Marijuana in the United States

Marijuana. It may seem like a taboo subject for a privileged 15-year-old girl who’s never been high before to have a strong opinion on, but I have seen too many good things come from the controversial plant to demonize it. Marijuana should be legal throughout the nation, and the United States is losing an uphill battle by keeping it banned from the public.

The United States government has been telling people since the early 20th century that marijuana is bad for you and will harm you if you use it. Until recent years, the majority of the population has blindly agreed with the system.

Studies from the University of California for Medical Cannabis Research have suggested that marijuana can actually help with chronic back pain and other serious medical issues such as epilepsy, autism and the effects of chemotherapy for cancer patients.

When compared to the rates of deaths of prescription drug overdoses and alcohol poisoning, marijuana seems harmless. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), drug overdose was the leading cause for death in the United States in 2012. CDC studies have also found that approximately 88,000 deaths were recorded as a result of alcohol poisoning. For the thousands of years that marijuana has been used, there has never been a recorded death caused as a direct result from using marijuana.

When talking to Dr. Dominic Corva, a visiting professor at Sarah Lawrence College from 2009-2013 and an affiliated researcher at  Humboldt State University in Arcata, California about the legalization of marijuana, he described to me the ways that Colorado and Washington benefit from legalizing marijuana.

“The financial benefits outway the social benefits by a lot,” said Corva. “The financial benefits include more jobs and more tax revenue. Socially, we’re moving towards a rational policy, potentially, whereas we had an irrational policy. We’re not all the way there yet at a rational policy, but at least we are moving past the conversation of it being a crime. I think it’s immensely helpful for everyone really because the more that policy corresponds with reality, the more states we have in our government.”

The U.S. could make a lot of money with marijuana becoming legal. It is a very taxable product that the American government could make money with hand-over-fist.

It is estimated that its costing taxpayers about ten billion dollars annually to keep marijuana illegal, according to Milton Friedman, a deceased professor who taught at The University of Chicago for three decades and received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. America could be spending ten billion dollars for much better purposes, especially since Americans are using the drug either way.

Gallup.com estimated that 38% of adults have ever tried marijuana or currently use marijuana.

Another issue people have with marijuana becoming legal is that it is a “gateway” drug to other harder drugs. The question is a valid one, but not one Dr. Corva thinks should be a cause for concern.

“The younger generation would use marijuana less frequently if it became legal,” says Dr. Corva.

If you look at it from a young person’s perspective, the statement makes logical sense. Kids want to rebel against what their parents do. It is seldom that a teenager aspires to be perfect for their parents. If you make it legal, there is nothing to rebel against.