Category: Cannabis/Medical Marijuana

In the Philippine constitution marijuana or cannabis has been illegal in accordance with Republic Act No. 6425, or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972, since it is the second most used drug in the Philippines after methamphetamine or as we all know “shabu”. The concern about the risks of abuse led to a ban on the use of cannabis medicinal products. In the present day marijuana remains illegal in the Philippines because of several rules and regulations and that hinders researchers or scientist in our country to do a full blast research on what are the possible benefits and on the effectiveness of marijuana as used for medicinal purposes, it also makes it difficult for people who actually need to use it as medicine and it can be quite expensive if it would be coming from other countries the produces it. According to (Kogan and Mechoulam, 2007) It does claim to help and treat a lot of patients that needed prevention and especially as the cure for their illnesses, marijuana shows that it can treat glaucoma, nausea, epilepsy, asthma, cancer, chronic pain, cardiovascular disorders, schizophrenia, and many other conditions. Cannabinoids or Marijuana is too beneficial and has the potential to improve our country’s clinical industry, thus, I think that medical marijuana should be legal in the Philippines.

Here in the Philippines, we commonly think of marijuana that it could only give bad effects on people who use it because of the factor that it is addicting in which people are having difficulty in controlling their drug use as it elicits effects on our mood and on how we think, some studies have shown that it could impair a person’s cognitive functioning through recreational cannabis dependence, but for the contrary, according to Meier (2018) as stated in her published journal that the use of cannabis had nothing to do with the IQ decline or impairing cognitive functions of an individual, she stated that the factors that may cause their impairment is based on family background. Another different annotation with marijuana is that according to (Wilkinson, 2013) there is legalizing recreational marijuana can cause negative effects on the public and the use of marijuana lacks in evidence for it therapeutic benefits, Many studies have shown that there is a therapeutic claim that marijuana can treat different conditions, according to (Reynold, 2015) that in his study, with the moderate of regular use of marijuana it helps prevents or delays the onset, the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and different neurodegenerative conditions to give more example he stated that marijuana has anti-cancer properties in which in can be used as treatment for basal cell carcinoma or cancer, he concluded that marijuana offers significant therapeutic benefits.

Marijuana is often characterized as one of the safest drugs out there, because it has never been definitively involved with cases of overdose death, unless it is combined with other substance like opioid, cocaine, etc., and it’s broadly safer than other drugs like alcohol, tobacco, cocaine, and heroin. Marijuana is also known as weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane or the famous term, Cannabis. It is a psychoactive drug from a cannabis plant intended for recreational and medical purposes by smoking, infusing it with oils, including it in foods as an ingredient, and etc. This would help a lot of patient for example those who experience epilepsy, according to Reddy and Golub (2016), that the use of marijuana or cannabinoids have shown to have benefits on epileptic patients wherein it lessens the frequency and duration of seizures as claimed in the surveys by their respondents which are the majority of patients and caregivers. In an article, according to (Rhyne et al., 2016) their research statistics states that patients who use medical marijuana for their migraine have shown that it can reduce the recurrence of their migraine per month as they use it daily.

Marijuana was used to treat conditions thousand years ago before it was banned, in many countries for example in China, they use it as an anesthetic, in India’s Iron age, it was one of their common herbs which they say that it relieves anxiety. After it was banned for more than a decade, they begun to legalize it again in many countries, as for 2018 over 30 countries have legalized cannabis for example, Canada and Uruguay they allowed the use of marijuana for medical and recreation, in Uruguay you can buy a maximum of 10 grams per week, while almost all other countries only legalized it for medical purposes. In my opinion, individuals with illnesses in the Philippines should have access to marijuana if they needed it because some of these conditions have the potential to be treated by the cannabinoid.

I there to conclude that Marijuana for medicinal purposes should be legalized at the same time with regulations, in the legalization of marijuana it has to have proper monitoring in terms of its dosage and uses. Yes, its legalization will increase the rate of recreational use and for some, it can be their gateway drug and for sure it will be addicting but the point is that it is effective and the patients in this country shouldn’t be hindered to use the benefits of this substance if necessary, despite its high probability of recreational use as it can result to drug addiction, it is a huge help for patient with epilepsy or any kind of illness to have the opportunity to use marijuana. It is unacceptable just to ignore their clinical capabilities when the cannabinoid therapeutic values are too high to be set aside, we need to work on this drug development instead. The innovation of such drugs needs, well-controlled clinical testing in order to establish therapeutic effectiveness, dose ranges, and pharmaceutical safety.

Marijuana certification has become a reality in recent years with Uruguay becoming the first nation-state to fully legalize marijuana for both medicinal and recreational purposes. Today, the use of cannabis for both therapeutic and leisure purposes is allowed in most places and the ownership of cannabis is being treated has a minor offense. The certification of marijuana has led to emergence of many cannabis related companies some which distribute, investigation and grow marijuana. A research done by Gallup’s in October 2017 shows that 64% of respondent favor the certification of Marijuana for both medicinal and recreation purposes. In this study paper, we will explore the background antiquity of cannabis certification while majoring on some of the key paybacks of legal cannabis and the effect it has on the society.

The history of cannabis authorization

Almost all countries partake their marijuana legality approaches demonstrated by the UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs from 1961. Due to some interesting discoveries done in the last decade, these acts have gradually changed and marijuana is being indorsed and accepted by the public. Although the use of Marijuana is legal in some parts of the world, it still remains illegal particularly in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. In the USA, Washington and Colorado became the leading states to permit weed for leisure purposes in 2012 and the influence has already stood tremendous.

The financial advantages of approving weed have just been evident as the main states have enthused to change their legitimate situations. Generally speaking, lawful marijuana could mean a major push for state financial prudence and boatloads of money for both the state and the central administrations. Underneath, we’ll investigate a portion of the main monetary advantages of lawful pot.

Impact on tax revenue

Probably doing better than expected, the sale of legal marijuana has had a massive tax income. In the state of Colorado, the tax unruffled was $135 million in excises and fees on leisure and pharmaceutical marijuana.

