The Benefits and Push back that Legal Marijuana Faces
Marijuana legalization
has been around since the early 1920's but did not have a high profile in the
media until 2012 when Colorado legalized it recreationally. Since the
legalization of marijuana, there have been a large increase in tax income from medicinal
marijuana companies going to the states. The legalization of marijuana has
always been a primarily Democratically backed program with Senators such as
Bernie Sanders and Mike Honda. Now with states like California and Massachusetts
making medicinal marijuana legal, people hope that more states will follow suit
and legalize marijuana as well.
There are many benefits,
both medically and financially, that arise from the legalization of medicinal
marijuana in the United States. Some of the medical benefits that come from
marijuana include help with chemo therapy, pain relief, and help cure some
eating disorders. The FDA has approved two types of chemically altered forms of
THC. Dronabinol and Naboline have been proven to reduce the effects of nausea related
to chemotherapy. Medicinal marijuana is also shown to help reduce the effects
of eating disorders. When marijuana is used, a side effect called the “munchies”
occurs when causes the user to become hungry. This helps people who have HIV,
AIDS, or some form of eating disorder that suppresses their appetite because it
“forces” them want to eat something. There are also early tests of marijuana
treatment for cancer itself. It has been shown in some trials to reduce the
size of some tumors in the brain. Marijuana can also help prevent cancer from
spreading throughout the body. A compound of marijuana called CBD has been
found to help reduce the spread of marijuana on the body. “Cannabidiol stops
cancer by turning off a gene called Id-1”. Cancer cells make copies of this
cell instead of cancer cells and it helps to spread it throughout the body.
The legalization of
marijuana will also bring massive income to the country. Since the legalization
of marijuana in Colorado, the state’s tax income has increased substantially.
In 2016, the marijuana industry in Colorado raised $1 billion in tax revenue. As
legalization continues in the country, it is expected that the marijuana industry
to grow to $20.1 billion by 2021. The marijuana industry has also provided
18,000 jobs in Colorado just last year. There was also $2.4 billion in economic
activity which means both income for workers and the state. These numbers are
only expected to increase in the years to come.
Since the legalization
of marijuana, there has been some push back against its legislation primarily
from the Republican party. Most of the Republican party is against the
legalization of marijuana. Also, people in the age range of 71 to 88 are
against the legalization of marijuana with 59% of the being against it. 66% of
Democrats are pro legalization. For example, Sean Spencer has compared the use
of marijuana to opioid addiction. "I
think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming
in so many states around this country, the last thing that we should be doing
is encouraging people. There's still a federal law that we need to abide by
when it comes to recreational use marijuana and other drugs of that nature.” This
is what Sean Spencer had to say on the matter of marijuana use and opioid
addiction. Experts say that while there is an opioid epidemic in the country,
marijuana really has nothing to do with that. "I reject the idea that America will be a better place
if marijuana is sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people
suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana—so people
can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less
awful," said Sessions during a session speaking to law enforcement officials.
In 2015, there were roughly 50,000 heroin over doses in America. There has
never been a recorded overdose of marijuana ever.
The
legalization of marijuana has been proven to have many health benefits along
with economic benefits. There are more and more studies being conducted in
order to see the effects of medical marijuana on the body. The economy surrounding
medicinal marijuana is also expected to grow exponentially over the next 5 to
10 year with thousands of new jobs being formed.
Bibliography:
Ingraham, Christopher. "Meet the Senator and Congressmen Who Support Marjuana Legalization." The Washington Post. WP Company, 29 Sept. 2016 Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Zimmerman, Kim Ann. "Medical Marijuana: Benefits, Risks & State Laws." LiveScience. Purch, 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 22 Mar. 2017.
Loria, Jennifer Welsh and Kevin. "23 Health Benefits of Marijuana." Business Insider. Business Insider, 20 Apr. 2014. Web. 23. Mar. 2017.
Ingraham, Christopher. "The Marijuana Industry Created More than 18,00 Jobs in Colorado Last Year." The Washington Post. WP Company, 27 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
Marcin, Tim. "Attorney Jeff Sessions Has Long Been a Marijuana Critic." Newsweek. N.p., 19 Mar. 2017. Web. 23 Mar. 2017.
I really enjoyed reading this. Even though over time marijuana use has been more accepted and more states are legalizing it, many Republicans still don't support it. Like you said, the marijuana industry in Colorado has helped its economy and has added more jobs to the job market. Because many Republicans seem to especially care about job growth and monetary gain, why are they still against legalization? Is it because marijuana legalization can help end "The War on Drugs"?
ReplyDeleteI originally wanted to write my blog post about the medicinal benefits of cannabis because this topic is personal and important to me. I appreciated that you shared the benefits of CBD. I find the relationship between CBD and THC to be extremely interesting. I think it would be profoundly impactful to educate students to consume CBD if they consume too much THC for their body to handle. CBD has the ability to lower THC levels and curb the negative side effects of overconsumption of THC (like paranoia, anxiety, nausea, and increased heart rate). Most of my family members use cannabis to treat severe ailments (like cancer, severe post-concussive syndrome, and anxiety) as well as their more minor ailments (like PMS, headaches, and cold symptom relief). It is a shame to think that Lewis and Clark does not permit student to be medical cannabis patients (even if their was their form of medicine before entering the college environment). There are people who need this plant. It is terrible to think that there may be a student on campus that suffers from post-concussive syndrome or experiences severe seizures that they would not be allowed to seek out the treatment that they need. They should have the right to choose (as a human right). At L&C, it creates an atmosphere that is similar to people having to "be in the closet" about their cannabis use, even if it is for serious medical reasons. I also think that an important change that needs to take place within the industry is a shift in the language we choose to use. I feel that calling the plant "weed" is almost derogatory because this plant is far from a weed. Additionally, cannabis in the media was referred to as "marijuana" (the spanish word) as a form of propaganda in an effort to make it seem foreign, dangerous, and this would cause people to form a connection between cannabis and actual Schedule I drugs (that can be seriously harmful) that were being illegally trafficked from Mexico. Furthermore, I believe it would be beneficial to called "recreational users" "therapeutic users" instead because “recreational” implies that the plant can be addictive and habit forming. I think it is also important that people be educated on microdosing in the same way that we are educated in school about how much alcohol is "too much" (even though I think any alcohol is "too much"). Even when it comes to alcohol, I think there have been studies that have suggested that the occasional; red wine is good for the heart, but what they do not tend to share is that this is also a specific microdose (that can also be related to gender and ethnicity).
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ReplyDeleteEducational Cannabis Charts (2): https://docs.google.com/a/lclark.edu/document/d/1uGJd6QDZ7XXrdwdO789i70moRd1X5mTmTDkSJP7EtmI/edit?usp=sharing
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