legalize marijuana argumentative essay

Argumentative Essay On Marijuana Legalization

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Why Marijuana Should be Legalized Argumentative Essay Outline

Introduction.

Thesis: Marijuana should be legalized as it is more beneficial that it may be detrimental to society.

Paragraph 1:

Marijuana has not caused turmoil in some of the countries where it has been legalized.

• Marijuana does not increase violent, and property crimes as many suggest.
• Studies reveal that in Colorado, violent crimes have declined following the legalization of marijuana.

Paragraph 2:

Prohibiting use of marijuana does not limit its consumption.

• In spite of the many laws prohibiting the use of marijuana, it is one of the most highly abused drugs.
• 58% of young people from all over the world use marijuana.
• It has not been attributed to any health complications.

Paragraph 3:

Legalization of marijuana would help state governments save taxpayers money.

• Governments spend lots of funds on law enforcement agencies that uphold laws restricting the use of marijuana.
• They also spend vast sums of money on sustaining arrested dealers and consumers in prison.
• Legalizing marijuana would result in saving vast sums of money.

Paragraph 4:

Marijuana is less noxious than other legal substances.

• Marijuana has less health side effects than other legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco.
• Alcohol is 114 times more destructive than marijuana.

Paragraph 5:

Marijuana has been proven to have medical benefits.

• Marijuana helps stop seizures in epileptic patients.
• It helps stop nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy .

Paragraph 6:

Marijuana has been proven to be a stress reliever.

• Marijuana relieves stress and depression in their users by causing excitement.
• Its use reduces violence and deaths related to stress and depression.

Conclusion.

There are many misconceptions about marijuana existent in the modern world. People have continued to ignore health benefits linked to this substance citing their unproven beliefs. Owing to its ability to stop seizures, nausea, and stress in individuals governments should highly consider marijuana legalization. Its legalization will also help state governments reduce expenses that result from maintaining suspects convicted of marijuana possession and consumption.

Why Marijuana Should be Legalized Argumentative Essay

The argument that marijuana use should be made legal has gained momentum both in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world in recent years. This has seen the drug being legalized in some states in the U.S. such that by 2013, twenty states had legalized medical marijuana. As of the same year, Colorado and Washington had legalized recreational marijuana. The arguments behind the push for legalization majorly revolve around the idea that the drug has medicinal effects. However, there are also arguments that there are serious health effects associated with the drug and this has only further fueled the already raging debate. This paper argues that marijuana should be legalized as it is more beneficial that it may be detrimental to society.

Marijuana has not caused any notable negative effects in countries where it has been legalized. There is a general belief that marijuana consumers are violent. However, no authentic research can prove these assertions. As already seen, some states in the United States have legalized both medicinal and recreational marijuana. In spite of this, no cases of marijuana-related violence have been recorded so far in such states (Markol, 2018). Reports reveal that the rate of violence and property crimes have decreased in Colorado following the legalization of the drug. If marijuana does not increase violent crimes, there is no reason as to why it should not be legalized.

It is also noteworthy that prohibiting marijuana use does not limit its consumption. Less than 10% of countries in the world prevent the use of marijuana, but according to research, 58% of young people in most of these countries are marijuana users (Head, 2016). General reports reveal that marijuana is one of most commonly abused drug in the world. It is also readily available in most states as it is a naturally growing plant (Head, 2016). In spite of its continued use, there are few cases, if any, of marijuana-related health complications that have been reported in any of these countries (Head, 2016). Therefore, if the illegality of marijuana does not limit its consumption, then state governments should consider its legalization.

Legalization of marijuana would further help state governments save taxpayers’ money. It is widely known that in countries where marijuana is illegal, authorities are stringent and will arrest any individual found in possession of the drug (Sanger, 2017). However, as earlier mentioned, laws prohibiting the use of the drug do not prevent its consumption, and this means that many people are arrested and prosecuted for possessing it (Sanger, 2017). State governments therefore use a lot of funds to support law enforcement agencies that seek to uphold laws prohibiting the use of marijuana (Sanger, 2017). Many people have been arrested and incarcerated for either possessing or consuming the drug, and the government has to use taxpayers’ money to sustain such people in prison. Since these actions do not limit consumption of marijuana, state governments should legalize the drug so as to save taxpayers money.

Another advantage of marijuana is that it is less noxious than other legal substances. According to research, marijuana is the least harmful drug among the many legal drugs existent in the world today (Owen, 2014). There are millions of campaigns every year cautioning people against smoking cigarettes, but there has been none seeking to warn people about marijuana consumption (Owen, 2014). Lobby groups have even been making efforts to push for legalization of marijuana. If marijuana had severe health effects as many purport, state governments would be investing heavily in campaigns aimed at discouraging its consumption (Owen, 2014). According to studies, alcohol, which is legal in many countries, is 114 times more harmful than marijuana (Owen, 2014). Therefore, if such harmful substances can be legalized, then there are no justifications as to why marijuana should not be legalized.

Further, marijuana has been proven to have medicinal benefits. Several countries, particularly in Europe, and the United States have legalized both medicinal and recreational marijuana. Their move to legalize marijuana was based on medical reports that showed a variety of health benefits linked to the drug (Noonan, 2017). Research shows that marijuana can reduce seizures in epileptic persons. Several studies have also proven that the drug indeed has a variety of health benefits. For instance, Charlotte Figi, who is now aged 10, used to have more than 100 seizures every month at age three, but since Colorado legalized medicinal and recreational marijuana, her parents started treating her with the substance, and today her seizures have significantly reduced (Noonan, 2017). Marijuana has as well been proven to reduce nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Owing to this medicinal value, state governments should consider legalizing the drug.

Additionally, marijuana has been proven to be a stress reliever. Consumption of the drug causes excitement among its users enabling them to forget about troubling situations. Unlike alcohol which is likely to aggravate stress and depression, marijuana works wonders in alleviating anxiety and depression (Sanger, 2017). There are many health and social effects associated with stress, including mental disorders and violence against others (Sanger, 2017). To avoid cases of stress-related violence and mental disorders, state governments should make marijuana consumption legal.

There are many misconceptions about marijuana in the world today. People have continued to ignore the health benefits linked with this substance and have instead focused on citing yet-to-be proven misconceptions. Owing to the ability of the drug to stop seizures, nausea, and stress in individuals, governments should seriously consider its legalization. The legalization will also help state governments reduce expenses that result from sustaining suspects convicted of marijuana possession and consumption. So far, there is more than enough evidence proving that marijuana has lots of benefits to individuals, the society, and the government, and therefore should be legalized.

Head, T. (2016). “8 reasons why marijuana should be legalized”. ThoughtCo . Retrieved June 27, 2020 from https://www.thoughtco.com/reasons-why-marijuana-should-be-legalized-721154

Markol, T. (2018). “5 reasons why marijuana should be legalized”. Marijuana Reform . Retrieved June 27, 2020 from http://marijuanareform.org/5-reasons-marijuana-legalized/

Noonan, D. (2017). “Marijuana treatment reduces severe epileptic seizures”. Scientific American . Retrieved June 27, 2020 from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/marijuana-treatment-reduces-severe-epileptic-seizures/

Owen, P. (2014). “6 powerful reasons to legalize marijuana”. New York Times . Retrieved June 27, 2020 from https://www.alternet.org/drugs/6-powerful-reasons-new-york-times-says-end-marijuana-prohibition

Sanger, B. (2017). “10 legit reasons why weed should be legalized right now”. Herb . Retrieved June 27, 2020 from https://herb.co/marijuana/news/reasons-weed-legalized

Why Marijuana Should be Legal Essay Outline

Thesis:  Marijuana has health benefits and should thus be legal.

Benefits of Marijuana

Marijuana slows and stops the spread of cancer cells.

• Cannabidiol can turn off a gene called Id-1 and can therefore stop cancer.
• In an experiment, researchers were able to treat breast cancer cells with Cannabidiol.

Marijuana helps with pain and nausea reduction for people going through chemotherapy.

• Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer from severe pains and nausea.
• This can further complicate their health.
• Marijuana can stir up their appetite, decrease nausea, and reduce pain.

Paragraph  3:

Marijuana can control epileptic seizure.

• Marijuana extract stopped seizures in epileptic rats in ten hours.
• The seizures were controlled by the THC.

Disadvantages of Marijuana

Marijuana is addictive.

• One in ten marijuana users become addicted over time.
• If one stops using the drug abruptly, they may suffer from such withdrawal symptoms.

Marijuana use decreases mental health.

• Users suffer from memory loss and restricted blood flow to the brain.
• Users have higher chances of developing depression and schizophrenia.

Marijuana use damages the lungs more than cigarette smoking .

• Marijuana smokers inhale the smoke more deeply into their lungs and let it stay there for longer.
• The likelihood of lung cancer can be increased by this deeper, longer exposure to carcinogens.

Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

Paragraph 7:

Improved quality and safety control.

• Legalization would lead to the creation of a set of standards for safety and quality control.
• Users would know what they exactly get in exchange for the money they offer.
• There would be no risks of users taking in unknown substances mixed in marijuana.

Paragraph 8:

Marijuana has a medicinal value.

• Medical marijuana treats a wide assortment of “untreatable” diseases and conditions.
• Public health would be improved and the healthcare system would experience less of a drain.  

Paragraph 9: 

Among the major arguments against marijuana legalization is often that legalization would yield an increase in drug-impaired driving.

• This argument holds that even now when the drug is yet to be fully legalized in the country, it is a major causal factor in highway deaths, injuries, and crushes.
• It however beats logic why marijuana is illegalized on the ground that it would increase drug-impaired driving while alcohol is legal but also significantly contributes to the same problem.

Legalization of marijuana would have many benefits. The drug is associated with the treatment of many serious illnesses including the dreaded cancer. Legalization would also save users from consuming unsafe marijuana sold by unscrupulous people.

Why Marijuana Should Be Legal Essay

There is an ongoing tension between the belief that marijuana effectively treats a wide range of ailments and the argument that it has far-reaching negative health effects. There has nevertheless been a drive towards legalization of the drug in the United States with twenty nine states and the District of Columbia having legalized it for medical and recreational purposes. It was also found by a study that there is a sharp increase in the use of marijuana across the country (Kerr, Lui & Ye, 2017). Major public health concerns are being prompted by this rise. This should however not be the case because marijuana has health benefits and should thus be legal.

Marijuana slows and stops the spread of cancer cells. A study found that Cannabidiol can turn off a gene called Id-1 and can therefore stop cancer. A 2007 report by researchers at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco also indicated that the spread of cancer may be prevented by Cannabidiol. In their lab experiment, the researchers were able to treat breast cancer cells with this component (Nawaz, 2017). The positive outcome of the experiment showed that Id-1 expression had been significantly decreased.

Marijuana also helps with pain and nausea reduction for people going through chemotherapy. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer from severe pains, appetite loss, vomiting, and painful nausea. This can further complicate their already deteriorating health. Marijuana can be of help here by stirring up the appetite, decreasing nausea, and reducing pain (Nawaz, 2017). There are also other cannabinoid drugs used for the same purposes as approved by the FDA.

It was additionally shown by a 2003 study that the use of marijuana can control epileptic seizure. Synthetic marijuana and marijuana extracts were given to epileptic rats by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robert J. DeLorenzo. In about ten hours, the seizures had been stopped by the drugs (Nawaz, 2017). It was found that the seizures were controlled by the THC which bound the brain cells responsible for regulating relaxation and controlling excitability.

Some scientists claim that marijuana is addictive. According to them, one in ten marijuana users become addicted over time. They argue that if one stops using the drug abruptly, they may suffer from such withdrawal symptoms as anxiety and irritability (Barcott, 2015). However, the same argument could be applied to cigarette smoking, which is notably legal. There is need for more studies to be conducted into this claim being spread by opponents of marijuana legalization.

It is also argued that marijuana use decreases mental health. Those opposed to the legalization of recreational marijuana like to cite studies that show that users of the drug suffer from memory loss and restricted blood flow to the brain. They also argue that users have higher chances of developing depression and schizophrenia. However, these assertions have not yet been completely ascertained by science (Barcott, 2015). The claim about depression and schizophrenia is particularly not clear because researchers are not sure whether the drug triggers the conditions or it is used by smokers to alleviate the symptoms.

It is further claimed that marijuana use damages the lungs more than cigarette smoking. It is presumed that marijuana smokers inhale the smoke more deeply into their lungs and let it stay there for longer. The likelihood of lung cancer, according to this argument, can be increased by this deeper, longer exposure to carcinogens. However, the argument touches not on the frequency of use between marijuana and cigarette smokers (Barcott, 2015). It neither takes into account such alternative administration methods as edibles, tinctures, and vaporizing.

Legalization of marijuana would lead to improved quality and safety control. Purchasing the drug off the street provides end users with no means of knowing what they are exactly getting. On the other hand, legalizing it would immediately lead to the creation of a set of standards for safety and quality control (Caulkins, Kilmer & Kleiman, 2016). This would certainly work in the marijuana industry just as it is working in the tobacco and alcohol industries. Users would be able to know what they exactly get in exchange for the money they offer. Additionally, there would be no risks of users taking in unknown substances mixed in marijuana sold on the streets.

Marijuana should also be legal because it has a medicinal value. It has been proven that medical marijuana treats a wide assortment of “untreatable” diseases and conditions. These include problems due to chemotherapy, cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, migraines, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and Crohn’s disease (Caulkins, Kilmer & Kleiman, 2016). Public health would be improved and the healthcare system would experience less of a drain if medical cannabis products were made available to those suffering from the mentioned conditions. Consequently, more public funds would be available for such other public service initiatives as schools and roads.

Among the major arguments against marijuana legalization is often that legalization would yield an increase in drug-impaired driving. This argument holds that even now when the drug is yet to be fully legalized in the country, it has already been cited to be a major causal factor in highway deaths, injuries, and crushes. Among the surveys those arguing along this line might cite is one that was conducted back in 2010, revealing that of the participating weekend night-time drivers, “8.6 percent tested positive for marijuana or its metabolites” (“Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana,” 2010). It was found in yet another study that 26.9% of drivers who were being attended to at a trauma center after sustaining serious injuries tested positive for the drug (“Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana,” 2010). It however beats logic why marijuana is illegalized on the ground that it would increase drug-impaired driving while alcohol is legal but also significantly contributes to the same problem.

As the discussion reveals, legalization of marijuana would have many benefits. The drug is associated with the treatment of many serious illnesses including the dreaded cancer. Legalization would also save users from consuming unsafe marijuana sold by unscrupulous people. There are also other health conditions that can be controlled through the drug. Arguments against its legalization based on its effects on human health also lack sufficient scientific support. It is thus only safe that the drug is legalized in all states.

Barcott, B. (2015).  Weed the people: the future of legal marijuana in America . New York, NY: Time Home Entertainment.

Caulkins, J. P., Kilmer, B., & Kleiman, M. (2016).  Marijuana legalization: what everyone needs to know . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Kerr, W., Lui, C., & Ye, Y. (2017). Trends and age, period and cohort effects for marijuana use prevalence in the 1984-2015 US National Alcohol Surveys.  Addiction ,  113 (3), 473-481.

Nawaz, H. (2017).  The debate between legalizing marijuana and its benefits for medical purposes: a pros and cons analysis . Munich, Germany: GRIN Verlag.

Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana. (2010). In  CNBC . Retrieved June 25, 2020 from  https://www.cnbc.com/id/36267223 .

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Five Reasons Why We Should Legalize Cannabis

Cannabis use in the United States has had a long and complicated history. For decades, people who used cannabis were subject to social ostracization and criminal prosecution. However, attitudes toward cannabis have been evolving in recent years. An increasing number of states have started to legalize cannabis for medical or recreational use. This shift in policy has been driven by a variety of factors including changing public attitudes and the potential economic benefits of legalization. In this article, we will explore the potential benefits of legalizing cannabis in our country.

1. Legalization for the Environment

Legalizing cannabis can have significant benefits for the environment. When cannabis is grown illegally, it is often done in environmentally damaging ways, such as using chemical pesticides or clearing primary forests to make room for crops. Legalization could allow customers to support more environmental growers. This will incentivize more responsible growing practices, such as the use of organic farming methods or the use of renewable energy sources to power indoor grow operations. In addition, the culture of growing cannabis can help to discover and preserve precious marijuana seeds , increasing biodiversity and facilitating a deeper understanding of cannabis plants and their cultivation.

2. Legalization for Justice

Where cannabis is illegal, people are being arrested and charged for possession or sale, which leads to costly court cases and a burden on the criminal justice system. Legalization would free up law enforcement resources to focus on more serious crimes and simultaneously reduce the number of people incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses. This could help to reduce the overall prison population and save taxpayers money.

In addition, legalization can have significant benefits for justice and equity, particularly for marginalized communities that have been disproportionately affected by the criminalization of cannabis. Communities of color have been particularly affected by the war on drugs, with Black Americans being nearly four times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white Americans, despite similar rates of use.

By regulating cannabis cultivation and sales, legalization can help to eliminate the black market and reduce the involvement of criminal organizations in the cannabis industry. This can lead to safer communities and reduced drug-related violence in communities that have been most affected by the criminalization of cannabis.

