value of marijuana consumption in B.C alone at between $443 million and $564 million”.

The study further estimated that legalizing the industry could generate $2.5 billion in

license fees and taxes over the next five years. “This market is quite sizable”, says UBC

business professor Werner Antweller. “The industry is likely larger than the study

suggests”, he adds, due to the export of “B.C bud” to the south and east. Other estimates

that factor in the value of cannabis export as well as internal consumption, pin the size of

the B.C industry at between $2 billion a year on cannabis products. Canadians bought

$9.1 billion worth of beer in 2011 according to Statistics Canada. That means an illegal

drug is already one-third the size of a legal industry that benefits from the national

advertising and a vaunted spot in Canadian culture. (March 18, 2013) Now with that

being fro, 2013, 3 years ago. In today’s time with our new Prime minister, Justin Trudeau

already making plans to legalize cannabis our economy will gain so much that will be

beneficial for us all.

A heavy reason Marijuana is still illegal is for the reasoning that,

Marijuana is a drug and drugs entail gangs and violence. People on the opposing party

can use this argument freely as it is one that should be a concern. However the

recreational use of marijuana should be legalized so it can help lower crime rates. The
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amount of crime and enforcement bases around cannabis is almost getting a little much.

The Canadian government has so much enforcement around marijuana and marijuana

alone. It’s time to start improving enforcing on other drugs and start moving public

money into more important topics such as education. Marijuana should become legal

because it will become less desirable for the public to want to sell it alone. Murders,

gangs, and drug money are going to be everywhere, no matter the enforcements. So with

that being said lets understand the process is takes to produce this “B.C bud” everyone

seems to want to get their hands on. First you need to get the marijuana and grow it,

hence what a grow op is. All still illegal in Canada and one of the reasons for gangs and

fights existing so heavily. Then once it’s grown you need your packers and suppliers and

dealers. Basically have your own full-blown industry, all completely illegal. People can

go on and on about how if you legalize marijuana, murders and gangs will only get worse

but when you think about it, it will only improve. Right now the reasons behind why

there are so many gangs and gang related violence based around cannabis is because it’s

still illegal. That is really the primary reason, since everything around the drug is said to

be “bad”. Or for example you just use marijuana for recreational use you’ve just now

entered yourself into the bad crowd. “Approximately 30,000 Canadians citizens are

charged with simple possession each year”. And “1.5 million Canadians have criminal

records for the possession of marijuana (John Howard Society). Now that doesn’t 1.5

million Canadians having a record for possession or marijuana seems a little much? And

“Approximately 50,000 Canadians are arrested each year for marijuana related crime”

(Stats Canada, 2001). ) All this petty crime based around marijuana needs to end, it’s just

a waste of time and money that should be focused on bigger crime related groups that are
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not just based around marijuana. Once cannabis becomes legal all the petty nonsense with

getting arrested for carrying marijuana will finally end, because let’s face it that’s not

really a crime. There of course needs to be enforcements around marijuana still but it

should be focused on the bigger things. The province “B.C had 140 homicides in 2008

more than in any other year, and the RCMP deemed 30 percent of those death were

“gang-related” now these homicides were not committed because marijuana is still illegal

but that does play a huge factor in them. And even when marijuana become legal you

won’t be able to stop these kinds of things, you can only hope to lower them.

Medical marijuana is already one that has been legalized. However the

recreational use of marijuana should be legalized so it can help with health issues there

has never been any history record of recreational use of marijuana causing any health

problems in Canada. Recreational use of marijuana should be legalized because it can

help health issues. The B.C already medical marijuana is already legal and both the

success rate and positive outcomes are great. “Canadian doctors prescribe marijuana to

more than 20,000 people to treat conditions ranging from Alzheimer’s, premenstrual

syndrome, seizures and migraines to glaucoma, MS, OCD, ADD and HIV/AIDS”. If a

pack of cigarettes be legal and everyone knows the harm that comes with them then why

can’t marijuana be? It is prescribed to help other big diseases and is used as a natural

source of pain relief. It’s evolving in a very positive way for people who need it. 2005

university of California study concluded that smoking marijuana even regularly and

heavily does not lead to lung cancer. Tobacco and alcohol are both legal and can cause

many health issues and also addiction problems. Marijuana has never been found to cause

either. So then why are you able to go to the corner store and get a pack of cigarettes but
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can’t do the same with marijuana since it is illegal. Drinking too much and smoking too

much both have very bad effects on the human body, yet cannabis has none so it

shouldn’t be looked at different than those two things, if anything its almost better for

you in the outcome. If you can give it to a cancer patient as a source or pain relief then it

being legalized for just recreational use should happen.

Recreational use of marijuana should be legalized in Canada because it is time

that Canada’s economy can sky rocket from the positive benefits of allowing this market

to be legal. Our country can grow with this industry finally becoming legal. With the

amount of money being produced with the market already, the possibilities that could

happen with legalizing marijuana are incredible.

References
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BC Hydro (2007). Marijuana grow ops safety and electrical theft. Retrieved from

http://www.bchydro.com/saftey/diversions

Ivens, A. (2007, November 11). Would Legalization make the bud less bloody? The

Province, p. A8, A9.

Skelton, C. (2005, March 11). Out of control: Criminal justice system ‘on the brink of

imploding’. The Vancouver sun.  Retrieved from

http//.www.canadajusticereviewboard.ca

Stop the Violence BC Coalition. (2011) Breaking the Silence: Cannabis prohibition,

organized crime and gang violence in British Columbia. Retrieved from

http://stoptheviolencebc.org

Wodak, A., Reinarman, C. & Cohen P. (2002) Cannabis control: Costs outweigh the

benefits.

British Medical Journal, 324(7329), 105-109.