My Perspective on the Issue of Not Legalizing Marijuana
The decision to legalize marijuana would be a grave mistake done by the authorities and thus, I am of the opinion that marijuana should not be legalized. The reason behind my opinion is the numerous negative consequences that are attached to legalizing marijuana. One of the main reasons why I am against the legalization of marijuana is due to the harmful effects that it causes. The Rand Drug Policy Research Center claims that over 100, 000 marijuana users are hospitalized yearly due to overdose (Govier 125). In most emergency rooms, marijuana topped the list of the substances that led to health complications. Legalizing marijuana means that the production and supply of the drug would increase and people would be in a position where they can access the drugs easily. In consideration of the fact that numerous people are hospitalized annually, it would be a bad mistake legalizing marijuana use.
The health issue caused by the excess use of marijuana stems from the people’s notions that there are no recorded cases of people dying from marijuana overdose. There is also the notion that marijuana is good for curing certain ailments. The question such people should answer is as wollows: “if marijuana is helpful in curing diseases, why then are there reported cases of people admitted in hospitals due to marijuana related ailments?” The smoke produced by marijuana is lethal to individuals as it is reported by the World Health Organization that the smoke produced by 3 marijuana sticks is equivalent to that produced by 20 cigarette sticks. To help support such observation made by WHO, The British Lung Organization reports that individuals that use marijuana have higher chances of getting lung disease due to the intensity of the smoke produced by marijuana (Govier 154). The withdraw symptoms led by marijuana are devastating and a legalizing of marijuana will have a negative economic implication. People under marijuana intoxication are slow to making responses as their mind is crippled. Their decision-making process is poor and, in most cases, they make wrong judgments. In the even that a worker is under the influence of marijuana, the chances that he or she makes judgmental mistakes that have negative consequences on the company are high.
The other reason why I strongly oppose the legalization of marijuana is due to the connection it has with crime. For instance, Mexico is one of the countries that have high prevalence for marijuana use. Incidents of police and gang battles are reported on daily basis. In Mexico, the gangs that supply marijuana to people carry out violent activities (ElSohly, 99). There are reported cases of people being killed by the different gangs on grounds that they are not cooperative. Legalization of marijuana would create a leeway of the different gangs to become closer to people. In the world of criminal gangs, the various groups try to seek supremacy by eliminating each other. Engaging in physical war battles is one of the ways in which such gangs eliminate each other and it greatly contributes to the high crime rate. During such battles among the gangs, there are high chances that innocent people might suffer in the process.
I am always of the opinion that making marijuana legal means that children and people have more access to the commodity as there is a ready supply for it. With all the negativity around marijuana, it would be disastrous to make marijuana readily available. Keeping marijuana smoking illegal is helpful as it prevents potential smokers from purchasing the drug (ElSohly, 139).There is an assumption that people do not like getting associated with illegal products as they have legal implications and thus, shy to purchase them.
Other Perspective on the Issue of Not Legalizing Marijuana
According to people supporting legalization of marijuana, its prohibiting causes huge money losses for the state. For instance, they claim that people who buy the drug illegally waste many valuable resources as they are often exploited by the distributers and thus, legalizing marijuana would help combat such losses (ElSohly 77). In addition, the government will eliminate the economic losses if it collects taxes from the vendors selling marijuana.
There are claims from certain people that illegalizing marijuana is detrimental to the police as they spend most of their valuable time looking for people dealing with marijuana, as either the sellers or the buyers. Critics argue that police can use the time in serving the community. The legitimate medical effect that marijuana has is the other reason why there are people who advocate for the use of marijuana. Epilepsy is one of the diseases that are known to be contained using strings of cannabis (Govier 100). There are some states in USA that have established the medical marijuana laws that are meant to measure how marijuana is used medically.
Rebuttal
People arguing that legalizing marijuana will help reduce economic loss for illegal supply have probably not analyzed the bigger picture relating to the economic loss that marijuana produces. In this claim, the person that suffers economically is the buyer, but in the event that marijuana is legalized, the entire society stands to lose from its legalization (Ektmi, 315). For instance, it is a well-known fact that the use of the drug leads to low productivity as the mind of the user has a low response rate. Once the drug influences the body system of an individual, he or she is likely to make judgmental mistakes that would be costly if the decision supposed to be made was crucial.
Police will become involved in more marijuana related incidents in the event that the use of the drug is legalized (Ektmi, 366). There are various crimes that are attached to marijuana and thus, legalizing its use will only lead to an increase in the criminal activities. For instance, there is the likelihood of gangs being at war with each other in their quest of gaining supremacy in the sale and distribution of the drug. Police, in turn, would have a wide range of crimes that they will have to deal with and thus, as opposed to making the work of police fewer, legalizing marijuana would only add to their duties.
Although it is proven that there are illnesses that are treated by the use of marijuana, it would be misleading to legalize marijuana on such grounds. It would be wrong to legalize marijuana as it can cure only two or more diseases in a world where there are thousands of diseases (Ektmi 375). It is also proven the medical implications that the use of marijuana has on the medical condition of people as there are diseases that are caused by the drug.
Conclusion
The debate on whether different governments should legalize the use of marijuana has been going on for long. People have taken various stand on the issue, and thus have developed various theories and explanations on the reasons behind their decision. After considering all the negatives that are associated with the legalization of marijuana, I am of the opinion that the different states should not legalize the drug. I believe that the negatives of doing so outweigh the positives and thus, marijuana should not be legalized.