The overall amount of trades collected amount to $996 million. The overall trades of North America amount to 30% which is $6.7 billion and the amount is estimated to reach $20.1 billion by the year 2021, according to the research done by Arcview Market Research. Research conducted by the Colorado State University clearly shows that the local benefited from $58 million from the cannabis based arcade especially through taxes and fees. In California which covers a relatively lager area than Colorado, could surpass $15 billion in trades and revenue and $3 billion in taxes revenue according to a study done in April 2016 by the ICF International. New Frontier, a cannabis analytic corporation projects that if cannabis became legal, the USA government was going to make an additional $131.8 billion in cumulative federal tax revenue by the year 2025.

Income and jobs

Growing, scenery up dispensaries and playgroups would be the first phase for a nation or state that has decided to authorize marijuana. Not only would this create job opportunities but also set the economy moving in the cannabis industry. New Frontier report suggests that a national wide certification of cannabis would support 1.1 million jobs by the year 2025. The employments would come from the rapidly growing business as people will be needed to farm, distribute and process marijuana based products.

This would also help those in the cannabis based industries such as software developers, construction corporations and financing services. A report released by ICF estimates that over 81,000 in California are involved in unswerving or indirect jobs in cannabis based industry since marijuana became legal. A RCG Economics and Marijuana Policy Group Study on Nevada released a report that project legalization of cannabis for recreational use could support over 41,000 professions and has a potential to generate $1.7 billion in labor income.

In Washington State, marijuana trades produced a massive $314.8 million in excise tax revenue in 2017 and the money was used to partially fund Medicaid which secured health insurance for low income residents. According to economic experts Leafly and Whitney, the Cannabis production added 68,389 jobs in 2018, which was a 445 gain and they believe it is the fastest growing labor market in the USA.

Investment opportunities

The certification of marijuana can be of great benefit both at the local and national scale. Due to the fact that cannabis remains prohibited at the federal level, it is difficult to investors and business people to exploit fully on the fast growing industry. Certification of marijuana at the national level would help investors to list their stocks at the US exchange ad this would enhance fluidity and open up for more investments.

The cannabis industry has many investment opportunities and here are some of the major focuses of investors:

Grower

Depending on the quantity of marijuana one wants to grow, it all starts with planting the seeds. It can be grown on large or small scale depending on the purpose and the size of the land. The University of Mississippi started a program where they grow legal weed to fund various government studies all over USA.

Delivery services

This is also a good job opportunity as one can do the delivery door to door. This mostly applies to when an individual has low or no capital. Using some applications like Google maps and Uber, the delivery can be fast, easy and reliable.

Contractors

In cases where large scale manufacture is needed, electricians, construction crews and irrigation experts are needed to set up these farms. In states where cannabis is legitimate, the contractors are needed to set up hydroponic shops.

Online entrepreneur

Certification of marijuana can create job opportunities online which include weed blogs, weed-themed stores and review sites makes money for online entrepreneurs.

Saved money

While advocating for the authorization of cannabis, it’s important to think about the money that might be saved by not having to enforce the current embargo on the drug as well as the income that might be generated when the cannabis is legalized. Currently, it is estimated that the US government spends $7.7 billion annually for marijuana enforcement.

If cannabis was detached from the list of controlled substances, less court trials concerning the drug would be presented hence this would save both time and money. Validation of marijuana would have a great impact on customers that consume cannabis based products. The prices of these merchandises would drop overall due to commoditization.

A petition was signed by more than 300 economist calling attention to the report released by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, which suggests that validation of cannabis would save up to $7.7 billion annually and bring a revenue of about $6 billion if the government imposed the same tax as of alcohol and tobacco.

Economist Stephen Easton wrote in Businessweek financial benefit would be much more than Miron’s findings. Based on the amount of money that would be used in manufacture and marketing, Easton suggest that the annual revenue would bring in $45 to $100 billion per year

Conclusion

There is adequate pushback against sanctioning pot the nation over. Pundits refer to the potential for perplexity among law implementation officials planning to stay aware of moving guidelines, a worry about expanded vagrancy or youth utilization of the medication, the latent for diminished property estimations, and substantially more. Some are against changing the administrative position of cannabis just on the grounds that it implies a change to the norm. These reasons consolidate to diminish the probability that cannabis will get legitimate at a national level at any point in the near future. In any case, as an ever increasing number of states move to exclusively authorize pot use in different manners, and as the financial advantages of a lawful pot business produce results, there are additionally many convincing motivations to think about across the nation legitimization.

For as long as we can remember, we have been told that marijuana was a bad thing. Some would even call it “the devil’s lettuce”. Now, as time goes by and doctors and scientists start to do their research and they start toying with the thought of marijuana possibly being a good thing for people. People from kids to senior citizens are being treated with medicinal marijuana and it is actually working.

Medicinally, marijuana is good for people, and now it is time for marijuana to be legalized recreationally. If recreational weed is legalized there will be less street crime, it will create a lot more jobs for people, and it will add billions to the economy. These are the type of proponents we need to start making the world a better place. People can still function after they use and marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. Weed might as well be legalized if all of these positive things are going to happen in return.

A lot of times, people tend to see marijuana as a bad thing or a “criminal” drug, but that is not the case. Evidence has shown that the legalization of marijuana does not exactly exterminate criminal or illegal activity but it does minimize it drastically (McCall). In 2012, Washington and Colorado were the first two states to legalize marijuana recreationally. Because they were the first to allow the recreational use of marijuana and the industry that promotes it, the two states were selected as subjects and they passed legislation.

Professionals from Washington State University, Stockton University, and the University of Utah landed at this goal consequent to taking a gander at month to month bad behavior rates in Colorado and Washington to those of 21 communicates that haven’t approved pot for restorative or recreational use, both when approval, to check whether there were any examples that strayed in Colorado and Washington; these subtleties were accumulated from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report from 1999 to 2016 (McCall). Regardless, the assessment’s makers do raise certain limitations to their revelations.

One is that the results highlight wide, cross-state slants anyway may deny changes that happen on a more diminutive scale. They express that they can’t choose out the probability that legitimization may incorporate different effects inside the state-dependent upon the district and system. The examination is furthermore limited in the sorts of bad behavior it considers—to be explicit, certified bad behavior. Paces of those driving while weakened, for example, would not have been counted.