3. Legalization for Public Health

Cannabis has been shown to have many beneficial and therapeutic effects on both physical and mental health. However, people may be hesitant to seek medical marijuana treatment due to fear of legal repercussions if cannabis is illegal. Legalization can allow more people to enjoy better health outcomes. It can also promote the safer use of cannabis by educating the public on appropriate cannabis use and providing quality control measures for cannabis products. Legalization can also lead to increased research into potential medical applications of cannabis and could lead to the development of innovative treatments.

Another potential perk of cannabis legalization is that it could reduce the use of more harmful drugs. In the absence of cannabis, people may turn to more dangerous drugs like heroin or fentanyl to manage chronic pain or other conditions. By legalizing cannabis, we can provide a safer alternative for these individuals and could reduce the overall demand for these more dangerous drugs. States that have legalized cannabis found a decrease in opioid overdose deaths and hospitalizations, suggesting that cannabis are an effective alternative to prescription painkillers.

4. Legalization for the Economy

The legalization of cannabis can generate significant tax revenue for governments and create new economic opportunities. When cannabis is illegal, it is sold on the black market, and no taxes are collected on these sales. However, when it is legal, sales can be regulated, and taxes can be imposed on those sales. In states that have legalized cannabis, tax revenue from cannabis sales has been in the millions of dollars , with California registering a whopping $1.2 billion in cannabis tax revenue in 2021. This impressive income can be used to reduce budget deficits, fund various public services such as education and healthcare, and create new opportunities for investment in projects that revitalize the economy.

Aside from tax revenue, legalizing cannabis can create new jobs. The cannabis industry is a rapidly growing industry, and legalization could lead to the creation of new jobs in areas such as cultivation, processing, and retail sales. This can help to reduce unemployment and create new gainful opportunities for people who may have struggled to find employment in other industries. Legalization can also lead to increased investment in related industries, such as the development of new products or technologies to improve cannabis cultivation or the creation of new retail businesses. There are now several venture capital funds and investment groups that focus solely on cannabis-related enterprises.

5. Legalization for Acceptance

Finally, legalization could help reduce the stigma surrounding cannabis use. Before cannabis legalization, people who use the plant were often viewed as criminals or deviants. Legalization can help change this perception and lead to more open and honest conversations about cannabis use. Ultimately, legalization could lead to a more accepting and inclusive society where individuals are not judged or discriminated against for their personal and healthcare choices. By legalizing cannabis, we can harness the power of a therapeutic plant. Legalization can heal not just physical and mental ailments of individuals but also the social wounds that have resulted from its criminalization.

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2018 Theses Doctoral

Essays on Cannabis Legalization

Thomas, Danna Kang

Though the drug remains illegal at the federal level, in recent years states and localities have increasingly liberalized their marijuana laws in order to generate tax revenue and save resources on marijuana law enforcement. Many states have adopted some form of medical marijuana and/or marijuana decriminalization laws, and as of 2017, Washington, Colorado, Maine, California, Oregon, Massachusetts, Nevada, Alaska, and the District of Columbia have all legalized marijuana for recreational use. In 2016 recreational marijuana generated over $1.8 billion in sales. Hence, studying marijuana reforms and the policies and outcomes of early recreational marijuana adopters is an important area of research. However, perhaps due to the fact that legalized recreational cannabis is a recent phenomenon, a scarcity of research exists on the impacts of recreational cannabis legalization and the efficacy and efficiency of cannabis regulation. This dissertation aims to fill this gap, using the Washington recreational marijuana market as the primary setting to study cannabis legalization in the United States. Of first order importance in the regulation of sin goods such as cannabis is quantifying the value of the marginal damages of negative externalities. Hence, Chapter 1 (co-authored with Lin Tian) explores the impact of marijuana dispensary location on neighborhood property values, exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in marijuana retailer location. Policymakers and advocates have long expressed concerns that the positive effects of the legalization--e.g., increases in tax revenue--are well spread spatially, but the negative effects are highly localized through channels such as crime. Hence, we use changes in property values to measure individuals' willingness to pay to avoid localized externalities caused by the arrival of marijuana dispensaries. Our key identification strategy is to compare changes in housing sales around winners and losers in a lottery for recreational marijuana retail licenses. (Due to location restrictions, license applicants were required to provide an address of where they would like to locate.) Hence, we have the locations of both actual entrants and potential entrants, which provides a natural difference-in-differences set-up. Using data from King County, Washington, we find an almost 2.4% decrease in the value of properties within a 0.5 mile radius of an entrant, a $9,400 decline in median property values. The aforementioned retail license lottery was used to distribute licenses due to a license quota. Retail license quotas are often used by states to regulate entry into sin goods markets as quotas can restrict consumption by decreasing access and by reducing competition (and, therefore, increasing markups). However, license quotas also create allocative inefficiency. For example, license quotas are often based on the population of a city or county. Hence, licenses are not necessarily allocated to the areas where they offer the highest marginal benefit. Moreover, as seen in the case of the Washington recreational marijuana market, licenses are often distributed via lottery, meaning that in the absence of an efficiency secondary market for licenses, the license recipients are not necessarily the most efficient potential entrants. This allocative inefficiency is generated by heterogeneity in firms and consumers. Therefore, in Chapter 2, I develop a model of demand and firm pricing in order to investigate firm-level heterogeneity and inefficiency. Demand is differentiated by geography and incorporates consumer demographics. I estimate this demand model using data on firm sales from Washington. Utilizing the estimates and firm pricing model, I back out a non-parametric distribution of firm variable costs. These variable costs differ by product and firm and provide a measure of firm inefficiency. I find that variable costs have lower inventory turnover; hence, randomly choosing entrants in a lottery could be a large contributor to allocative inefficiency. Chapter 3 explores the sources of allocative inefficiency in license distribution in the Washington recreational marijuana market. A difficulty in studying the welfare effects of license quotas is finding credible counterfactuals of unrestricted entry. Therefore, I take a structural approach: I first develop a three stage model that endogenizes firm entry and incorporates the spatial demand and pricing model discussed in Chapter 2. Using the estimates of the demand and pricing model, I estimate firms' fixed costs and use data on locations of those potential entrants that did not win Washington's retail license lottery to simulate counterfactual entry patterns. I find that allowing firms to enter freely at Washington's current marijuana tax rate increases total surplus by 21.5% relative to a baseline simulation of Washington's license quota regime. Geographic misallocation and random allocation of licenses account for 6.6\% and 65.9\% of this difference, respectively. Moreover, as the primary objective of these quotas is to mitigate the negative externalities of marijuana consumption, I study alternative state tax policies that directly control for the marginal damages of marijuana consumption. Free entry with tax rates that keep the quantity of marijuana or THC consumed equal to baseline consumption increases welfare by 6.9% and 11.7%, respectively. I also explore the possibility of heterogeneous marginal damages of consumption across geography, backing out the non-uniform sales tax across geography that is consistent with Washington's license quota policy. Free entry with a non-uniform sales tax increases efficiency by over 7% relative to the baseline simulation of license quotas due to improvements in license allocation.

• Cannabis--Law and legislation
• Marijuana industry
• Drug legalization
• Drugs--Economic aspects

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Argumentative essay marijuana legalization

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Addiction (Abingdon, England)

To examine briefly the (i) rationales for two policy proposals in the United States to make it mandatory for cigarettes to contain very low levels of nicotine and to legalize cannabis for recreational use by adults; and (ii) possible lessons that participants in each policy debate may learn from each other. We briefly describe the diverging policies towards cannabis and tobacco in the United States, explain and critically analyse their rationales and discuss possible policy lessons. Advocates of cannabis legalization have argued that prohibition has been an ineffective and expensive policy that penalizes ethnic minority users unjustly of a drug that is far less harmful than alcohol. The prohibition of traditional tobacco cigarettes has been advocated as a way to eliminate cigarette smoking. These proposals embody very different attitudes towards the harms of recreational adult drug use. Advocates of nicotine prohibition demand that alternative methods of nicotine delivery must be sh...

If caffeine and other such banalised psychoactive substances are left out of consideration, almost everywhere in Europe today cannabis is one of the 'big three'of psychoactive substances, along with alcohol and tobacco. Although the international drug control system applies continuing pressure against it, cannabis has taken on a semi-legal status in many parts of Europe, at least at the level of the user.

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Summary Points • The US states that have legalized retail marijuana are using US alcohol policies as a model for regulating retail marijuana, which prioritizes business interests over public health. • The history of major multinational corporations using aggressive marketing strategies to increase and sustain tobacco and alcohol use illustrates the risks of corporate domination of a legalized marijuana market. • To protect public health, marijuana should be treated like tobacco, not as the US treats alcohol: legal but subject to a robust demand reduction program modeled on successful evidence-based tobacco control programs. • Because marijuana is illegal in most places, jurisdictions worldwide (including other US states) considering legalization can learn from the US experience to shape regulations that prioritize public health over profits.

