10 Facts About Marijuana Legalities – Confusing, eh?
1. The federal government’s prohibition of marijuana has completely failed to control its use and domestic production. The government has tried to use criminal charges to stop cannabis usage for well over 75 years and still:
- It is used by more than 25 million people each year
- Marijuana is presently the largest cash crop in the United States
- Being grown all over the world
A claim that current marijuana legalities are effective is completely absurd and unsubstantiated by the facts about marijuana. And, not to mention, the notion that cannabis will soon be abolished from America and the rest of the globe is an illogical idea.
2. Police arrests and marijuana legalities for possession disproportionately affect African-Americans and Hispanics. This reinforces the opinion that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities.
African-Americans make up around 13% of the population in the United States and 13.5% of annual cannabis users, however, they account for 26% of all cannabis-related arrests. Recent research has shown that African-Americans and Hispanics account for most cannabis possession arrests in New York City (mostly for smoking cannabis in public view).
And police have failed to display that cannabis laws can be executed fairly without regard to race. It is far more common for minorities to be arrested for marijuana legalities while white/non-Hispanic Americans deal with considerably less risk of being arrested.
3. A regulated, legal market for cannabis would reduce illegal sales and usage amongst teens as well as decrease their exposure to more dangerous drugs in the “black markets.” It would be less profitable to sell marijuana if it was legalized so there certainly would be fewer incentives for teenagers to sell or buy it from “black market” sources.
4. Legalized marijuana would benefit the economy while decreasing the flow of money to criminal activity and larger organized criminal operations. Marijuana’s illegality makes it remarkably profitable to cultivate and smuggle into countries, thus sending billions of dollars overseas in an underground black market.
5. The legalization of marijuana would help the advancement of industrial hemp to become a valuable farming crop that would help develop new products with a smaller carbon footprint.
Canada, South America, and European countries allow for industrial hemp farming to be 100% legal. However, in the United States, opposition to making industrial hemp legal continues to be the single biggest challenge for this commercial crop to be farmed as a valuable commodity.
As more countries continue to accept the advancement of “green energy” (ex. bio-fuels versus oil), shortly industrial hemp will be a resource that produces clean energy and reduces carbon emissions. When you consider the pollution that comes from oil and gases, it is even more essential to produce industrial hemp as a biofuel source.
Changing marijuana legalities will help streamline the regulatory burden on industrial hemp cultivation in the United States.
6. Prohibition – the reason marijuana is illegal – is based on lies and inaccurate information. The reasons why marijuana became illegal in the United States are marked with distortions and incorrect scientific studies that were purposely “skewed” to it look “dangerous.”
The dangers of marijuana have been exaggerated for over a century and modern-day scientific studies do not support the “reefer madness” assumptions of the past that created the laws existing today.
No recorded death has resulted from cannabis and the idea that it is “dangerous” are based on old 20th-century biases that started when science was unable to study exactly how cannabis can be used as an herbal therapy option.
Everyone agrees that marijuana, or any kind of other drug usage such as alcohol or tobacco use, is not for kids. But, adults have shown over the last several years that cannabis can be used sparingly without having damaging impacts on their health and safety.
7. Marijuana is not a dangerous drug and it is much safer when compared to alcohol or tobacco. It is a scientifically proven fact that cannabis is not deadly to human beings. Not to mention that it is physically impossible for anyone to overdose on cannabis and not nearly as habit-forming as drinking liquor or smoking tobacco.
And it is not justified to treat individuals who use cannabis more harshly by law enforcement when compared to people who consume alcohol or tobacco.
8. The war on drugs is a complete failure and too costly for our justice system, these costs should be used for beneficial federal programs. Regulation and law enforcement have many other important responsibilities than detaining 750,000 people a year for marijuana possession.
Arrests for marijuana legalities make the justice system expensive and less effective in the United States, using jail space, congesting court systems, and sidetracking the time of authorities, attorneys, and judges. This turns the officials’ attention away from more terrible criminal offenses such as the sex-related abuse of children and terrorism.
Also, the tax on marijuana could give much-needed financing for important criminal justice and social programs.
9. Cannabis has two positive characteristics that are commonly accepted: a) the medicinal benefit as an herbal therapy and b) using it as a recreational drug has relatively modest side effects (when compared to alcohol and tobacco).
Medical cannabis provides relief from physical pain, motion sickness or nausea, and many other ailments and diseases. Many adults prefer to use marijuana instead of alcohol as a way to relax since the drug has a relatively low dependence and easy-to-manage side effects.
The majority of people who consume marijuana develop a resistance to many of cannabis’s side effects, and those who do not, can decide to simply quit using marijuana.
10. Currently, medical marijuana patients and recreational users have recognized how ridiculous marijuana prohibition is and society is pushing for legalization, regardless of how long or what it takes to succeed.
Regardless of the risk of arrest and a wide range of other consequences that can happen “by law,” cannabis users have continued to support legalization for many generations now. Marijuana legalities will change in the 21st century as society recognizes that it has medical benefits as well as being a “lesser evil” than alcohol or tobacco.
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