It is tough to make existence of humans clean and happy.Human lifestyles is not perfect. People are one of a kind – they have got special needs, desires, and critiques. That is why it’s miles hard to organize lifestyles of society in the precise manner. Nevertheless, people are smart beings, and that they invented such factor as rules, the aim of that is to arrange life of humans taking into consideration human needs, and basing on their rights and responsibilities.

However, rules structures are not perfect, and every so often they need to be modified. Modern legislative device of america of America may be an example. There are a variety of aspects, which can be changed, as an instance, improve of capital benefit tax, revocation of punitive damages in tort actions, reducing the age of majority to 16, and so forth. However, one of the most disputable changes, that are being mentioned for a long time already, is legalization of marijuana. By distinctive feature of different reasons, people have main factors of view on the issue – a few human beings consider it have to be legalized, while the others are strongly in opposition to its legalization. Let’s cover each views so that you can understand the essence of the problem better.

As with some other essential problem, marijuana legalization additionally comes with many pros and cons, the biggest con being the poor impact this drug has at the health of people. According to this notion, smoking any substance can have an awful impact at the IQ, memory, hassle-solving skills and increase the chances of intellectual illnesses. However, there are only a few information that verify the modern claim. Actually, the fitness advantages are one of the three reasons why marijuanas should be legal, according to the proponents of the idea. The Dutch minister of fitness says that ‘ People have died from tobacco and alcohol, from heroin, from cocaine. But never from hashish’. Additionally, there are sure health benefits that come from the use of cannabis, that’s why there’s such thing as scientific marijuanas. Marijuana used for medicinal functions is thought to reduce glaucoma and assist people undergo chemo. According to an article by means of Discovery Health, marijuana is also recognized to alleviate nausea and have a certain effect on the mind. Also, the marijuana’s impact at the brain lets in for release in muscle tension and continual ache. Even although over-intake can result in some troubles, there is not a single account of dying from marijuana overdose. Many legal matters are a far greater not unusual purpose of demise than marijuana. It is virtually expected that 38,329 humans died from a drug overdose in 2010, out of which 60% have been related to prescription drugs. In the identical year, 25,692 people died of alcohol related causes. If that is the case, how come the sector has determined to ban marijuana in place of tobacco? The 2nd cause why marijuana must be felony is the cost. According to official estimates, over seven-hundred,000 human beings were arrested 2014 for marijuana offenses and this is the best on the location of the United States. This makes the expenses for enforcement taxes extremely high, something that might be averted if marijuana had been to be criminal. According to an ACLU document of 2013, taxpayers shelled out up to $6 billion to cowl each the enforcement and incarceration of those who illegally use this drug. Aside from assisting us save money, a few say that legalization of marijuana can certainly make upwards of $7 billions! The legalization is not only predicted to do this, however, will simply create a taxable industry and create lots of new legitimate process positions.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more people die every year from drug overdoses than they do in motor vehicle accidents. In spite of the demonstrated advantages of medical marijuana, and the fact that nearly one third of states have recognized the ones blessings, the federal authorities keeps to disregard the information, criminalize scientific marijuana and impede further research into its clinical advantages. In fact, the federal government categorizes pills which include cocaine and methamphetamine much less critically and therefore allows such drugs to be prescribed wherein suitable even as prohibiting the prescription of marijuana to noticeably ill patients. Stubbornly denying the scientific benefits of marijuana,and consequently treating it in a different way than extra critical pills concern to severe abuse, and scientifically unsound and deprives critically unwell patients of an awful lot-wanted pain relief. The federal government ought to make clean that it will not prosecute sufferers, medical doctors or dispensary operators for complying with state clinical marijuana legal guidelines. Patients, carriers and legislatures want assurance that they can continue in confidence that country laws might be reputable.

Considering that the legal guidelines in opposition to marijuana did no longer make any particular alternate, it is secure to mention that legalization will not growth the use of this drug greatly. The simplest element it’s going to do is reduce the price for prosecution of folks that already use the marijuana and create an entire new enterprise in which this drug might be higher managed. The state seems to be coming to its senses and many nations begin to make marijuana prison. Considering a lot of these elements, this is something each united states of america need to don’t forget. Even if it is viewed as a bad thing, it can help many more people out.

They stated “In 2012, 43% of Canadians reported that they had used marijuana at some time in their lives, and 12% reported using it in the past year.” (Langlois & Rotermann) As shows, the use of Marijuana used to be one of Canada’s major concern because of the consistent illegal recreational uses despite the prohibition. The government had concluded the prohibition law has been ineffective for the economy and finally legalized the recreational use of Marijuana expecting economic benefits. However, some insist the legalization will not be helpful due to the concerns about the government’s policy on new taxation, threatened public safety and the resultant total decrease of jobs related to Marijuana. Nevertheless, the legalization of recreational Marijuana will boost the economy of Canada by proper taxation of sales, reducing the enforcement cost, and job increase after all.

It could be believed that taxations of recreational Marijuana will not necessarily be beneficial when the tax amount is too high or too low. Since it is the first try to legalize recreational uses of Marijuana, it is possible that the government are not sure how much should they tax on sales. If the tax is too low, the expected economic boost would fail. If the tax is too high, instead of increased tax revenue, it would rather trigger the consumers to use black market (illegal market) instead of paying a lot. However, if the proper tax amount follow, the expected tax revenue is high enough to stop the concerns of opponents. For example, Colorado has benefited from tax revenue by legalizing marijuana. In 2015, Colorado had collected nearly $73.5 million, contributing the U.S. to the collection over $125 million for the year. (Keyes) Because of the growth of the economy, the support rate for the legalization of Colorado residents is growing and it shows the clear possibility of economic boost by the legalization. Actually, annual tax revenue for Canada is estimated for about $1.7 billion. (Bogdanvo& Goltz) How can the government decide the ‘proper’ tax amount? There are examples of successful economic growth followed by taxations especially in several states in the U.S. For instance, Alaska has a unique style of taxation which charge consumers tax by weight, $50 apply per ounce, and it has benefited not only the state but also the whole country’s economy. In addition, California will also apply the ‘tax-by-weight’ system in the future. The government of Canada can make these reliable examples as models for the future taxations and expect successes in legalization. Taxations on other ‘sin taxes’ such as alcohol and cigarette could be a good example too. Since the use of recreational Marijuana has become much more alike the uses of alcohol and cigarettes in the way it has become very common in Canada, it may be inflexible to keep differentiating Marijuana from alcohol and cigarette. Now may be the time to admit the consistent increase of Marijuana use despite the prohibition and learn from history of alcohol and cigarette taxations. With these efforts, taxation not only will bring economic benefit but also prevent consumers switching to black market.

