LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

Legalization of Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana

Introduction

This paper presents an analytical discussion on a social issue that had taken the American society by storm during the 1970s. Legalization of marijuana has always been an issue of concern for the public. Many studies conducted in the 1970s, some of which resulted in follow-up studies in the 1980s and 1990s, confirm that cannabinoid drugs are effective in treating appetite loss, glaucoma, nausea and vomiting, pain, spasticity, and weight loss. Opponents of decriminalizing-legalizing marijuana for medical use contend that legal drugs, such as dronabinol, alleviate medical conditions as efficiently as marijuana.

To this argument, supporters of medical marijuana reply that the presence of an existing treatment does not preclude developing and approving alternative treatments. For example, there is more than one drug therapy approved for the treatment of depression and more than one kind of pain medication. In addition, the legal cannabinoid drug dronabinol, which mimics the effect of marijuana, has more side effects than inhaled marijuana, costs more, takes longer for a patient to experience the beneficial effects, and presents ingestion difficulty for both vomiting patients and patients whose symptoms include throat swelling. It is also far easier for patients to control their dosage of inhaled marijuana because they can monitor their body's reactions and cease inhaling when undesirable side effects present themselves, an advantage that cannot be obtained with a dosage-standardized pill.

Discussion

Violation of drug laws is not the only intersection between drug misuse and crime. Whether drug users are viewed as criminal or as suffering from addiction, crime perpetrated by them is not as uniform as once thought. Not until the 1970s and 1980s did research become sophisticated enough to reveal the range of differences among drug users. As the types of drugs people use vary, so do the types of crimes committed. Most research on drug-related crime has concentrated on heroin, as it was found that hallucinogens and marijuana do not consistently increase criminal activity; the research is mixed regarding tranquilizers and stimulants.

Another focus of research regarding drug misuse and crime has been on violent offenses. The most widely accepted model outlines a three-pronged relationship between drug use and violent crime. The psy-chopharmacological or biochemical effects of drug use can lead to violence, as can the economic need or compulsion created by addiction; violence can also result from the illegal activities related to drug markets. According to the National Institute of Justice, in 2002 approximately 25 percent of convicted property and drug offenders reported that they committed their crimes to get money for drugs, while 5 percent of both violent and public order offenders reported an economic motivation. Authorities generally agree that most drug-related violent crime is the result of the prohibition against drugs, rather than the drugs themselves. Support for this comes from the violence and criminal enterprise surrounding alcohol that flourished during the years of Prohibition and quickly dissipated after its repeal.

From 1986 until 2004, under the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program, the Justice Department collected information about the ...