Cailey Karshmer

Dr. Loeser and Dr. Mayer

Honors 222 A

08 June 2021

Should Marijuana Be Legalized? A Complete History and Analysis of Current Marijuana Laws

Introduction:

Over the years, marijuana has been a popular topic of debate. The subject of its current

controversy stems from both its clinical use in the state-sanctioned dispensaries and its position

in public policy. Despite its current federal ban, many states have passed legislation legalizing

the drug for both medical and recreational use. However, during this entire debate over the

legality of marijuana, the voices of doctors, scientists, and pharmacists have been quiet. Much of

the debate has been shaped by the media. Media portrayal of the drug and its use have then been

backed by politicians and advocacy groups.

This paper will address the complexity of the debate over marijuana by focusing on the

uses of marijuana throughout history, explaining when and why the drug was made illegal,

discussing the various pros and cons of legalizing marijuana in both the states and federally, and

exploring the conflicting opinions between the state governments, the federal law, and the

opinions of doctors and physicians prescribing the drug in order to demonstrate how the

legalization of marijuana is beneficial to society in many different ways including medically,

economically, and socially.

A Brief History of Marijuana:

Marijuana usage dates back to 2900 BC. Ancient Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi noted that

cannabis was a very popular medicine. Later, in 2700 BC, Chinese Emperor Shen Nung, who is
considered the Father of Chinese medicine, discovered the healing properties of marijuana as

well as those of two other Chinese herbal medicines. While the first recorded uses of marijuana

were recorded in ancient China, the drug was being used all around the globe including in

The Middle East, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, and India. There are even mentions of

marijuana in the Book of Exodus where it was noted that “the ancient, anointed ones were

literally drenched in” a mixture of cannabis, olive oil, and a variety of other fragrant herbs (7). In

Egypt, the drug was found on the mummy of Ramesses II who died in 1213 BC. Additionally,

prescriptions for cannabis were used in treatments for glaucoma, inflammation, cooling the

uterus, and administering enemas.

The use of marijuana continued to grow into the 1600s through the 1800s. It was during

this time period that marijuana was introduced to North America. In 1611 and throughout the

colonial period, Jamestown settlers brought the marijuana plant, commonly known as hemp, as it

was an important export. In the 1760’s Virginia even awarded bounties for hemp culture and

manufacture. Marijuana became more widespread throughout this time period. There are reports

that both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp. It was not until the 1840’s

however that marijuana became a mainstream medicine in the west.

Throughout the 1800s marijuana became more popular as a medicine worldwide. The

drug started to be used as a medicine in the west at this time as well as in the United Kingdom. In

the United Kingdom, cannabis was introduced as a medicine in 1840 where it was used for a

variety of reasons including muscle spasms, menstrual cramps, rheumatism, rabies, and epilepsy.

Within the next few years, marijuana was officially in the United States Pharmacopeia which is

an official public authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines. This meant that
marijuana was listed as a treatment for many different ailments including rabies, alcoholism,

opiate addictions, tonsilitis, and leprosy as a few examples.

It wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the Food and Drug Act required labeling of all

medicine including marijuana. In 1906, President Roosevelt signed the Food and Drugs Act, or

more commonly known as the Wiley Act, which prohibited the sale of misbranded, adulterated,

or poisonous food, drugs medicines, or liquors. Essentially, it required that manufacturers list

cannabis on their labels so that bothered consumers could avoid it. This was the first attempt to

federally regulate marijuana. Bans on marijuana started in Massachusetts in 1911. Many states

followed soon after in the 1910s. In California, these laws were only passed as a regulatory

initiative to discourage the use of the drug.

In 1915, President Wilson signed the Harrison Act. The Harrison Act stated that opium

could be exported or import for medical purposes. It also imposed a special tax on all persons

who wanted to sell, distribute, or give away opium or coca leaves. This act also required that

every physician who prescribed opium or any of its derivatives put a serial number, which could

only be obtained from the Internal Revenue Department, on each prescription. This meant that

every doctor who wanted to prescribe narcotics was required to register annually with the federal

government. The Harrison Act, however, did not apply to marijuana. Instead, it became the

model for drug regulation on the federal level (Terry, 1915). It is widely considered as the basis

for the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This act highly regulated the importation, cultivation,

possession, and distribution of marijuana. Under this act, importers were required to register and

pay an annual tax. The marijuana tax stamp was never available for private use (Musto, 1991).
 In 2012 marijuana became legalized for recreational use in both Colorado and

Washington state. Since then, marijuana has become legal for recreational use in over half of the

states.