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Marijuana Legalization - Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas

Marijuana legalization is a contentious issue with implications for health, economy, and society. Essays might explore the arguments for and against legalization, the experiences of regions where marijuana has been legalized, and the legal, economic, and social ramifications of legalization. Additionally, discussions might extend to the medical uses of marijuana, its impact on the criminal justice system, and its societal perceptions. We have collected a large number of free essay examples about Marijuana Legalization you can find in Papersowl database. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Marijuana Legalization and Regulation

Medications/Drugs are a part of everyday life. We take medications for various ailments, to return ourselves to good health. Yet, as time and healthcare technology have moved along, we have discovered that some medications or drugs are inherently good (i.e.: antibiotics, cancer medications, and insulin) and some are inherently bad or, at least, can be used for bad purposes (i.e.: mind altering substances such as LSD, and cocaine). The "bad" drugs can be deadly. They have effects that can addict […]

Medical Marijuana and Marijuana Legalization

Thursday, June 09, 2011 Much debate has been conducted regarding the legalization of marijuana, with an unusual amount of contradicting research. There are many perspectives to take into account, and they always seem to come down to the personal motives of the debater. Whether it's being argued from a medical, political, or economical perspective; it continually comes down to whether Federal Government should be our dictators or we should be responsible for our actions. The Canadian medical Association Journal reports […]

Marijuana should be Legalized?

We are living in an era where noxious things like alcohol, rum and cigarettes -that lead us to nothing but a dreadful death- are legal, and a plant which has no obnoxious effects on our body and mind is illegal. For years and years, marijuana has been used as a mean to achieve elation. The criterion to impose a ban on something, or to term it illegal, is that its cons should overshadow its pros; and that it will have […]

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Medical Marijuana Legalization the Good Bad and Ugly

The legalization of medical marijuana has been discussed amongst the country's states for decades. Medical marijuana legalization has taken a positive shift throughout these years and is now legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The initial drug, marijuana, was band for the dangerous effects it brought to people. Throughout the year's people have turned to marijuana to ease anxiety, pain, and stress. Legalizing marijuana has brought multiple perspectives on the topic. Differences such as medical marijuana legalization, […]

Medical Marijuana Legalization

Marijuana legalization has become a topic of relevance in the United States as recent changes in various state legislations fuel the controversial issue relating to its effects on society. With more than thirty states legalizing marijuana for medicinal or recreational uses, the once taboo topic has reemerged into the spotlight for policymakers to consider the benefits and adverse effects of cannabis for state legislation. Although the legal status is changing nationwide, the uncertainties surrounding marijuana today stem from the political […]

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana

When we first picked our topic for our presentations I had an idea of what we were going to do. Ideas from school shootings to you and human trafficking were some I was thinking of. The drug epidemic was what first came to thought but I felt that was to broad of of a topic. With state after state legalizing Medical or Recreational Marijuana it is becoming more likely within the near future will become federally legal. Today there are […]

Against Marijuana Legalization

In my high school years I met a lot of people, I’ve meet hundreds of people who ruined their lives by just “trying” a drug. One of those friends is named Carmen, my dear friend Carmen smokes marijuana recreationally everyday, she’s tried everything under the rainbow; pot brownies, gummi bears, cookies, anything that you can think of is probably an edible. She’s even forced me to try marijuana when we were in high school once. It was the worst experience […]

Marijuana Legalization in Texas: an In-Depth Examination of the Ongoing Debate

The contentious issue of marijuana legalization has engendered fervent discourse across the United States, resulting in a patchwork of divergent legislation among different states. The state of Texas, renowned for its traditionally conservative ideology, is now grappling with a pivotal juncture as it engages in more prevalent deliberations around the legalization of marijuana. The primary objective of this essay is to critically analyze the complex and intricate discourse pertaining to the subject matter in the state of Texas. This analysis […]

Legalization of Marijuana: Good or Bad

The legalization of marijuana is a hot topic these days. Marijuana has been legalized in many different states. Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2012. Since then, Texas has been talking of legalizing it as well. Although the legalization of marijuana has brought quite a bit of controversy over the nation, I believe the good outweigh the bad. Marijuana is used for different medical reasons, ranging from anxiety all the way to helping some side effects of cancer. Many […]

Legalization of Recreational Marijuana

Marijuana, also known as pot, weed, kush, or dank, is a debated topic nationwide. Surveys have shown that " more than half of American adults have tried marijuana at least once in their lives ...nearly 55 million of them, or twenty two percent, currently use it"(Ingraham). Many people believe that there are only few negative effects affiliated with smoking weed, but there are many poor and preventable outcomes that are not always taken into consideration. The effects of marijuana on […]

A Legalized Drug in the United States

In the United States, marijuana is one of the most commonly used drugs that should have been legalized a long time ago along with alcohol. Although, 15 states in the United States have already legalized the use of marijuana, many others still lag behind at the thought of even legalizing Cannabis. In addition, many people think that marijuana is a bad drug, while on the other hand, people like myself believe for many reasons that it should be legalized. Marijuana […]

Pro-Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana has always been a much-discussed subject that has sparked heated discussions among experts and officials, in addition to a perpetual dialogue among family and associates. This is primarily due to the fact that people are still divided on whether cannabis should be legalized or not. While many people are aware of the dangers of cannabis for recreational purposes, many states are pushing for the legalization of medical cannabis. Several studies of cannabinoid elements have revealed its medicinal qualities, which […]

Proposal One: Impact on Warren, MI’s Future

Proposal One is the allowing of individuals age 21 and older to purchase, possess and use marijuana and marijuana-infused edibles, and grow up to 12 marijuana plants for personal consumption. Impose a 10-ounce limit for marijuana kept at residences and require that amounts over 2.5 ounces be secured in locked containers. Creating a state licensing system for marijuana businesses including growers, processors, and transporters. Ryan Mainer (Libertarian party) supports proposal one. How do we know this is true? He has […]

The Legalization of Marijuana Today

Over the last decade, there has been plenty of speculation revolving around the whether the legalization of marijuana is even ethical, well it is here, and it is legal. For the time being it happens to be in only a select number of states. Despite some people not agreeing with various laws that have decriminalized marijuana because they still believe it is a harmful "drug" for humans. Well when the facts reveal the real benefits from marijuana and how it […]

Legalization of Marijuana: the Current Situation

Scholars are increasingly exhibiting interest in matters concerning marijuana legalization especially considering laws related to healthcare. The increments in interest emanate from concerns that legalization of this drug is not in alignment with existing health-related laws according to the federal government (Kilmer et al., 2010). According to Hopfer (2014), the government has failed to fully support legalization because few studies have been conducted to prove its medicinal worth. Nonetheless, medical legalization of this particular drug is increasingly gaining support. A […]

Marijuana Decriminalization in all States

The government should legalize marijuana on the federal use due to the multifaceted health, economic, and criminal benefits now outweigh the outdated downsides of use. Many researchers have come to the conclusion of outdated research not being correct. "One function of government is to protect citizens from harm, whether it is from foreign enemies or from internal causes such as poisonous food or contaminated water." Researchers believe that legalizing marijuana will not help the people only harm them and the […]

The Cost and Benefit of Legalization of Marijuana

In recent years, marijuana has become a controversial topic, and the United States government has been struggling to find a solution for the legalization of marijuana. Some argue that the government should legalize marijuana because it is less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. They also believe legalizing marijuana will decrease crime rates, especially drug trafficking. It is because marijuana is illegal in most states, and its penalties are often quite harsh, which can deter people from committing related crimes. Others […]

Legalization of Marijuana Throughout States

Legalization of marijuana use is spreading throughout states in the nation. There are many people who want to make recreational marijuana legal in the state of Texas. Some opponents of keeping marijuana criminalized argue that it would decreased alcohol and tobacco consumption, makes people passive and peaceful and that it aids those who are in pain. However after researching the effects that long-term marijuana use has on people, one will find that those are not realistically always the case and […]

The Impacts of Legalizing Marijuana

The impacts of legalizing marijuana have been far reaching. Legal or not, there are health issues to consider when it comes to medicinal purposes or recreational purposes. Studies show that non-medical marijuana users are at an increased risk for physical ailments involving the respiratory system and pulmonary functions. Psychological problems are also a concern, involving depression, insomnia, anxiety, and drug addiction. Other things associated with marijuana use are criminal justice involvement and lower academic achievement and functioning (Lankenau, et al., […]

Legalization of Marijuana and Economic Growth

These would make occupations as well as set the ball moving for financial action in the pot business in these regions. On account of states like California and Nevada where such foundation as of now exists, the financial effect has turned out to be more quantifiable as the part has developed. A RCG Economics and Marijuana Policy Group consider on Nevada says that legitimizing recreational marijuana in the state could bolster more than 41,000 employments till 2024 and produce over […]

Marijuana as a Psychoactive Drug

Marijuana is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant used for medical or recreational purposes. It is sold in the form of dried leaves which can be smoked. Recreational marijuana was introduced in the U.S in the early 20th century by immigrants from Mexico. Marijuana is a controversial topic in the United States because many people think it shouldn't be legalized . Some will agree on making it legal throughout the United States, and some would think otherwise. Many debates […]

Persuasive Speeches on Legalizing Weed: Exploring the Benefits and Concerns

Introduction Legalizing marijuana is a controversial topic for many states. If marijuana is legalized, it would save prisons and jails funds because they could release people who have been convicted of felonies with the dealing of this incidental drug. This means that the government would have more money to use towards education on the safe use of the product and the prosecution of dealers who control the use of extremely dangerous hard drugs. However, people against legalizing marijuana argue that […]

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How To Write an Essay About Marijuana Legalization

Introduction to marijuana legalization.