Opponents against the legalization might point out possible threats to the public safety caused by legalization. In their point of views, most Marijuana users are threat to societies of Canada. They might assume criminals related to Marijuana more likely commit other crimes that can intimidate communities than other criminals. Is that really true? If their opinions are true, the total crime rate should be increasing now with the surging rate of Marijuana use. However, according to Macqueen, “Canada’s crime rate has plummeted to its lowest level in 40 years.” It proves almost of the irrelevance between general crimes in Canada and Marijuana users. Of course, such serious criminal related to Marijuana such as illegal Marijuana dealers are major harm for Canada. Nevertheless, who the opponents should consider about are simple possessors. Now, there are dramatically high numbers of Marijuana users despite the prohibition. In 2013, police in Canada reported over 405,000 criminals involved in Marijuana, approximately equivalent to Regina and Saskatoon combined population (Macqueen). Larsen stated “In the statistic-driven world of policing, pot users are the low-hanging fruit. We’re seeing crime drop across Canada. Police feel they’ve got nothing better to do. You can throw a rock and find a marijuana user.” (as cited in Macqueen) More importantly, many of them are simple possessors. In 2013, there were roughly 73,000 of Marijuana related crimes and nearly 59,000 (80%) were simple possession offences while Marijuana supply offences (approximately 20%) such as trafficking, importing, exporting, and production have reduced in recent years. (Cotter, Greenland, & Karam) When the use of Marijuana is out of the government’s control and has become common as alcohol or cigarette, it has no meaning anymore to keep banning the use. That will be nothing less than keep wasting money with imprisoning simple possessors consistently. According to Hajizadeh, the annual enforcement cost required for current Marijuana policy and legal system is nearly $500 million to $1 billion. Admitting the rage of the uses out of control, it will be much more efficient for the government to rather legalize and regulate the recreational use. Wisely, the government can save the costs for enforcement by narrowing down the range of crime related to Marijuana.

The total employment number related to Marijuana might seem decreased in the short term because the number of new legal jobs could be smaller than illegal jobs used to be there right after the legalization. However, possible areas of new jobs related to Marijuana is not only limited on sales such as growing, packaging, accounting, and distribution. There are more potential jobs related to tourism, education, and public health. First of all, tourism is growing expectations of travel companies. Weed related companies are happy about planning tourism businesses, such as farm tours or retreat sessions with weed in mountains. With broadening variety of tours related to Marijuana, employment will surely follow. Secondly, since people will be able to consume Marijuana by their own preferences, the government will have to educate the users and potential users for the public health. The government will require experts on Marijuana, and health instructors specialized for adults and minors which is another new area of employment. Even though it might seem decreasing at first, the overall employment related to recreational Marijuana will grow a lot because of additional jobs in another new area other than sales.

It is true the legalization could cause some concerns on public safety or health. Nonetheless, the economic benefits following the legalization of recreational Marijuana is certain with tax revenue, reducing enforcement costs, and increasing employments. By admitting the use of Marijuana is out of control of the prohibition, economy of Canada will benefit from the legalization.

The United States as it grows in an alarming fashion seems to always have problems that grow with it. Out of all the problems that grow in this nation, drug consumption is the largest. Marijuana should be legalized for medical purposes, relieving stress, and recreation.

Marijuana affects natural mind functions like learning, remembering, or coordination it does not alter other bodily functions. Allowing it to keep the label of illegal creates no difference in the daily consumption, but contributes on other aspects that need to be handled. It also does not stop people from getting a hold of Marijuana. The current status of making marijuana illegal is doing more harm than good. Legalizing it would benefit the United States in many aspects varying from our economy to our citizens’ health. Marijuana is presented to many people as just another drug. Little do they take time to research on the healing effect marijuana has, or on the stress reliever effects it can have if used properly. The healing powers of marijuana have been proven scientifically through test trials with people suffering from illnesses like cancer or disorders like ADHD. In states where the drug is used for medical purposes the disease rate for some diseases has been cut in half since the introduction of Marijuana as medication. Legal, medical marijuana is allowed in 27 states, but not all strains of the plant only the strains that have been proven to heal. Strains of medical marijuana are combined together to possess a more preeminent outcome to deal with the prescribed matters they are made for.

Marijuana cannot cure a disease, but it can make the outcome of that disease less hurtful, and make the disease slower which gives a patient more time to fight the disease. In a report by Marcotte Wilsey he states, “Nabiximols has shown promise for helping people with cancer pain that’s unrelieved by strong pain medicines” (Wilsey 1). Marijuana hits nerves in the body that prescribed drugs cannot get too. This strand is the main one that causes numbness in feeling when smoking or inhaling the vapors. Another common thing Marijuana treats heavily are sleep disorders like insomnia or sleep Apnea. In this report by The Huffington Post it states, “ The National Cancer Institute announced in a study that patients who ingested a cannabis plant extract spray reported more restful sleep” (Jacques 7). Marijuana in these cases mellow out the patient’s mind making them relaxed and thus producing the outcome of sleep. Still the amount of people that can be treated like this is a small amount due to the fact that marijuana is not legal in many states. This is a redundant problem when there is proof of the good marijuana does for these people in the states where it is legal. Not only does it help people with diseases, but also it brings in a great amount of revenue in those states.

Recreational use of marijuana as of 2016 is now allowed in seven states. Three of those states have recently allowed the use of marijuana recreationally. The other four have been allowing the use of marijuana recreationally for almost five years. When it comes to talking about marijuana’s revenue powers the four states that bring the biggest revenue in are Washington, Colorado, California, and Nevada. Predictions that market experts have made on what revenue marijuana sales will bring in the future in these states is remarkable. David Scheep a money watch specialist said, “The growing acceptance and legalization of marijuana is helping the U.S. cannabis industry expand well beyond niche status. It is forecasted to pump from $24 billion to $44 billion annually into the country’s economy by 2020” (Scheep 1).

