Legalizing Marijuana: Turning the Golden State into the Green State
- Janae Jo Randall
- Nov 16, 2015
- 5 min read
Marijuana, an illicit Schedule I drug, or presently assumed as a medicinal aid, is thought to not only boost your health but possibly the economy along with it. Currently, 20 states from the US have legalized possession of marijuana for medicinal purposes, four of which have legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Many believe that this is an unlawful act that could deteriorate the economy, raise rates of teen drug abuse, or cause harmful effects of brain development to users; however, I honestly believe that the state of California could solely benefit economically to the legalization of recreational and medical marijuana. California is known to have an economy that has higher tax rates, lack of natural resources, budget cuts due to the deficiency of funds, inflation in prices state wide, low wage earners, and not to mention, the $340 billion debt. According to statistics from norml.org, marijuana has become the top ranking cash crop in California over the past couple years, but laws against recreational and medical use of marijuana in California have cut the ability to be able tax the distribution and sales of marijuana which could in return raise up to $200-$300 million dollars in one year reflecting on the sales made in both Washington and Colorado from the years 2014-2015. (Wanlund. “Marijuana Industry.” CQ Researcher).
Many Americans, whether political authorities or the common people, believe that legalizing use of marijuana, will only increase the teen drug abuse rates. Often times the public’s majority opinion soon become laws or ideas for laws due to the influence of society to politics. Most Americans think that more teenagers are prone to smoke marijuana on a daily basis to the recent relaxation of laws towards marijuana. However, Lloyd D. Johnston, a senior research scientist at the University of Michigan, along with other drug specialists recognize that not all teens who smoke marijuana become dependent on it. Even so, the National Institute on Drug Abuse or NIDA, cited studies revealing that marijuana is less addictive than other drugs including alcohol. (Katel. “Legalizing Marijuana.” CQ Researcher.) Though, addiction to marijuana is not impossible it is an unlikely event that should not be of high concern when basing a decision on California’s economy and the benefits that legalizing marijuana can bring.
The belief that marijuana is likely to cause harmful effects of brain development and other problematic occurrences is one that is often talked about among Americas. However, what they fail to realize, is that based on numerous studies cannabis has been known to aid with health issues including seizures, nausea from chemotherapy, chronic pain, glaucoma, and other various medical conditions dated back to times of B.C. Marijuana is currently recognized as helping the side effects of cancer. Marijuana has shown to alleviate muscle spasms and chronic pain associated to epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries. Marijuana has also been effective in reducing internal eye pressure caused by glaucoma. California, a state which holds over 12% of Americans, currently doesn’t allow physicans to prescribe marijuana to help relieve the suffering of these patients, but based on a Harvard University study, about 50% of physicians surveyed would prescribe marijuana to some of their patients if it was legal. This would not only benefit the patients in the long run, but the economy, by the amount of money and interest they would gain from being able to tax the medical marijuana sales.
Many believe that a large abundance of marijuana users can deteriorate the economy by raising rates of poor work ethnic which can in return lead to a dependence on welfare and other state aid offered in California. According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, approximately 35% of Americans are on welfare and almost half of those Americans reside in California. The government spends almost $139,900,000 on welfare, not including food stamps or unemployment. (CNS News. "The 35.4 Percent: 109,631,000 on Welfare.") However, looking at the estimated rates of how much California would gain just by legalizing marijuana, is doubled what the government even spends on welfare and that’s just profit from one state, not all 50. Also, what many people don’t know is that there are basically two types of marijuana plants which cause different side effects, cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. Not all types of marijuana cause the stereotypical side effects of “sleepiness” and “laziness.” In fact, cannabis sativa is well known for its cerebral high compared to indica which produces a “body high.” This is due to sativa containing more CBD or cannabidiol, which in return does not make the user “high,” because unlike TCH it does not bind to cannabinoid 1 and 2 receptors in our bodies. Normally these receptors result in suppression of the immune system including production of inflammation mediators and immune cell activation, because of the TCH contained in marijuana. Yet, cannabis sativa creates the opposite effect by reducing psychoactive effects which in return does not create a high but decreases anxiety and free radical cell damage. CBD is thought to be more potent than both vitamin C and E, so thinking realistically cannabis sativa is generating your body to be healthy and more active, thus breaking away from the stereotypical thoughts about getting “high” off of marijuana. (Dr. Gupta. Medical Marijuana Journal.) Yet, many do not realize that marijuana does not necessarily intertwine with poor work ethnic because side effects are different based on the person and the type of marijuana plant. It is not ethical to base an opinion that marijuana usage leads to poor work habits when there are various reasons on why a person is not productive or proactive in being employed.
There are several reasons why Californians believe legalizing marijuana could result in damaging events, including a rise in teen drug abuse rates, harmful effects to one’s brain and body, and the poor proceedings on managing the economy through poor work ethnic and dependence on government aid. However, I believe it to be not only an advantage to California’s economy but to the people in medical need of marijuana. Even Tom Ammianto, a Democratic state assemblyman from San Francisco, made the comment, “Our drug policies have failed; the state of California is in dire economic need, we're looking at a perfect storm,” relating to the debate of legalizing marijuana in California. (Katel. “Legalizing Marijuana.” CQ Researcher.) California would be estimated to produce anywhere from 200-300 million dollars in one year just from taxing sales and circulation of marijuana recreationally and medically. This money would cover more than 2x what America spends on welfare in one year, and could be used towards other aid that California supplies. Also, marijuana has been seen as a beneficiary in the medical business rather than damaging to the body, in cases of cancer patients, people suffering from chronic pain, and individuals experiencing discomfort from epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and glaucoma. Furthermore, less teenagers become addicted to marijuana than other drugs including alcohol. All in all, marijuana has been thrown out to America as a “bad drug,” without research of how and why it can benefit our economy financially. I personally think it is in California’s best interest to consider legalizing marijuana in the year of 2016 in order to better the issues with the economy. As Bill Piper, national affairs director of National Drug Alliance Network, stated “….regulation is far superior to prohibition.” (Kaufman. “Smoking in the US Declines Sharply.” The Washington Post.)
Works Cited
Katel, Peter. "Legalizing Marijuana." CQ Researcher 12 June 2009: 525-48. Web.
"Medical Marijuana: Primary Documents." Culture Wars in America: An Encyclopedia of Issues, Viewpoints, and Voices. Eds. Roger Chapman and James Ciment. London: Routledge, 2013. Credo Reference. Web.
McLeod, Ethan. "Legalizing Marijuana." CQ Researcher 22 May 2015. Web.
"The 35.4 Percent: 109,631,000 on Welfare." CNS News. N.p., 20 Aug. 2014. Web.
Wanlund, William. "Marijuana Industry." CQ Researcher 25, no. 37 (October 16, 2015)