When embarking on an essay about marijuana legalization, it's crucial to begin with a comprehensive overview of the topic. Marijuana legalization is a multifaceted issue that encompasses legal, medical, social, and economic dimensions. Your introduction should briefly touch upon the history of marijuana use and its legal status over time, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of the arguments for and against legalization. Establish your thesis statement, outlining the specific aspect of marijuana legalization you will focus on, whether it's the potential medical benefits, the social implications, or the economic impact of legalizing marijuana.

Examining the Arguments for Legalization

In this section, delve into the arguments commonly made in favor of legalizing marijuana. These arguments often include the potential medical benefits of marijuana, such as its use in pain management and treatment of certain medical conditions. Discuss the viewpoint that legalization could lead to better regulation and quality control of the substance, as well as potentially reduce crime rates related to illegal drug trade. It's also important to consider the economic aspect, such as the revenue generated from taxing legal marijuana sales. Provide well-researched evidence and examples to support these arguments, ensuring that your essay presents a balanced and informed perspective.

Exploring the Counterarguments

Next, address the arguments against marijuana legalization. These may include concerns about the health risks associated with marijuana use, such as potential impacts on mental health and cognitive function, especially among young people. Discuss the fears that legalization might lead to increased usage rates, particularly in adolescents, and the potential for marijuana to act as a gateway drug. There's also the argument regarding the challenges of enforcing regulations and controlling the quality and distribution of legal marijuana. Like the previous section, ensure that you present these counterarguments with supporting evidence and a fair analysis, demonstrating an understanding of the complexities of the issue.

Concluding the Essay

Conclude your essay by summarizing the main points from both sides of the argument. This is your opportunity to reinforce your thesis and provide a final analysis of the issue based on the evidence presented. Reflect on the potential future of marijuana legalization, considering the current trends and policy changes. A well-crafted conclusion should provide closure to your essay and encourage the reader to continue contemplating the nuanced aspects of marijuana legalization. Your concluding remarks might also suggest areas for further research or consideration, underscoring the ongoing nature of the debate surrounding marijuana legalization.

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Americans overwhelmingly say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational use

With a growing number of states authorizing the use of marijuana, the public continues to broadly favor legalization of the drug for medical and recreational purposes. 

An overwhelming share of U.S. adults (88%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use by adults (59%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (30%). Just one-in-ten (10%) say marijuana use should not be legal, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Oct. 10-16, 2022. These views are virtually unchanged since April 2021.

The new survey follows President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon people convicted of marijuana possession at the federal level and direct his administration to review how marijuana is classified under federal law. It was fielded before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, when two states legalized the use of marijuana for recreational purposes – joining 19 states and the District of Columbia , which had already done so.

Pew Research Center asked this question to track public views about the legal status of marijuana. For this analysis, we surveyed 5,098 adults from Oct. 10-16, 2022. Everyone who took part in this survey is a member of the Center’s American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP’s methodology .

Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

Over the long term, there has been a steep rise in public support for marijuana legalization, as measured by a separate Gallup survey question that asks whether the use of marijuana should be made legal – without specifying whether it would be legalized for recreational or medical use. This year, 68% of adults say marijuana should be legal , matching the record-high support for legalization Gallup found in 2021.

There continue to be sizable age and partisan differences in Americans’ views about marijuana. While very small shares of adults of any age are completely opposed to the legalization of the drug, older adults are far less likely than younger ones to favor legalizing it for recreational purposes.

This is particularly the case among those ages 75 and older, just three-in-ten of whom say marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational use. Larger shares in every other age group – including 53% of those ages 65 to 74 – say the drug should be legal for both medical and recreational use.

Republicans are more wary than Democrats about legalizing marijuana for recreational use: 45% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents favor legalizing marijuana for both medical and recreational use, while an additional 39% say it should only be legal for medical use. By comparison, 73% of Democrats and Democratic leaners say marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational use; an additional 21% say it should be legal for medical use only.

Ideological differences are evident within each party. About four-in-ten conservative Republicans (37%) say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, compared with a 60% majority of moderate and liberal Republicans.

Nearly two-thirds of conservative and moderate Democrats (63%) say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use. An overwhelming majority of liberal Democrats (84%) say the same.

There also are racial and ethnic differences in views of legalizing marijuana. Roughly two-thirds of Black adults (68%) and six-in-ten White adults say marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use, compared with smaller shares of Hispanic (49%) and Asian adults (48%).

Related: Clear majorities of Black Americans favor marijuana legalization, easing of criminal penalties

In both parties, views of marijuana legalization vary by age

While Republicans and Democrats differ greatly on whether marijuana should be legal for medial and recreational use, there are also age divides within each party.

A 62% majority of Republicans ages 18 to 29 favor making marijuana legal for medical and recreational use, compared with 52% of those ages 30 to 49. Roughly four-in-ten Republicans ages 50 to 64 (41%) and 65 to 74 (38%) say marijuana should be legal for both purposes, as do 18% of those 75 and older.

Still, wide majorities of Republicans in all age groups favor legalizing marijuana for medical use. Even among Republicans 65 and older, just 17% say marijuana use should not be legal even for medical purposes.

While majorities of Democrats across all age groups support legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use, older Democrats are less likely to say this. About half of Democrats ages 75 and older (51%) say marijuana should be legal for medical or recreational purposes; larger shares of younger Democrats say the same. Still, only 8% of Democrats 75 and older think marijuana should not be legalized even for medical use – similar to the share of all other Democrats who say this.

Note: Here are the questions used for this report, along with responses, and its methodology .

• Drug Policy
• Medicine & Health

Ted Van Green is a research analyst focusing on U.S. politics and policy at Pew Research Center .

9 facts about Americans and marijuana

Most americans favor legalizing marijuana for medical, recreational use, most americans now live in a legal marijuana state – and most have at least one dispensary in their county, clear majorities of black americans favor marijuana legalization, easing of criminal penalties, concern about drug addiction has declined in u.s., even in areas where fatal overdoses have risen the most, most popular.

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Ross Douthat

Legalizing Marijuana Is a Big Mistake

By Ross Douthat

Opinion Columnist

Of all the ways to win a culture war, the smoothest is to just make the other side seem hopelessly uncool. So it’s been with the march of marijuana legalization: There have been moral arguments about the excesses of the drug war and medical arguments about the potential benefits of pot, but the vibe of the whole debate has pitted the chill against the uptight, the cool against the square, the relaxed future against the Principal Skinners of the past.

As support for legalization has climbed, commanding a two-thirds majority in recent polling , any contrary argument has come to feel a bit futile, and even modest cavils are couched in an apologetic and defensive style. Of course I don’t question the right to get high, but perhaps the pervasive smell of weed in our cities is a bit unfortunate …? I’m not a narc or anything, but maybe New York City doesn’t need quite so many unlicensed pot dealers …?

All of this means that it will take a long time for conventional wisdom to acknowledge the truth that seems readily apparent to squares like me: Marijuana legalization as we’ve done it so far has been a policy failure, a potential social disaster, a clear and evident mistake.

The best version of the square’s case is an essay by Charles Fain Lehman of the Manhattan Institute explaining his evolution from youthful libertarian to grown-up prohibitionist. It will not convince readers who come in with stringently libertarian presuppositions — who believe on high principle that consenting adults should be able to purchase, sell and enjoy almost any substance short of fentanyl and that no second-order social consequence can justify infringing on this right.

But Lehman explains in detail why the second-order effects of marijuana legalization have mostly vindicated the pessimists and skeptics. First, on the criminal justice front, the expectation that legalizing pot would help reduce America’s prison population by clearing out nonviolent offenders was always overdrawn, since marijuana convictions made up a small share of the incarceration rate even at its height. But Lehman argues that there is also no good evidence so far that legalization reduces racially discriminatory patterns of policing and arrests. In his view, cops often use marijuana as a pretext to search someone they suspect of a more serious crime, and they simply substitute some other pretext when the law changes, leaving arrest rates basically unchanged.