Marijuana is already a 24 billion dollar business, and it is predicted to double. This number could be triple or quadruple the amount if marijuana is allowed in all fifty states. Through 2015 Scheep reports, “retail sales of medicinal and recreational marijuana this year are expected to grow as much as 26 percent over 2015, totaling as much as $4.3 billion” (Scheep 4). This revenue comes from only these four states where marijuana sales have had time to bring in these numbers. Imagine what the government could do with all that money coming in. It could fund education, health, and road projects for our nation. Assuming that all the states could bring in a good amount of revenue off of this business. The amount of new things the United States would have money for would be unthinkable. The revenue would reach numbers our country has not seen in quite some time. This ends up being a gold mine that the United States is not taking advantage of. Instead, we waste time arguing this stupendous opportunity, which should have been made a long time ago. These arguments come from the common people and our nation’s politicians.

In any type of argument, there are always two sides those who support the issue and those who are against the issue. When it comes to legalizing the use of marijuana, both of these sides are strongly present. They are present in the general population and with that comes the presence of it in politicians. After all, they are the ones who decide where the United States moves as a whole. Even with some of the best heads in our political seats, many politicians have admitted to using marijuana for personal use. Some like president Obama saying, “When I was a kid I inhaled frequently, that was the point” (Krieg 5). President Obama knows how bad of a habit smoking marijuana is, but he does not think using it is worse than alcohol or tobacco consumption. One of Obama’s biggest points in why we should legalize marijuana is that people should not be thrown in jail for marijuana charges. Many jails are overflowing with inmate population and it is a waste of taxpayer’s money.

Even in these past presidential debates we had politicians like Jeb Bush and Rand Paul saying they had their encounters with the drug. Seemingly as there are those people and politicians who support it, there are also those who do not. The ones who do not support the legalization are not sure of how young adults would handle being in a culture where it is okay to consume marijuana. A report on the drug said, “Marijuana is currently the leading cause of substance dependence other than alcohol in the U.S.” (Walsh 10). This is a solid point to not want marijuana in the hands of the younger generation, but something that is not understood is that marijuana will continue to find its way too the younger generation regardless of its legalization. This is the same problem that is also brought with underage drinking or illegal gambling. Jodi Gilman, a journalist for the Washington post talks about the use of marijuana in adults, and how it has increased 50 percent in the past six years. Adults that are well along in their adult life will use marijuana; it is not just young adults who will use marijuana. Using marijuana does not make the user dumb or slower than the person who does not use the drug. People tend to push other people out because of their actions personally I know people who are way smarter than me who use marijuana so I do not see the consumption of marijuana as an issue. Those who do will have to understand the continued growth this drug will make in our country.

Personally the use of this drug does not have an outcome of where you will end up in life. My mother and father both have admitted to using the drug in their younger years and they are both equally successful. People who use marijuana get a label put on them, a label society gives them. Marijuana users should not be labeled just as people who like the same gender should not be labeled or a mother who decides to get an abortion. I know what my goals in are in life and marijuana has not gotten in the way of them. Same goes with the people I associate myself with everyday everyone has a set mindset.

In conclusion, the legalization of marijuana will make our country better than it is right now. Why would I say this with certainty, well only because of the facts I have presented you with in this paper. From economic growth too medical wellness marijuana will help millions across our nation. Keeping it on the illegal status will continue to give the United States problems that it does not need. Making it legal would give us great revenue and give us a great plan for the future. With all the benefits presented we might wonder why it is not legal yet, but hold your hopes up high because the legalization is much more imminent as the days go by.

Works Cited

1. Gilman, Jodi. ‘Cannabis use in young adults: challenges during the transition to adulthood.’ Psychiatric Times, Dec. 2015, p. 15. Huffington Post, Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
2. Hernandez, Elizabeth “Colorado Monthly Marijuana Sales Eclipse $100 Million Mark” The Denver Post. The Denver Post, 09 Oct 2015. Web.
3. Jacques, Renee. ‘This Is Why Marijuana Should Be Legal Everywhere.’ The Huffington Post, 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.
4. Krieg, Gregory. ‘Presidents and Politicians Talk about Smoking Pot.’ CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Apr. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
5. Minton, Barbara. “Marijuana Kills Cancer Cells, Admits the U.S. National Cancer Institute.” Natural Society. N. P.,25 Aug. 2015. Web.
6. “Republican Views on Marijuana.” Republican Views. N. P., 09 Nov. 2014. Web. Schepp, David. ‘Legal Marijuana: A $44 Billion Business by 2020?’ CBS News. CBS
7. Interactive, 18 Mar. 2016. Web. 19 Nov. 2016 Wilsey, Marcotte. ‘Marijuana and Cancer.’ Marijuana and Cancer. American Cancer Society, 3 Apr. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Last year’s studies in the United States showed how 45% of Americans had tried marijuana at least once in their lives, data that in the process of state legalization represent the largest since 1969. In that first year of that realizationsame study , the data obtained was 4%. At the same time, 64% of the population considers that it should be legalized, and it is also thegreatest support it receives in almost 50 years of analysis (at that time only 12% supported legalization). This happens in a country where, despite being still banned at the federal level, there are already eight states and the District of Columbia that have fully legalized it, which means that just over 20% of Americans live in a state where they can enjoy legally of the use of marijuana.Without entering into the moral and political debate on the use of Cannabis sativa (its scientific name), and although the use as a recreational drug is more popular, what really matters about this legalization revolves around itsmedicinal and therapeutic use.

The benefits range from certain neuroprotective properties, to having the capacity to stop the metastasisof some types of cancer, from helping to stop the advance ofAlzheimer’s , HIV in the body and even to be able to combat depression processes. And all this has not gone unnoticed neither for the medical community nor for the investment community.According to another study by New Frontier Data , the marijuana industry could create more than200,000 jobs in the United States in 2020. That would coincide with an annual growth rate of 16% between recreational and medical consumption. In this way, it would go from the current 7,000 million USD to 24,000 million in 2025.

