Medical Vs. Recreational

One question is often asked about the issue of legal cannabis, and that is to what extent should it be legalized? Medicinal marijuana is available in twenty states to those who need it, with two of those states also enacting laws which allow for recreational use. These states treat cannabis somewhat like alcohol, allowing people twenty one years and older to consume it in the privacy of their own home but not out in the open. This creates an awkward loophole because marijuana is still completely illegal under federal law, and federal law supersedes state law.  However, the federal government is not challenging the states’ laws that allow for use of cannabis, whether it is for medical or recreational use. At least, they haven't yet. 

Making marijuana illegal is very problematic because then users are forced to turn to the black market. In Colorado or Washington, where recreational use is now legal, users can simply go into a store and purchase their goodies without thinking twice. However, in most states marijuana is still totally illegal, so people have no choice but to buy from drug dealers. This adds an unnecessary criminal aspect to the marijuana market. Someone could get killed over a small amount of pot simply because of this criminal aspect. Furthermore, the prohibition of marijuana also fails to keep the drug out of the hands of America’s youth because drug dealers will sell to anyone who's paying. If cannabis was simply regulated in the same manner as alcohol and tobacco, it would be more effective in keeping the drug out of the hands of children because it would be sold at legitimate retail business who check for ID. For example, you don’t see drug dealers standing on the corner selling beer or cigarettes.

Cannabis should be legalized for both recreational and medical use. This system will work the best because an average citizen can go into a store and purchase quality marijuana for a somewhat reasonable price without fear of being arrested. Yet at the same time, a medical patient could walk into that same store and purchase their marijuana without having to pay steep taxes for their medicine. It is clear that the United States is seeing an increase in consumption of cannabis, and the two states with legal recreational marijuana have already seen a striking increase in tourism as well as economic growth. “Legalizing and regulating marijuana will bring the nation's largest cash crop under the rule of law, creating jobs and economic opportunities in the formal economy instead of the illicit market” (Drug Policy Alliance). With our country currently in a bad economic situation, now is the perfect time to legalize cannabis and reap the economic benefits.

"Marijuana Legalization and Regulation." Drug Policy Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 March 2014.

This was a very interesting article regarding the U.S. drug policy which makes the claim that marijuana should be removed from the Criminal Justice system and treated like alcohol and tobacco. The alliance claims that they were instrumental in raising funds for the passage of such legislation as Proposition 19 in California as well as the legalization of cannabis for recreational use in Washington and Colorado. The article claims that the criminalization of marijuana disproportionately harms young people and specifically people of color, the latter of which gave me an idea for a future blog post. Finally, this article gave me ideas as to exactly how the legalization of marijuana would play out in our country today.