So legalization isn’t necessarily striking a great blow against mass incarceration or for racial justice. Nor is it doing great things for public health. There was hope, and some early evidence, that legal pot might substitute for opioid use, but some of the more recent data cuts the other way: A new paper published in The Journal of Health Economics found that “legal medical marijuana, particularly when available through retail dispensaries, is associated with higher opioid mortality.” There are therapeutic benefits to cannabis that justify its availability for prescription, but the evidence of its risks keeps increasing: This month brought a new paper strengthening the link between heavy pot use and the onset of schizophrenia in young men.

And the broad downside risks of marijuana, beyond extreme dangers like schizophrenia, remain as evident as ever: a form of personal degradation, of lost attention and performance and motivation, that isn’t mortally dangerous in the way of heroin but that can damage or derail an awful lot of human lives. Most casual pot smokers won’t have this experience, but the legalization era has seen a sharp increase in the number of noncasual users. Occasional use has risen substantially since 2008, but daily or near-daily use is up much more, with around 1‌‌6 million Americans , out of ‌more than 50 million users, now suffering from what ‌‌is termed marijuana use disorder.

In theory, there are technocratic responses to these unfortunate trends. In its ideal form, legalization would be accompanied by effective regulation and taxation, and as Lehman notes, on paper it should be possible to discourage addiction by raising taxes in the legal market, effectively nudging users toward more casual consumption.

In practice, it hasn’t worked that way. Because of all the years of prohibition, a mature and supple illegal marketplace already exists, ready to undercut whatever prices the legal market charges. So to make the legal marketplace successful and amenable to regulation, you would probably need much more enforcement against the illegal marketplace — which is difficult and expensive and, again, obviously uncool, in conflict with the good-vibrations spirit of the legalizers.

Then you have the extreme case of New York, where legal permitting has lagged while untold numbers of illegal shops are doing business unmolested by the police. But even in less-incompetent-seeming states and localities, a similar pattern persists. Lehman cites (and has reviewed ) the recent book “Can Legal Weed Win? The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics,” by Robin Goldstein and Daniel Sumner, which shows that unlicensed weed can cost as much as 50 percent less than the licensed variety. So the more you tax and regulate legal pot sales, the more you run the risk of having users just switch to the black market — and if you want the licensed market to crowd out the black market instead, you probably need to make legal pot as cheap as possible, which in turn undermines any effort to discourage chronic, life-altering abuse.

Thus policymakers who don’t want so much chronic use and personal degradation have two options. They can set out to design a much more effective (but necessarily expensive, complex and sometimes punitive) system of regulation and enforcement than what exists so far. Or they can reach for the blunt instrument of recriminalization, which Lehman prefers for its simplicity — with medical exceptions still carved out and with the possibility that possession could remain legal and that only production and distribution be prohibited.

I expect legalization to advance much further before either of these alternatives builds significant support. But eventually the culture will recognize that under the banner of personal choice, we’re running a general experiment in exploitation — addicting our more vulnerable neighbors to myriad pleasant-seeming vices, handing our children over to the social media dopamine machine and spreading degradation wherever casinos spring up and weed shops flourish.

With that realization, and only with that realization, will the squares get the hearing they deserve.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Twitter (@NYTOpinion) and Instagram .

Ross Douthat has been an Opinion columnist for The Times since 2009. He is the author of several books, most recently, “The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery.” @ DouthatNYT • Facebook

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Legalization of Marijuana

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The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

More than 10 years after legal marijuana sales launched in Washington state, the first store under a social equity program has opened. The state’s program aims to remedy the effect that the war on drugs had on black and brown communities.

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr., left, and co-owner Dennis Turner pose at their shop, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

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Cloud 9 Cannabis co-owner Dennis Turner, left, and CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr., pose at their shop, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Operational lead Willie Morrow stocks shelves at Cloud 9 Cannabis as the store prepares to open, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. poses at his shop, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis co-owner Dennis Turner, left, poses for a portrait with CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr., at their shop, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

An employee puts away product at Cloud 9 Cannabis, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis co-owner and CEO Sam Ward Jr., left, and co-owner Dennis Turner, right, pose at their shop, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Operational lead Willie Morrow stocks shelves at Cloud 9 Cannabis as the store prepares to open for the first time, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. shows a scar on his hand where he was shot during a drug deal gone wrong in 2006, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. adjusts his chains, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. wears chains among over a custom hoodie, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. poses in a throne photo-op for customers, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. smiles while posing for a photo in a throne photo-op for customers, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. poses outside his store, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis employee Kyler Hollingsworth grabs a product for customers, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis employee Kyler Hollingsworth checks out customers, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

A 420 plate is displayed behind a glass bong on the shelves at Cloud 9 Cannabis, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Cloud 9 Cannabis employee Beau McQueen, right, helps a customer, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. The shop is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Washington state opened some of the nation’s first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. was on electronic home detention in Spokane, where he had been indicted on federal drug charges. He would soon be off to prison to serve the lion’s share of a four-year sentence.

A decade later, Ward, who is Black, recently posed in a blue-and-gold throne used for photo ops at his new cannabis store, Cloud 9 Cannabis. He greeted customers walking in for early 4/20 deals . And he reflected on being one of the first beneficiaries of a Washington program to make the overwhelmingly white industry more accessible to people harmed by the war on drugs.

“It feels great to know that I’m the CEO of a store, with employees, people depending on me,” Ward said. “Just being a part of something makes you feel good.”

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws that sent millions of Black, Latino and other minority Americans to prison and perpetuated cycles of violence and poverty. Studies have shown that minorities were incarcerated at a higher rate than white people, despite similar rates of cannabis use.

But efforts to help those most affected participate in — and profit from — the legal marijuana sector have been halting.

Since 2012, when voters in Washington and Colorado approved the first ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana, legal adult use has spread to 24 states and the District of Columbia. Nearly all have “social equity” provisions designed to redress drug war damages.

Those provisions include erasing criminal records for certain pot convictions, granting cannabis business licenses and financial help to people convicted of cannabis crimes, and directing marijuana tax revenues to communities that suffered.

“Social equity programs are an attempt to reverse the damage that was done to Black and brown communities who are over-policed and disproportionately impacted,” said Kaliko Castille, former president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association.

States have varying ways of defining who can apply for social equity marijuana licenses, and they’re not necessarily based on race.

Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr. smiles while posing for a photo in a throne photo-op for customers, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

In Washington, an applicant must own more than half the business and meet other criteria, such as having lived for at least five years between 1980 and 2010 in an area with high poverty, unemployment or cannabis arrest rates; having been arrested for a cannabis-related crime; or having a below-median household income.

Legal challenges over the permitting process in states like New York have slowed implementation.

After settling other cases , New York — which has issued 60% of all cannabis licenses to social equity applicants, according to regulators — is facing another lawsuit. Last month, the libertarian-leaning Pacific Legal Foundation alleged it favors women- and minority-owned applicants in addition to those who can demonstrate harm from the drug war.

“It’s that type of blanket racial and gender preference that the Constitution prohibits,” said Pacific Legal attorney David Hoffa.

An employee puts away product at Cloud 9 Cannabis, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Elsewhere, deep-pocketed corporations that operate in multiple states have acquired social equity licenses, possibly frustrating the intent of the laws. Arizona lawmakers this year expressed concern that licensees had been pressured by predatory businesses into ceding control.

Difficulty in finding locations due to local cannabis business bans or in obtaining bank loans due to continued federal prohibition has also prevented candidates from opening stores. In some cases, the very things that qualified them for licenses — living in poor neighborhoods, criminal records and lack of assets — have made it hard to secure the money needed to open cannabis businesses.

The drafters of Washington’s pioneering law were preoccupied with keeping the U.S. Justice Department from shutting down the market. They required background checks designed to keep criminals out.

“A lot of the early states, they simply didn’t have social equity on their radar,” said Jana Hrdinova, administrative director of the Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law.

Many states that legalized more recently — including Arizona, Connecticut, Ohio, Maryland and Missouri — have had social equity initiatives from the start.

Washington established its program in 2020. But only in the past several months has it issued the first social equity retail licenses. Just two — including Ward’s — have opened.

Cloud 9 Cannabis employee Kyler Hollingsworth grabs a product for customers, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board Member Ollie Garrett called the progress so far disappointing, but said officials are working with applicants and urging some cities to rescind zoning bans so social equity cannabis businesses can open.

The state, which collects roughly half a billion dollars a year in marijuana tax revenue, is making $8 million available in grants to social equity licensees to help with expenses, such as security systems and renovations, as well as business coaching.

It also is directing $250 million to communities harmed by the drug war — including housing assistance, small-business loans, job training and violence prevention programs.