The impact on many businesses is clear and goes from growers and packers of the plant, to those who dispense it for medical or recreational use, passing through the manufacturers of the so-calledCBD , which are a kind of medicines to treat patients with inflammations , chronic pain and depression .Using real data and not previous predictions, the truth is that reality exceeded expectations and in 2017 the turnover closed above USD 10 billion (compared to an estimated 7,970 million). Some analysts commented that the United States was creating the first scalable cannabis industry while the rest of the world was waiting to see the results. Not in vain until Spain could anticipate the debate opened by the UN on the legalization of cannabis .An investor duly documented, and eager to participate in the growth of this possible new green gold can access the market in various ways.

The first and most direct, involves the investment in listed shares whose main activity revolves around the medical industry of marijuana .There are not many options totally focused on the activity, but some examples could be Cronos Groupquoted on the Nasdaq (CRON) or the Canadian Aurora Cannabis Inc(ACB) whose behavior, compared to Amazon or Google, has been spectacular in the last half year.The second way to participate in this sector could be through quoted funds. Right now, one of the most interesting (and most risky) given its composition, is the ETF Management Group Alternative Harvest (MJ). This instrument includes 30 companies that are dedicated to the legal cultivation of cannabis, to distribution for medical or recreational purposes or to their legal production.

Although the member companies belong to North America , none that cultivate or distribute marijuana in the United States is included because of the existence, at the federal level, of the aforementioned prohibition. It isCanada ‘s main source location of those companies whose minimum profit off 50% of this business.This being the case and without this being any offer or invitation to acquire assets of this sector, there is no doubt that the wide medical possibilities that cannabis offers, could well turn it into a kind of green gold in the future. The advantages are innumerable from that point of view and its legalization for this purpose, increasingly approved by the population. And when it comes to investing, those are the characteristics that every investor, according to his profile, must analyze in order to look for diversification and source ofpossible alpha .

Abstract

This paper aims to shed light by providing a brief definition of what marijuana is followed by the negative effects it has on the human body, the psychoactive components that are present in it that cause the altering of one’s mind. High lightening the names of the components that are present in ‘Marijuana’ also to make mention of what it does to the brain, also to outline researches that have been carried out by different researchers , to make mention of the experiment that was carried out on “ rats.” to speak on the legalization of marijuana for both recreational and medical uses, and the implications that this may has on the helping professions.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse it defines ‘Marijuana’ as “the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis Sativa or Cannabis Indica plant.” This plant also contains a mind- altering chemical name tetrahydrocannabinol (THC ) along with other extract which can be made from this plant. The marijuana plant has numerous names such as: weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, and Mary Jane. Some people smoke marijuana in hand- rolled cigarettes called joints; in pipes, water pipes which is sometimes called bangs or in blunts rolled in cigar wraps. Additionally, Marijuana can also be used to boil tea and consumed for medicinal purposes. Marijuana is often mixed into foods such as, brownies, cookies, or candies.

Furthermore, Vaporizers are also used to consume marijuana, this is a practice called “dabbing” and it is on the arisen. Marijuana in its strongest form is called sinsemilla this is derived from the female plant and contain high doses of marijuana active ingredients including reins such: honeylike hash oil, waxy budder etc. The NIDA stated that these mentioned above are popular for those who use them both for recreationally and medically. Thus, the marijuana plant contains a psychoactive chemical which aid in altering the mind of those who consume its content along with other compounds. The main psychoactive ingredient that is responsible for the intoxicating effects on people is called “TETRAHYDROCANNABINOL”.

People use marijuana in different ways such as: smoking, eating, drinking or even inhaling this substance. The tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is very dangerous to the body and the cell receptors which often result in changes in mood, altered users’ senses, difficulty solving problems. On the other hand, marijuana contribute to many health effects such as: hallucinations and paranoia, breathing problems harm to pregnant women and her unborn child’s brain. Research has shown that the amount of THC present in marijuana has been increasing over the years and so this contribute more negative effects on persons who uses this substance or even those who are being exposed to second on smoking which produce more harm than good to the person who smoke the substance.

Despite the fact, that there are no actual reports found of anyone dying from using this substance as a loner, there are presented negative side effects that this substance contributes the following: anxiety, paranoia. There was a case presented in the gleaner that spoke about persons mixing the embalming fluid with the marijuana which appear to be fatal or cause mental disorder to the recipients this is a result showing that the persons who uses this drug do not know the negative side effects or the psychoactive substance presented in it , thus to mix it with other external components. Therefore, this substance has more negative impact on the body more than good. Marijuana can lead to substance use disorder which can in turn develop into severe addiction, moreover, there are no medications available to treat marijuana disorder.

Consequently, regard to the brain the chemical structure presented in the HC’s content is much like that of the brain (ANANDAMIDE) which help the body in recognizing the TCH and in turn alter the way the brain communicates. Thus, the cannabinoids serve as a clown in affecting the body seen that they function as neurotransmitters in sending chemical messages between the nerve cells in the nervous system. Due to this close similarity the TCH in the substance are more prone to attaching to the brain receptors and activating them to disrupting the normal physical and mental effects , seen that the neural communication network in the brain uses the cannabinoid neurotransmitters to play a role in the nervous system normal functioning it is prone to cause negative effects.

The tetrahydrocannabinol (TCH) is known for altering the normal function of the brain, however there was an experiment carried out on rats being exposed to the substance. The result showed that “the memory impairment from the rats being exposed to the marijuana content TCH alters how the hippocampus, the area which is responsible for the memory formation processes information.” The experiment showed that those exposed to the content showed notable problems with specific learning/memory tasks in later life. Moreover, cognitive impairment in adult rats was associated with the structural and functional changes in the hippocampus which is due to the exposure to TCH from adolescent stage.

On the other hand, Marijuana legalization has been looked over on numerous occasions. A comprehensive research was carried out by researchers at the RAND COPORATION “who found out that laws that seek to allow medical marijuana dispensaries correlate with the increase in overall pot use and dependence for adults age 21 and over only rise in dependence among youths.” The findings also showed that allowing marijuana to be sold for recreational or medicinal use will only lead to more access and use particularly in adults. The legalization of marijuana will only contribute to individuals who are not knowledge about the negative impact of this drug on their internal system to take part and may contribute to more mental disorders among youths. Another research carried out at the Emory University found out that after some states legalized medical marijuana , they saw some negative attributes among young adults age 21 and over with a drastic increase in binge drinking ,this is call for concern reason being it will cause more public health and safety issues and internal health risks such as: liver damage, more fatal crashes and violent outburst which will increase crime.

