Many people support marijuana legalization while others oppose its legalization. The government has been spending billions of money every year to fight illegal drugs which have left millions of Americans in prison due to drug-related cases. Most crimes that are associated with drugs go unnoticed meaning that for the government would need more billions to fight the drugs successfully. The federal government should reconsider its stand and legalize marijuana. Many drugs can cause serious medical side-effects as well as ruin the lives of the drug users and the people around them. However, the fight against these drugs is not an easy one to fight, and it is not worth fighting.
Consequentialist Reasons
According to consequentialist or utilitarian reasons, an act is morally right if its benefits surpass or balances the negative effects it will bring (Sencerz, 2011). Research has shown that the use of marijuana has many medical benefits if used in the right prescriptions. One of these medical benefits is that it can be used to relieve chronic pain and nausea (Macmillan, 2017). It is also said that some marijuana products could calm muscle spasms which are caused by multiple sclerosis. Its use in children with a rare form of epilepsy reduced the rate of seizures by thirty-nine percent (MacMillan, 2017). It also relieves anxiety and Post-traumatic stress disorder due to its relaxing effects. Additionally, the use of marijuana could help people with managing depression (MacMillan, 2017). However, it may worsen the condition of people with some mental conditions like psychosis even if consumed in small quantities.
When misused, cannabis has its harmful effects. It can have detrimental effects even when used in small amounts to people with mental conditions such as psychosis. However, this paper suggests that the benefits surpass the negative effects. Some known negative effects include: it can lead to addiction, sometimes it causes short-term memory loss when smoked, it could cause damage to the respiratory system, it causes poor decision making if used to some extent and facing legal problems where marijuana is illegal among others.
Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana
If marijuana were legalized today by the federal government, there would be no more additional arrests of people with marijuana-related crimes apart from those who interfere with other peoples life. Another benefit is that people in need of marijuana whether medically or for leisure purposes would get it in better quality. This is because agencies will be put in place which will monitor its quality. Competition from producers can also ensure better quality because users will prefer to buy from the individuals with better quality marijuana.
Legalization means that the government will tax anybody dealing with marijuana. Additionally, the money spent to fight illegal marijuana will also be used to do other essential duties. (Sencerz, 2011). Its legalization will increase its availability which in turn will increase the availability of the medicinal products to benefit more people. The police and drug enforcement agencies will also be able to focus on more pressing crimes when marijuana is legalized (Franciosi, 2017).
Empirical Claims
This paper has used some claims to conclude that indeed, marijuana should be legalized. For instance, marijuana is said to be less harmful compared to other drugs such as heroin. According to CDC, there was no single death reported as a result of marijuana overdose as opposed to heroin which had more 8000 deaths from overdose (Lopez, 2015). This supports the debate that marijuana should be legalized since if used in reasonable doses, it may not lead to the adverse side effects
To conclude, cannabis is a relatively safe drug with some few risks if misused. Compared to other illicit drugs, marijuana has many benefits which depending on the circumstances under which they are used, they surpass the negative consequences. Like people say the primary risk associated with marijuana is losing control of its intake. This paper has discussed some merits and demerits associated with marijuana and how legalizing it could benefit the society. However, this article suggests that should it be authorized, strict measures to control the rate of consumption should be established.
References
Franciosi, A. (2017). 12 Pros & Cons Of Marijuana Legalization | Honestmarijuana.com. [online] Honest Marijuana. Available at: https://honestmarijuana.com/legalization-of-cannabis-pros-and-cons/?age-verified=8b6563e860 [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
Lopez, G. (2015). The DEA chief finally admitted the truth about marijuana versus heroin. [online] Vox. Available at: https://www.vox.com/2015/7/30/9073215/marijuana-schedule-drug-heroin [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
MacMillan, A. (2017). 10 Things to Know About Pot and Your Health. [online] Health.com. Available at: http://www.health.com/pain/marijuana-benefits-risks [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
Sencerz, S. (2011). Professional Ethics | Philosophy. [online] Philosophy.tamucc.edu. Available at: https://philosophy.tamucc.edu/extended_examples_marijuana [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
Web.stanford.edu. (n.d.). The United States War on Drugs. [online] Available at: https://web.stanford.edu/class/e297c/poverty_prejudice/paradox/htele.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2017].
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