While marijuana is currently legal in many states, according to federal law, it is still illegal. In

the 1970s marijuana was classified as a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act.

Under this act, the classification of a substance depends on two things: the substance’s medical

effectiveness and the abuse potential of the substance. In order for a substance to be classified as

a Schedule 1 drug, it must have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a high

potential for abuse, and a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under

medical supervision. Other substances that are currently classified as Schedule I drugs include

heroin, LSD, and psilocybin. Schedule II substances also have a high potential for abuse which

could lead to severe psychological and/or physical dependence. However, they are currently

accepted for medical use in the United States. Schedule II substances include most opioids and

stimulants.

Schedule I substances are heavily regulated. They cannot be prescribed and can only be

lawfully dispensed and possessed as part of a federally approved research program. In order to

do research on a substance that has been classified as Schedule I, researchers must obtain a

Schedule I research registration as well as a state Schedule I research license if their state

requires it. These processes can be particularly challenging to obtain. Further, the research

registration is both substance and protocol-specific. People who are interested in conducting

research on marijuana must obtain the cannabis through the National Institute on Drug Abuse

which, historically, contracted on the University of Mississippi to cultivate the different varieties

of cannabis (Mead, 2017).

 Currently, most patients who receive permission to use medical marijuana have chronic

pain. However, in the states that currently allow the use of medical marijuana, physicians are

only allowed to recommend marijuana to patients, not prescribe it. Medical marijuana has been

approved in many states to treat a wide range of conditions. This includes cancer, chronic pain,

epilepsy, glaucoma, severe nausea, and more. Though, states with approved uses of medical

marijuana all have their own rules on what conditions have approved uses of the drug.

Why was Marijuana Made Illegal?:

In order to determine why marijuana first became illegal, it is important to understand the

War on Drugs. First, looking at current statistics involving race and drug arrests, it is clear that

there is a connection between race and drug possession and use arrests. In the United States, drug

laws are enforced in a manner that is very biased. Currently one out of every three black men in

their twenties is now in prison or jail or on probation for drug use. Further, almost half of the

seven hundred thousand annual marijuana arrests are of Latinos (Small, 2001). The current racial

bias that exists now has been influenced by years of prejudice that has helped to create and

advance the War on Drugs.

This connection between race and drug arrests is actually what lead to the current

marijuana laws and explains why the drug became illegal in the first place. Following the

Mexican Revolution in 1910, there was massive immigration of Mexicans in the South. This

brought a different language and culture to the south that most southerners were not used to. This

was especially hard for the south as they were unprepared for the migration of new people into

their region, especially considering that this migration occurred just after the civil war and during

the Jim Crow era. The south was already struggling to recognize the humanity of people they
live in cohabitation with for the past three centuries, so the migration of a new people into their

land was difficult.

Along with a new language, Mexican immigrants brought cannabis with them for

recreational use. However, they called it marijuana, a word many Americans were unfamiliar

with. Media outlets in the south latched onto this new word and soon began to use

fear-mongering tactics and equated marijuana use with crimes committed by Mexican

immigrants. They typically blew these crimes out of proportion and often portrayed them

inaccurately. Essentially, media outlets were able to trick southerners into believing that

marijuana was causing Mexican immigrants to commit horrible crimes. After the Great

Depression, the high unemployment rates and financial strain caused even more resentment

towards the Mexican immigrants because they were used for cheap labor, which happened to be

many of the jobs that laid-off Americans were seeking at the time. By the early 1930s, there was

high hysteria surrounding marijuana across the United States. So much so that 29 states had

outlawed the use of marijuana. Anti-marijuana campaigns started strictly as a means of racial

oppression which served to increase public prejudice towards Mexican immigrants as well as

fear towards marijuana.

Henry Anslinger, the head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, was the main proponent in

helping to spread the widespread fear of marijuana. According to Anslinger, the prohibition of

marijuana was a lifeline to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, and he worked hard to cause and

maintain public fear of the drug. He continuously referred to marijuana as “evil weed” and he

would spread false information that lacked evidence about the effects and impacts of marijuana

on the youth (Alajmi & Varmus, 2018).