Ward’s turnaround is one officials hope to see repeated.

He started dealing marijuana in his teens, he said. In 2006, a customer pulled a gun on him, and Ward was shot in the hand.

A single father of seven children, he continued dealing drugs to support them, he said, until he was indicted in 2014 — along with 30 other people — in an oxycodone distribution conspiracy. He served nearly three years in prison.

Ward, now 39, spent that time taking classes, working out and training other inmates. He started a personal training business after he was released, got a restaurant job and joined a semipro football team, the Spokane Wolfpack.

That’s where he met Dennis Turner, a Black entrepreneur who briefly owned the team. Turner had worked as a restaurant manager on cruise ships, for the postal service and as a corrections officer before investing his savings — $6,000 — in a friend’s medical marijuana growing operation. They used the proceeds to help open a medical dispensary in Cheney, a small college town southwest of Spokane, that eventually became an adult-use marijuana retailer.

In Washington’s social equity program, Turner saw an opportunity to make Ward a business executive. The two joined Rashel Palmer, whose husband co-owns the football team, in launching Cloud 9 at a cost of around $400,000. They picked Arlington, Washington — 320 miles (515 kilometers) away — because it’s a quickly growing city with limited cannabis competition, they said.

Ward “saw me as a guy that he looked up to, that did good business, was self-made and came out the trenches, and he just wanted to pick my brain,” Turner said.

Operational lead Willie Morrow stocks shelves at Cloud 9 Cannabis as the store prepares to open, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Turner is working to open cannabis stores in New Mexico and Ohio through social equity programs in those states. He hopes one day to sell them for tens of millions of dollars. In the meantime, he intends to use his businesses to support local charities, such as the Boys and Girls Club in Arlington and the Carl Maxey Center, which provides services to the Black community in Spokane.

Another new social equity licensee is David Penn Jr., 47, who helped persuade Pasco, in south-central Washington, to rescind its ban. Penn, who is Black, was arrested on a crack cocaine charge as a teenager. In 2011, he was kicked out of his apartment after a marijuana bust.

A friend with two other cannabis outlets is financing Penn’s store. His location, a dirt-floored building next to a gas station, still needs to be built out. State grants will help, but won’t be enough.

“It’s like they’re giving you the carriage, but you need the horses to get this thing going,” Penn said.

Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal

Introduction.

• Why Marijuana should be Legalized
• Arguments Against Legalization

Why Marijuanas Should Be Legal: Essay Conclusion

Works cited.

Of all the illegal drugs in existence, Cannabis Sativa (most popularly known as marijuana) is the most commonly used substance (Iftikhar et al. 7699). The World Health Organization documents that 2.5% of the world’s population indulge in the usage of this drug, therefore making it the most popular psychoactive substance.

Despite this apparent popularity of the drug, it remains illegal in many countries, including the USA. Recent scientific research has revealed that the effect of marijuana on a person’s health may not be as potent as previously thought. With this revelation and the increased use of the drug among the population, there have been calls for the government to consider legalizing this popular recreational drug.

Calls for legalizing marijuana have been countered by vocal opposition from people advocating for the drug to be kept illegal since it has many adverse effects. This “Why Marijuanas Should Be Legal” essay will set out to argue that marijuana should be legal since the harmful effects of this substance are not as dire, and legalization would result in many benefits for society. The argumentative paper will rely on research to reinforce this claim.

Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

Marijuana is a favored recreational drug, which means that its commercial significance is high due to the high demand for the product. Under the current situation where the drug is deemed illicit, the government cannot benefit monetarily from commerce with this drug. This is an essential consideration since data on the prevalence of Marijuana indicates that the US is still the world’s largest single market for the medication (Hammond et al. 221).

The government could gain much revenue if the drug were legal and taxes imposed. As it currently stands, the sale of the drug only benefits players in the black market who produce and sell the product. These players are primarily criminals who have become very powerful from the money obtained from commerce in marijuana.

Houston, who is an outspoken advocate for the legalization of Marijuana, confirms that marijuana is the cash cow that has made the Mexican drug cartels such a formidable force. By making the drug legal, the government would benefit from revenues obtained from its sale as well as remove the monopoly held by the criminal gangs, thus making the country safer.

The government uses significant amounts of resources in enforcing its laws against marijuana. Maintaining the status quo of marijuana as an illegal substance is an expensive operation, and the taxpayer bears the financial burden.

Green documents that the US government spends billions of dollars annually to enforce prohibition efforts on marijuana (6). This money that would otherwise have been spent on more socially constructive purposes is currently being used to fund operations ranging from the carrying out of drug raids, arrests, and prosecution of drug offenders.

The expenses do not end there, as more money is needed to maintain the convicted offenders in the country’s already overstrained penitentiaries. Making marijuana legal would mean that the government would save all the money that it currently spends on enforcing the law against marijuana. This would be a prudent step since, as it is, the efforts by the government, while prohibitively high, do not appear to have significantly reduced marijuana consumption in the country.

An obvious merit of the legal industry is that it is bound by government control, which ensures that the products sold are safe for the consumer. The government can also monitor the production process and issue guidelines to ensure the consumer is not exposed to unnecessary risks.

Since marijuana is illegal, its production and distribution are unregulated, which means that the quality of the product is unguaranteed. Part of the contamination also comes from the pesticides used on the plant. Legal crops have strict government controls on pesticides, which minimize the risks to the individual. Montoya et al. reveal that since marijuana is an illegal drug, there are no guidelines or controls for its cultivation, and it is not known whether the pesticides used are safe for humans (4).

In addition to this, the illegal status of marijuana means that most of it is grown indoors to reduce the risk of discovery by law enforcement. Indoor-grown marijuana is perceived to be more contaminated than marijuana grown naturally since indoor cultivation involves the use of additives to maximize yield (Montoya et al. 4).

Legalization of marijuana would give the government greater control over the product, which would make it safer for the user. Currently, the market is unregulated, and dealers are constantly increasing the potency of the drug to attract more customers. The potency of marijuana is changed by altering the primary active chemical in marijuana, THC, which is the component that causes the mind-altering effects of marijuana intoxication.

Montoya et al. attribute the increased potency to the popularity of indoor cultivation, which involves the practice of cloning from a variety of cannabis with high THC content (2). The more potent marijuana is, the higher the increase of cannabis-related harms such as psychotic and anxiety effects. Legalizing the drug would make it possible for the government to monitor the content of the drug just as the alcohol content in beverages is monitored. This would reduce the health risks that result from highly potent marijuana.

Marijuana has scientifically proven medical benefits for its consumers. Marijuana has been documented to improve symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis. The efficacy of marijuana in this area has been so significant that pharmaceutical companies have begun using Sativex, a derivative of cannabis, in the care of people with multiple sclerosis (Baratta et al. 3).

Clinical trial research on the therapeutic role of marijuana in pain management has shown that the drug demonstrated significant pain relief and induced relaxation, hence relieving anxiety and depression (Baratta et al. 2). These findings are corroborated by reports by the WHO, which indicate that cannabinoids alleviate symptoms such as nausea and vomiting in chronically ill patients. Making marijuana legal would ensure that it is more readily available for the sick, who would exploit it for its curative properties.

Arguments against Legalization

Despite all the advantages that can be gained from legalizing marijuana, there are critical adverse effects that opponents of legalization point to. The most significant of these claims is that marijuana results in adverse physical and mental effects on the user. Hammond et al. state that heavy marijuana use impairs a person’s ability to form memories, and users who have taken high doses of the drug may experience acute psychosis (9).

Montoya et al. proceed to state that contaminated marijuana has the potential to cause lung disease and respiratory problems (4). Considering these adverse effects, proponents of legalization assert that it would be reckless for the government even to consider making marijuana legal. While it is true that marijuana can have adverse effects, these extreme effects are mostly restricted to heavy users and those users who consume contaminated or high-potency marijuana.

A primary concern of the public is the link between drug use and involvement in crime. Opponents of legalization state that marijuana would result in citizens, especially the youth, engaging in criminal activities as a result of drug use. This stereotypical view is unfounded, as research indicates that marijuana use does not play an essential role in fostering a general involvement in crime.

A study conducted by Lu et al. on the association between cannabis use and subsequent criminal charges on an individual suggested that marijuana was associated with subsequent criminal activity (565).

However, the authors noted that the bulk of this involvement was in various types of drug-specific crime, such as possession and distribution of the drug. Marijuana does not, therefore, result in general crime involvement, and a considerable proportion of its users only get into the penal system because of the use or possession of drugs.

A common argument raised by proponents of legalizing marijuana is that its legalization would result in a phenomenal increase in the number of users. This reasoning is based on the assumption that, at present, many people who would be users of marijuana are deterred because of the legal action, such as jail time that they would suffer if they consumed the product.