The implications that marijuana legalization has on the helping profession is that the counsellors/ Social Workers will have more cases to deal with seen that this drug has multiple negative impact on its users. However, information sourced from Counselling today.Org shared some concerns on the impact that this decision will have on the counsellors who works with clients in school, addiction, mental health etc. Catherine LIiff who is a licensed counsellor in Pueblo, Colorado expressed her concerns on the legalization of marijuana for recreational or medicinal use she stated that “the legalization will lower people’s inhibitions about trying the drug, which will likely to increase the intake of marijuana use.” “she went on further to say that users will experience increased levels of anxiety or depression.

Miss Lliff, went on further stating that “[Marijuana use] will increase the potential problems in people’s lives, [and] more will then seek help for their problem,” she also stated and I quote “ As a counsellor, it will affect how I see the problems of these individuals. I screen for marijuana use so that I can determine those people who may be affected by it. I will need to assess sessions to see whether an individual’s decision- making and judgment are affected by marijuana use.”

In concluding, the legalization of marijuana for recreational/medical use is still undergoing considerations in some countries. In Jamaica marijuana is decriminalized to an extent, speakers in the Jamaica Gleaner that was published on Wednesday February 12,2014 did not make mention of the negativity of marijuana, rather they spoke about how marijuana will benefit the country financially. The truth of the fact is legalizing marijuana will only cause more problem in the country and to its members especially adolescents who do not possess the knowledge of the negative impact marijuana has on the body nor the psychoactive substance presented. Marijuana being legalize for recreational purposes will only give young adults more time to become users then abusers of the drug which will later lead to increase behavioural problems, crime and violence etc. Additionally, the implications that legalizing this substance is clear it will allow the counsellors to screen and examining the users more in dept than before.

Reference

1. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (n.d.). What are marijuana’s long-term effects on the brain? Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/what-are-marijuanas-long-term-effects-brain#hippofigure
2. Lopez. (2018, November 14). The research suggests marijuana legalization could lead to more use. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/8/20/17938388/marijuana-legalization-more-use
3. Much to gain from legalising ganja. (2014, February 12). Retrieved from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140212/news/news1.html
4. Legalized marijuana’s impact on counseling up for debate. (2016, September 15). Accessed March 27, 2019 Retrieved from https://ct.counseling.org/2014/02/legalized-marijuanas-impact-on-counseling-up-for-debate/ Retrieved 24/03/2019

Would you prefer marijuana for medical use? Does your country support or allow marijuana? What diseases can this plant cure? Can this medication be the answer? Marijuana is also known as Cannabis. It is a psychoactive medication from the Cannabis plant. This plant is utilized for therapeutic or recreational purposes. The primary psychoactive piece of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), one of 483 known mixes in the plant, including something like 65 different cannabinoids. It can be utilized by smoking, vaporizing, inside sustenance, or as a concentrate. The lawfulness of cannabis for therapeutic and recreational use shifts by nation, as far as its ownership, appropriation, and development, and how it tends to be consumed and what medicinal conditions it very well may be utilized for. Uruguay and Canada are the main nations that have completely authorized the utilization and clearance of recreational cannabis across the country. Nations that have authorized the therapeutic utilization of cannabis incorporate Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Thailand. Others have progressively prohibitive laws that just permit the utilization of certain cannabis-inferred pharmaceutical medications, for example, Sativex, Marinol or Epidiolex.

Medical marijuana can be prescribe to treat muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, poor appetite or weight loss, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, to kill cancer cells and slow tumor growth, reduce anxiety and relieves pain. The side effects of marijuana are minimal when used at low doses. Cannabinaoid is cannibidiol, or CBD it is one of the most common substances of marijuana, which is famous as a treatment for epilepsy. The CBD impacts the brain without making the person high. Other element of marijuana is THC which can also be used for medical purposes. THC is responsible for pain purposes and has some properties that makes a person high. Scientists and other researchers said that using marijuana in medical purposes is beneficial and helpful but of course with certain limitations. The use of marijuana does no harm to the lungs not unless you smoke tobacco. One study published in Journal of the American Medical Association found that using marijuana can even increase lung capacity. Marijuana can also be used to treat and prevent eye diseases. It decreases the pressure inside the eye that prevents the damage of the optic nerve and causing loss of vision. However, Marijuana has some benefits including relief for long term pain but smoking cannabis can have some bad effects on your health including breathing problems or it will come to worse because marijuana comes from the dried flowers of cannabis plants. It has more than 500 chemicals. Cannabis can have a psychoactive or mind altering effects on you.

Here in the Philippines, our president considered marijuana as drugs and the people also because marijuana has a lot of bad effects when you smoke it like bloodshot eyes, dizziness, depression, fast heartbeat, hallucinations. Marijuana can also affect judgment and coordination, which could lead to accidents and injuries. When used during the teenage years, when the brain is still developing, marijuana might affect the IQ and mental function. According to The National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana can be addictive and could be considered a ‘gateway drug’ to using other drugs. Experts believe that higher THC levels and increased usage could increase the likelihood of physical dependence. You may have trouble stopping, crave it when you can’t have it, and need more of it to achieve the same effects.