 At first, Anslinger’s focus was on the spread of narcotics, and his policies were

particularly effective in controlling their spread. It wasn’t until he received great pressure from

states in the south as well as congressmen and media outlets that he turned his focus to

marijuana. He commonly promoted themes such as racism, violence, and sexually transmitted

diseases in order to further his campaign against marijuana. Despite the science saying

otherwise, the general population and legislators still believed the ideas that Anslinger was

promoting. During the congressional hearings regarding the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937,

Anslinger was one of the few people to testify about the necessity of fighting the growing

marijuana epidemic (Holifield, 2013).

In the 1960s, marijuana became more widespread as more people started using the drug

including white, upper-class college students. However, Richard Nixon opposed the use of

marijuana and he called for more punitive measures against it. In 1970, despite recommendations

from the National Committee of Marihuana and Drug Abuse, Nixon declared the drug as a

Schedule I substance. This started the War on Drugs. Nixon’s creation of the War on Drugs was

also used to further many other political campaigns that came after him. In 1986, Ronald Reagan

passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which instated minimum sentences for drug-related crimes.

This, along with the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 equated 100 grams of marijuana

to 100 grams of heroin. George Bush issued a new War on Drugs when he referred to drugs as

the biggest domestic threat on national television. Then, in 1994, Bill Clinton passed the Violent

Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act which created a three-strike rule meaning that any

person convicted of the same or similar crime three times was mandated to a life sentence.

The little scientific research done on the drug in the United States regarding its safety has

actually shown marijuana to not be accurately represented in the media. However, due to the
prohibitive laws and policies, research on the drug has been heavily restricted. The most

extensive research has only been conducted in the past few years. Some of this research even

indicates that there is a need to reform marijuana law. Currently, much of the conversation

surrounding the legalization of marijuana has been focused on long term effects of its legality. If

proper dosing of the drug along with strict regulation is enforced, it would be possible to

promote the safe use of the drug (Alajmi & Varmus, 2018).

Cons of Legalizing Marijuana:

In recent years, there have been significant shifts in attitude towards marijuana for both

medical and recreational use. However, there are many potential problems with the approval,

production, dispensation, administration, and effects on the health of marijuana. Legalizing

marijuana for both medical and recreational could have many negative and potentially dangerous

effects on public health. As an addictive, gateway, drug, marijuana has the potential to

significantly impair bodily and mental functions as well as increasing violence. The legalization

of marijuana will lead to more overall use which will increase the rates of addiction, and it would

increase adolescent use of the drug.

First, marijuana is an addictive drug. Despite the growing myth among the public stating

that marijuana is not an addictive substance, data clearly shows that about ten percent of those

who use cannabis become addicted. This number is even higher in adolescents. Further, users

who seek treatment for their addiction, have been using the drug for an average of ten years of

daily use. Withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, anger and aggression, nervousness or

anxiety, and sleep difficulty exist. A withdrawal syndrome has been described consisting of

many of the symptoms listed above. This syndrome affects as many as forty-four percent of

frequent users. This contributes to the addictive potential of the drug. While marijuana is not as
addictive as some opiates, it is still addictive. The common misconception that it is not,

especially in adolescents, is misguided and potentially harmful to their health.

Marijuana has also been consistently shown to be a risk factor for schizophrenia and

other psychotic disorders. The link between marijuana and schizophrenia fulfills many of the

standard criteria for the establishment of causation, including experimental evidence, temporal

precedence, and biological plausibility. Marijuana use could be shown to cause or precipitate

schizophrenia in a genetically vulnerable population. Additionally, the risk of psychotic disorders

is more pronounced when marijuana is used at a younger age (Wilkinson, 2013). Further,

short-term marijuana use could cause coordination disorders, impaired memory and judgment,

and psychotic episodes. Long-term use has also been associated with cardiovascular events,

mental health disorders, addictions, and respiratory disorders similar to those linked with tobacco

use.

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the primary component that is responsible for the

physiological effects of marijuana. The effects of THC can vary greatly depending on the method

of consumption; however, inhalation is the most common method and it also delivers the highest

levels of THC to the body (Marcoux et al., 2013). Because marijuana is the only ‘medication’

that is smoked, there are still many concerns about its long-term effects on the lungs. When

compared with cigarettes, it has been found that marijuana smoke can result in more than three

times the inhaled tar and more than four times the amount of inhaled carbon monoxide.