Houston suggests that this argument is not based on facts since the rate of marijuana use in the Netherlands (a country reputed for its relaxed laws on marijuana, which permit the purchase and consumption of regulated portions of the drug) is significantly lower than in the US where prohibitive laws against the drug are in place.

Marijuana consumption is pervasive in the US, and this drug has become the favorite recreational drug despite measures by the government to curb its supply and discourage its usage. This has resulted in the issue of whether to legitimize marijuana or not being heavily debated in the country.

From the arguments given in this paper, it is clear that many benefits will be reaped from the legalization of marijuana. These advantages include increased access to the drug for people who require it for medical purposes, a regulated market that would make the product safer, and the financial gains that the government would achieve through taxation and savings from the money that is currently used to enforce the law against marijuana.

While proponents of legalization point to the adverse effects of the drug, this paper has shown that many research findings available today indicate that the adverse effects of marijuana are mild and that the drug has functional medicinal properties.

This paper set out to argue that the government should legalize marijuana. To this end, the paper has engaged in discussions about the merits and demerits of such a move. Overall, evidence suggests that making marijuana legal would benefit society more than having it classified as an illegal substance.

Citizens who are keen on bringing about development should, therefore, petition the government to legalize the drug so that society can enjoy the benefits stated at the same time avoiding the enormous costs incurred by efforts to keep the drug illegal.

Baratta, Francesca, et al. “ Cannabis for Medical Use: Analysis of Recent Clinical Trials in View of Current Legislation. ” Frontiers in Pharmacology , vol. 13, May 2022.

Green, Jesse. “ Federalism, Limited Government, and Conservative Outcomes: The Republican Case for Marijuana Legalization .” Social Science Research Network , Jan. 2023.

Hammond, Chris, et al. “ Cannabis Use Among U.S. Adolescents in the Era of Marijuana Legalization: A Review of Changing Use Patterns, Comorbidity, and Health Correlates. ” International Review of Psychiatry , vol. 32, no. 3, Feb. 2020, pp. 221–34.

Iftikhar, Amna, et al. “ Applications of Cannabis Sativa L. in Food and Its Therapeutic Potential: From a Prohibited Drug to a Nutritional Supplement. ” Molecules , vol. 26, no. 24, Dec. 2021, p. 7699.

Lu, Ruibin, et al. “ The Cannabis Effect on Crime: Time-Series Analysis of Crime in Colorado and Washington State. ” Justice Quarterly , vol. 38, no. 4, Oct. 2019, pp. 565–95.

Montoya, Zackary T., et al. “ Cannabis Contaminants Limit Pharmacological Use of Cannabidiol. ” Frontiers in Pharmacology , vol. 11, Sept. 2020.

World Health Organization (WHO). Management of substance abuse: Cannabis . Jan. 2010. Web.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, February 3). Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marijuana-should-be-legal/

"Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal." IvyPanda , 3 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/marijuana-should-be-legal/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal'. 3 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal." February 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marijuana-should-be-legal/.

1. IvyPanda . "Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal." February 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marijuana-should-be-legal/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Reason Why Marijuana Should Be Legal." February 3, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/marijuana-should-be-legal/.

• Literary Analysis
• Does Legalizing Marijuana Help or Harm the United States?
• A Case for Legalizing Marijuana
• Argument About Legalizing Marijuana in America
• Legalizing Marijuana: Pros and Cons
• History and Effects of Legalization of Marijuana
• Should Marijuana Be Legal?
• Marijuana Legalization in California
• Legalization of Cannabis in the State of New Jersey
• Legalization of Marijuana: Arguments For and Against
• South African Non-Violent Protests Against Apartheid
• Invasion of Personal Privacy During Air Travel
• Executive Branch of Russian Government
• A Dose of Realism: The Syrian Situation
• American Jobs Act Proposed By President Obama

Opinion There’s too much God in the law and too little weed

Plus: The Challenger disaster. Tax-filing programs.

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In today’s edition:

• Cancel the National Day of Prayer , then make marijuana legal
• The IRS should keep working to make filing free
• Behind the scenes of the Challenger disaster

Church and state creep together

Today is the annual National Day of Prayer, though you’ll be forgiven if your morning didn’t involve matins. Though the observance has been around since 1952, few Americans have the first Thursday of May on their radars.

So you’ll also be forgiven if you don’t think the Day of Prayer is a particularly big deal, even if law requires the president to sign a proclamation declaring it every year. But Kate Cohen urges you to reconsider.

“We shouldn’t ignore” the National Day of Prayer, she writes. “We should get rid of it.”

Having such a holiday at all flies in the face of the separation of church and state. Courts have gotten around this in a rather wiggly way by calling Prayer Day and its ilk (say, “In God We Trust”) “ceremonial” or “civic” and thus not really religious at all. Besides, it’s in keeping with the beliefs of the Founders, right?

Obviously, the Founders were believers, Kate writes, but this country must also recall that “their belief strengthened their resolve to do a most remarkable thing: create a Constitution that leaves out God altogether.”

Until we betrayed that baseline liberty and started putting Him/Her/Whomever back in — first with the seemingly quaint National Day of Prayer, but then the National Prayer Breakfast the next year, “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance the year after, and by the end of the ’50s, the Almighty all over our money. It’s not hard to see how this led to graver religious incursions, such as on public education and the right to abortion.

Speaking of gateway drugs, how about the Biden administration’s proposal to federally recategorize weed?

Rob Gebelhoff writes that by moving marijuana from Schedule I to the less restrictive Schedule III class of controlled substances, all President Biden does is suggest “he’s comfortable pretending that it is still illegal [while still] providing no effective federal oversight.”

The move falls far short of legalization, which Rob advocates — not because he’s fiending for weed access, but because legalization would actually enable regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. That’s more vital than ever at a time when we’re discovering both all sorts of issues that coincide with heavy use of marijuana and that the stuff folks use is getting stronger and stronger (which Rob wrote about last year ).

“Make no mistake,” Rob says: “The longer marijuana companies are allowed to escape federal regulation, the more dangerous the drug becomes.” The best way to prevent that is for Biden to actually go all in.

Chaser: What America really needs isn’t just less God, Kate wrote last year . It’s more atheists.

From the Editorial Board’s argument in favor of expanding the government program next tax season — over the strenuous objections of the tax-prep racket- I-mean -industry. To them, the board says: Tough luck. Making filing cheap and easy is essential.

And what have the tax-prep companies done on that front? Sure, they rolled out Free File, which lets folks with easy returns file them at no charge.

But then they buried it from search engines and used other tricks to reroute people hunting for free filing toward their commercial offerings. As the board notes, “While 70 percent of taxpayers were eligible to use Free File in 2020, only 3 percent actually did.” It’s hard not to agree with the board’s recommendation that the IRS ramp up Direct File.

But, Editorial Board, are you sure? Click. Are you sure? Click. Last chance to try our premium products — are you sure?

Click click click click click.

Chaser: Revisit Catherine Rampell’s fabulous 2022 reported photo essay on the “Pipeline,” the sclerotic system by which the IRS was at the time processing returns.

Less politics

The morning of the Challenger launch in January 1986, the seven astronauts who would die a few hours later in the explosion of the space shuttle had steak and eggs for breakfast.

This is the detail from journalist Adam Higginbotham’s nail-biter of an essay about that day — adapted from his forthcoming book on the disaster — that affected me most deeply. There’s plenty of competition; the essay and book it came from are full of new reporting on how and why things went so horribly wrong, including anomalies that went unreported and anomalies that simply went unheeded in the lead-up to the decision to launch. The account is minute by minute, then second by second, then subdivided even further in the final fractions of Challenger’s existence.

Still, it’s the steak that sticks with you. Knowing precisely what these astronauts last ate on Earth. Knowing what was unsettled in Christa McAuliffe’s stomach as “her Girl Scout pluck … deserted her at last” upon her final helmet inspection, replaced, Higginbotham reports, by “terror.”

One more detail: McAuliffe might have had a bite of the apple one ground crew member symbolically gave the teacher-turned-astronaut just before launch. She deferred, though. As Higginbotham chronicles: “Save it for me,” she said. “And I’ll eat it when I get back.”

Smartest, fastest

• Listen, Megan McArdle writes — Democratic politicians just aren’t looking for student protesters’ support, so protesters ought to restrategize.
• Jason Willick argues that civil rights law is a wrong and even unhelpful framing for the anti-Zionism vs. antisemitism debate.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban loves China, loves Russia and is basically an Eastern European David Duke, Marc Thiessen writes . So why do so many American conservatives love him?

It’s a goodbye. It’s a haiku. It’s … The Bye-Ku.

Biden takes a risk

With unregulated weed

Or: In pot he trusts

Have your own newsy haiku? Email it to me , along with any questions/comments/ambiguities. See you tomorrow!