There have also been few studies that show that smoking marijuana is a risk factor for lung

cancer. Evidence suggests that the use of marijuana has been associated with negative effects to

other organ systems including the reproductive, gastrointestinal, and immune systems. Further,

because marijuana is not subjected to much regulatory oversight, and because it is grown in
dispensaries that are regulated by the states (and some states have practically non-existent

regulatory standards), the crude marijuana products have a high potential of being contaminated

with fungus or mold (Wilkinson, 2013). There have also been incidences of pesticides and other

contaminants found within drugs. The consumption of the found contaminants could lead to

serious health problems (Gregorio, 2013).

Also, as a direct result of the lack of regulatory standards, marijuana growers often breed

their plants to have different concentrations of chemical compounds. This means that without

thorough research, there is no way of knowing which combinations could be potentially helpful

or which could be deleterious. Thus, there could be many unknown and unanticipated short-term

and long-term effects of the different cannabinoids being produced by different breeders

(Wilkinson, 2013). Therefore, the amount of THC in different cannabis products can vary

greatly. In some confiscated samples, the levels of THC varied from four percent in the 1980s

to ten percent in the 2000s (Marcoux et al., 2013). In some states, even, patients are permitted to

grow their own marijuana. This causes problems such as contamination of other chemicals and

varying concentrations of THC. This practice also invites what is known as drug diversion. This

is when patients seeking to benefit financially may bypass the local regulation of marijuana

products and sell their own home-grown marijuana at decreased prices compared to other

dispensaries (Wilkinson, 2013).

Legalizing marijuana will also create an unsafe environment for drivers on the road. In

Colorado, over fifty percent of regular marijuana believed that it was safe to drive under the

influence of marijuana when surveyed by the Colorado Department of Transportation. Within the

group of people who believed that it was safe to drive under the influence, about fifty-five

percent said that they had driven high within the past thirty days. Even more surprisingly, they
reported that within the past thirty days they had driven high an average of twelve times. Further,

in an analysis of federal traffic fatality data, it was found that the number of Colorado drivers

involved in fatal car accidents who tested positive for marijuana has more than doubled since

2013.

Lastly, should marijuana be legalized, studies suggest that there would be an increase in

marijuana-related educational problems in schools. In Colorado, drug violations in K-12 schools

have increased by forty-five percent even as the combined number of all other violations has

decreased. In high school, drug violations have increased by over seventy percent. Additionally,

school suspensions for drug-related offenses have increased by forty-five percent. Marijuana is

also the number one substance found in suicides of Colorado youth aged ten to nineteen years

old. The legalization of marijuana would create unsafe environments for school-aged children

(Evans, 2019).

The main reasons that marijuana was illegalized originally stem from racism and false

information spread by government officials and the media. Further, the government and political

officials currently control the drug rather than scientists, doctors, and physicians. The voices of

doctors and scientists have actually been pretty silent on the issue. It would be beneficial to have

more doctors, scientists, and researchers speak about the benefits and disadvantages to marijuana

rather than being forced to only listen to the media and government officials. Learning about the

actual science behind the drug will be beneficial in increasing public knowledge about the drug.

However, due to its current classification as a Schedule I drug, little research can actually be

done on marijuana. Because of the government control of the drug, it is impossible to learn about

its many potential benefits, and thus, it could never have the potential to actually help people

experiencing the vast amount of conditions marijuana has historically treated.

Pros of Legalizing Marijuana in a Medical Sense:

Despite the many cons of legalizing marijuana, many pros exist. First, there are many

pain-relieving properties of marijuana. The nerve signals that our brain interprets as pain

originates in receptor cells that are activated by temperature, touch, movement, or even chemical

changes. The pain that is felt can be acute or chronic. For acute pain, opiates are typically

prescribed. However, for chronic pain, opiates rarely provide relief. Even if they are effective,

they usually cause unpleasant side effects including nausea and sedation that can become a

burden to long-term opiate users. Cannabinoids, however, have shown much promise in basic

experiments on pain. Cannabinoids have appeared to block peripheral nerve pain in experiments

on animals. This suggests that opiates and cannabinoids work through different mechanisms to

suppress pain. This is an especially encouraging finding because it suggests that marijuana-based

medications could be combined with opiates to not only boost their pain-relieving power but also

to help curb their side effects (Mack & Joy, 2011). This could help patients who are long-term

opiate users as it offers an alternative option for pain relief. Developing a tolerance to opiates

over months or years is not uncommon, and many patients are forced to continuously increase

their dosage. Marijuana serves as an alternative option for patients.

Additionally, because of the current legal status of marijuana, many patients may be

discouraged from providing an accurate and complete medical history. Due to the fact that the

drug is currently illegal, many patients will risk not telling their physician that they use the drug

in fear of being reported for illegal drug usage. Hiding this information can potentially be very

harmful to the patient. If a doctor is unaware that their patient has been using marijuana, they

might prescribe other medications that can result in adverse drug interactions with the marijuana

(Marcoux et al., 2013). The legalization of marijuana on a federal level could help solve this
unique problem. Patients using the drug will no longer fear telling their physicians about their

usage of cannabis because they will not fear getting caught using an illegal substance. There

would be much less risk to patients and their providers as there will be less worry about

prescribing other medications that could have adverse effects in conjunction with the marijuana

the patients are using.

Though on the whole, the medical and scientific communities have not had a large voice

in this debate, many proponents in the medical community argue for marijuana use based on its

effectiveness in managing many different conditions including chronic and debilitating pain,

nausea and vomiting especially as it is associated with chemotherapy, as well as its ability to

treat severe weight loss as experienced by people with AIDS. The uses of medical marijuana are

endless. Further, it could be used as a stand-alone treatment or as a complement to other

conventional treatments and drugs. Patients should have a right to all beneficial treatments and

denying them this right violates their basic human rights.

While it is evident that there are many positive uses for marijuana, and it has the ability to

provide alternative and additional treatment options to patients, legalizing marijuana, or

changing its classification to a schedule II substance rather than a schedule I substance, would

create a safer and more standardized environment for the manufacturing and distribution of

marijuana. If marijuana continues to be unregulated on the federal level, many patients will be

forced to seek other options for obtaining marijuana. This would risk possible legal and health

repercussions as they attempt to alleviate their condition. Utilizing the proper legal and medical

controls will provide an effective strategy to identify and prevent the health hazards associated

with the use of marijuana. It can also help reduce the legal prosecution faced with the use of

unregulated marijuana.
 Along with this, the FDA would be able to better regulate the amount of THC present in

medical marijuana should it be legalized. If FDA regulation was present, the THC concentration

and the concentration of other potentially hazardous compounds in marijuana would be

controlled. This would reduce the harmful effects that have the potential to impact the patient’s

overall health.

Legalizing marijuana also provides the benefit of increasing the amount and type of

research that could be done on the drug which would allow for more pure forms of smoked

marijuana and lead to more cost-effective options and alternatives for patients. Previous studies

have shown that marijuana has therapeutic value in that it can help control pain as well as

alleviate symptoms of multiple sclerosis and AIDS. Currently, the most effective cannabinoid

treatment for patients is smoked marijuana. However, due to the varying concentrations of THC

in the plant due to the lack of current FDA regulations, and the fact that the method of ingestion

is inhaled smoke, there is the potential of some adverse effects. The development of a purer form

of marijuana with less toxic compounds would help to reduce the harmful effects of smoked

marijuana. This would also increase the benefits of marijuana. Further, while alternatives to

marijuana do currently exist, such as Marinol, Nabilone, and Sativex, they are less cost-effective

and have proven to be less effective in helping to manage and treat pain in patients. Marijuana

continues to be the most cost-effective option in treating pain and is also the most cost-effective

treatment available. The reclassification of marijuana would allow for more research on the drug

in order to create better alternatives and new options for pain treatment (Clark et al., 2011).
 By legalizing marijuana, patients would have access to more treatment options that are

typically less expensive than others. Marijuana has been proven to help ease and treat pain in a

variety of different conditions including cancer, AIDS, chronic pain, and it has even been shown

to help treat and manage epilepsy. The legalization of the drug also helps to create a safer

environment for patients and their prescribing physicians. Patients would no longer have to

worry about admitting to using an illegal substance. Additionally, prescribing physicians no

longer have to worry about prescribing or even recommending an illegal drug to their patients.

Because marijuana works to treat pain in a way that is different than opiates and other types of

pain medication, it has the ability to be used in conjunction with these other drugs or as a

stand-alone option. Either way, the legalization of marijuana will provide additional and

alternative pain treatment options to patients. Further, the legalization of marijuana will lead to

increased research on the drug. With this research, marijuana will be produced in better, safer,

and more consistent ways to help control the amounts of THC and other chemical compounds

within the plant. The regulation of marijuana will aid in creating a safer environment for users of

the drug. The new research on marijuana will potentially also lead to the discovery of new drugs

similar to marijuana that are effective at treating pain and that are also cost-effective. From a

medical and scientific standpoint, it is clear that there are currently many positive uses for

marijuana as a treatment for pain.

Economic Impact of Legalizing Marijuana:

One area where marijuana legalization could have a significant impact is through

increasing the state tax revenue. In Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and California, significant

excise taxes on recreational marijuana use have been imposed along with the standard state sales

tax and other local taxes and licensing fees. In Colorado, recreational marijuana use brings in
almost twenty million dollars per month. This increase in state revenue from marijuana sales will

allow states to have more funds to pay for public services such as fixing and building the

interstate and highway system or helping to fund the public education system. This increase in

revenue for the state can generate substantial revenue for investments in people and communities

that will provide social and economic benefits in the long term (Dills et al., 2021).

Federal and state governments have had several options for taxes on the legal marijuana industry.

For example, a federal excise tax on marijuana similar to the excise tax on cigarettes,

approximately twenty-three dollars per pound of product, would raise almost five hundred

million dollars in additional revenue for the federal government. At the state level, taxes on

marijuana similar to those imposed by Washington and Colorado could increase the state’s

revenue by thirteen billion dollars nationally with even more money coming from a normal sales

tax (Ekins & Henchman, 2016). The legalization of marijuana will allow for an increase in

revenue to the federal government which would allow for more funding and an expansion of

recourses nationwide.

Legalizing marijuana will decrease the amount of money and resources used on

enforcement of the prohibition on marijuana. Should marijuana be legalized, there would be a

reduction in police resources from the reduction of drug arrests, a reduction in judicial and

prosecutorial recourses from fewer cases being tried in the courts, and a reduction in the

correctional resources from the elimination of drug interactions. Rather than focusing many

resources on preventing the use and spread of marijuana, those resources could be used to help in

other areas. The money saved from legalizing marijuana can be used to help better public

services, fund the police systems, and fund the judicial systems.
 Legalizing marijuana will also help create more jobs for people. The legalization of

marijuana has created a number of jobs paying benefits and hourly wages above the legal

minimum wage. Further, the legalization has created a new labor market for people with specific

skills and experience. In states that legalize marijuana, there will be an immediate net growth in

production jobs as well as in retail jobs requiring extensive customer interaction (Doussard,

2017). The number of American jobs that currently depend on legal cannabis has risen to almost

three-hundred thousand jobs. By comparison, the coal mining industry has about fifty-two

thousand jobs in the United States. Even job searching websites such as Glassdoor have reported

a dramatic rise in job openings in the cannabis industry after the legalization of marijuana in

many states (Barcott, 2019). Legalizing marijuana will help create new jobs which, in turn, will

help to decrease the unemployment rate in the country.

Pros of Legalizing Marijuana from a Public Health Standpoint:

In a social and public health sense, there are immense benefits to legalizing marijuana. In

a recent paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, economists reviewed

dozens of studies investigating the health consequences of medical marijuana laws. They

concluded that there are three key ways that the legalization of marijuana improves public health

outcomes. They include reductions in tobacco consumption, reduced alcohol use and traffic

deaths, and a decline in the number of violent crimes.

First, the legalization of marijuana will lead to a life-saving reduction in tobacco

consumption. According to the CDC, one of the leading causes of preventable death in the world

is smoking tobacco. Marijuana, on the other hand, has been linked to substantially lower

mortality rates and has been used as a treatment for several serious or long-term health

conditions. Many studies have concluded that there is a negative association between cigarette
and tobacco usage and marijuana use. The legalization of marijuana for medical uses has been

associated with a six percent decrease in cigarette use among teenagers and a twelve percent

decrease in the frequency of teen smoking. Further, it has been shown that the legalization of

marijuana for recreational use has been associated with a twelve percent decrease in the demand

for tobacco products.

Next, the decriminalization of marijuana could decrease alcohol use as well as decrease

traffic deaths. According to studies conducted in 2013 and 2019, it was found that medical

marijuana laws are associated with a very sharp decrease in past-month alcohol usage and binge

drinking. These laws also can decrease the retail sales of alcoholic beverages by up to twelve

percent. Further, recreational marijuana law adoptions can lead to a six percent decrease in binge

drinking among college-aged students, and legalizing recreational marijuana can lead to a five

percent decrease in alcohol sales. A study conducted in 2014 by Kelly and Rasul looked at the

data on alcohol-related hospital admissions. They were able to experiment with marijuana

“depenalization.” In this study, possession of small quantities of marijuana was no longer a

prosecutable crime. Because of this, there were large reductions in alcohol-related

hospitalizations for males aged fifteen through twenty-four. Thus, it was concluded that this

group treated alcohol and marijuana as substitutes.

Lastly, the opening of dispensaries has been associated with a drastic decrease in violent

crime offenses. The violent crime offenses within a half-mile radius of a dispensary in

neighborhoods with above-median income have shown a significant decrease in crime rates.

Beyond this, dispensary openings are associated with thirteen percent fewer hard drug and

alcohol-related crimes. This suggests that marijuana sales are substitutes for hard drugs and

alcohol. Further analysis has determined that medical marijuana law adoption by states on the
Mexican border experienced over a twelve percent decrease in the violent crime rates, which was

driven primarily by robberies, homicide, and aggravated assaults. Medical marijuana laws have

also been associated with a forty-one percent decrease in drug-law-related homicides which is

consistent with the current hypothesis that medical marijuana laws reduce violent crimes

committed by drug trafficking organizations (Anderson & Rees, 2021).

Conclusion:

Marijuana has been a very popular topic of debate throughout the last few years.

Currently, the controversy of the drug stems from its clinical use as well as its position within

public policy. Despite federal bans on the drug, and its classification as a Schedule I substance,

many states have passed laws legalizing the drug for both medical and recreational use.

However, despite marijuana’s long history of use and its proven ability to help treat and manage

a vast number of conditions, federal law refuses to change its stance on the legalization of

marijuana. Even just changing the classification of the drug from a Schedule I substance to a

schedule II substance would provide immense benefits to both physicians prescribing marijuana

as well as the patients receiving the drug.

While many cons to legalizing marijuana do exist, it is clear that the benefits of the drug

outweigh its potential risks. Marijuana has a wide range of benefits ranging from its medical uses

to its value within the economy to the impact it has on public health and social outcomes within

society. Many of the cons of legalizing marijuana can also be reduced with careful planning and

regulation once the drug has been legalized.

One current problem with marijuana is that it is unregulated so the amount of THC can

vary greatly. This causes potential problems because of how little research has been conducted

on the effects of different concentrations of THC within the plant. However, the legalization of
marijuana will solve this problem. The legalization of marijuana will result in further research

being conducted on the drug to learn about the effects of varying concentrations of THC. This

research will help to determine the appropriate amount of THC to include in each plant and how

to achieve that. Also, it will still be highly regulated and controlled. This will lead to less

variation among marijuana plants grown leading to a more standard level of THC. Further, the

research conducted will help find other alternatives to marijuana that could also be beneficial to

patients.

Medically, marijuana will provide additional and alternative options to patients to treat a

wide variety of conditions ranging from chronic pain to epilepsy. Because the drug works in a

different way than opiates and other typical pain medications, it can be used in conjunction with

other drugs to help provide more relief to patients overall. Beyond just the medical benefits of

the drug, its legalization has the ability to help improve the economy by increase state and

federal revenue as well and creating a new job market and decreasing unemployment. Lastly, the

legalization of marijuana benefits public health and social outcomes as it works to decrease

tobacco and alcohol consumption. Marijuana legalization has also been associated with

decreased crime rates.

The benefits of the legalization of marijuana seem obvious. While risks are involved,

careful regulation and planning by drug associations can help to minimize the risks while still

seeing the benefits of legalization.

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