Using marijuana as an alternative medicine for drug prescribed medicines can help cure or treat diseases but it also has side effects on our body. One of the most common side effect experienced by patients is hunger. People who use medical marijuana often feel a surge in appetite and appreciation for food. This is also known as ‘munchies’. For some patients this side effect is bad but for some people, it is the very reason why they use marijuana as medicine in the first place. Certain illnesses result in reduced appetite, such as patients undergoing chemotherapy or those with Anorexia, HIV or AIDS, severe nausea, and cachexia or wasting syndrome benefit from this side effect. The next commonly experienced side effect is dry mouth, also known as ‘cotton mouth’. Patients experienced persistent thirst and sticky mouth often referred to as “the pasties”. Unfortunately, just drinking water as a way to alleviate it does not really do anything significant to relieve it. Drinking anything with caffeine can actually dry out your mouth even more. Chewing, eating candies, and drinking herbal teas and cough syrup can help to alleviate dry mouth. Another well-known aftermath of medicinal marijuana consumption; is the reddening of the eyes. There’s no need to worry because this aftermath will not cause any fatal damage to the patient’s health, and will only last for a short time. The redness of the eye occurs because of the THC component found in marijuana that the patients consume, this is a factor on why blood pressure decreases after the consumption, and at the same time this will reduce the intraocular pressure of your eyes, which results in the expansion of blood vessels that cause the sclera of the eyes to look more in a shade of red. To alleviate this aftermath you can buy over-the-counter eye drops on local drugstores nearby. You must also restrain yourself from touching your eyes to prevent further irritation. Another aftermath is Drowsiness. This aftermath can cause conflict on your schedule, affecting your work, your daily routines and etc. There is also a probability that your mind and body will not function well. For some people, this is an advantage especially to those who experience insomnia. Preferably you may consume medicinal marijuana in the evening or before you go to bed, for you to avoid experiencing this kind of complications.

Over the last few decades, many agencies see the potential use of marijuana in different medical conditions including therapies that the FDA has approved. But what is the FDA’s take on the legalization of marijuana? According to their website “The FDA has not approved marijuana as a safe and effective drug for any indication.” however, they approved three drugs that can be given to people by prescription. They are named “Dronabinol” or also known as THC, Nabilone and Epidiolex. According to drugbank.ca (2019), “Dronabinol (marketed as Marinol) is a synthetic form of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ⁹-THC), the primary psychoactive component of cannabis”. And due to its tendency to stimulate one person’s appetite and it stops someone from vomiting, it’s been approved for use with patients with AIDS that lost weight due to anorexia and as a back-up medicine for nausea and vomiting for patients that underwent chemotherapy for cancer in which conventional antiemetic treatments did not work for them. Nabilone is also a synthetic form of one of the primary components of cannabis which is also used as a back up medicine for nausea and vomiting for patients that underwent chemotherapy for cancer and conventional treatments did not work for them but this is twice as active than Dronabinol. Epidiolex, a drug that is made from the pure substance cannabidiol and is manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals is regarded as the first cannabis-based medication that the FDA has approved and is now available by prescription. This drug is consumed orally. It is approved to people that are at least 2 years of age and older and is approved for treatment of two epileptic syndromes: Dravet syndrome, and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Even though they approved these said substances, they still don’t see marijuana being used as a safe and effective drug for any treatment and there is still a lot of research needed for it to become a viable.

We all know that war on drugs is one of the societal issues that government try to get rid the most because of its capability to destruct lives and dreams of many. Recently, legalization of medical marijuana has gained the attention of government and several debates had begun. Political leaders, government officials, health care providers and medical organizations take different views of the benefits and risks of medical marijuana when legalized. Proponents state that marijuana has valid medical uses and further research should be pursued while opponents list concerns about health risks, and the ‘gateway’ effect of marijuana that can lead to more dangerous drug abuse and other issues. The legalization of marijuana can bring both favorable and unfavorable effects to the society and the environment so this matter should be discussed thoroughly. The Philippine Government is very much aware of this and decided not to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes despite the efforts of the different organizations and other countries in convincing the government to legalize it. In conclusion, although, there are some advantages of legalizing marijuana in the country, the harms and dangers of legalization supported by medical evidence affecting health as well as social problems are significant. Therefore, it is highly recommended that marijuana should not be legalized in the Philippines. If only people can use it in moderation then there is high possibility for it to be legalized but we all know how people in our country can be abusive and addictive at the same time. As for us, we think medical marijuana is okay but people who are proven to need those will be the only ones to receive to. We all wait for change to come but always remember that it can only happen if we contribute and seek for one goal and that is to build a peaceful society for the next generation.

According to a new Pew research Center survey, the results stated that every six out of ten Americans, or 62% say the use of marijuana should be legalized (Geiger). Legalizing marijuana would result in the increase in tax revenue, a growth in income and jobs, a rise in investment opportunities, and an overall decrease in federal debt. The debate whether legalizing marijuana will destroy the economy or if it will essentially help the economy will always be a heated controversy. My stance is on the side that the legalization of weed will boost the economy financially and create stabilization, not the opposite.

The first big change any state or country would see after the legalization of marijuana would be the increase in tax revenues. In 2015, Colorado alone collected more than $135 million in tax revenues (Krishna). This additional revenue was not only beneficial to the state alone but the countries economy, too. The total in tax revenues within Colorado turned out to be $996 million, raising the sales in North America by 30% (Krishna). This as a result raised the sales all over the country, in return creating more revenue. Just the state alone is projected to raise $20.1 billion by the year 2020 according to Arcview Market Research. Overall, legal cannabis has contributed to more than $58 million to the local economy through taxes and other fees. At this rate, legal cannabis can produce more than $131.8 billion in aggregate federal tax revenues by 2025.

The second great change following the legalization of weed would be the growth in income and jobs. This would fuel the tax revenues and generate more money. In order to sell marijuana legally, the openings of new nurseries and dispensaries would be a necessity. This would then in return generate more jobs and an increase in income. A RCG Economics and Marijuana policy group study on Nevada said that legalizing recreational marijuana would create roughly 41,000 new jobs and generate $1.7 billion dollars in labor income. That being said if all states in the United States legalize weed, we would create thousands of new jobs. Another study suggested that an additional 81,000 jobs in California could be produced as a result (Krishna). New Frontiers report predicts that nationwide legalization of weed could overall generate 1.1 billion jobs by the year of 2025. Jobs would include farming, processing, distributing and selling marijuana-based products. If jobs aren’t available then secondary industries would be offered and more jobs will be created.

The third major change that would be beneficial to businesses would include investment opportunities. Although marijuana is illegal on the federal level, the legalization of marijuana would let investors capitalize on the rapid growth of the industry. Therefore resulting in the increase of jobs and tax revenue. Businesses within states or countries that have legalized marijuana tend to have very successful businesses. If marijuana did become legal on a national level, the companies would be able to list their stocks on all U.S. exchanges. This would result in an enhancement of liquidity and open up access to plenty of investors. Canada is a great example of a country who has legalized recreational marijuana and lowered their federal debt tremendously as a result.

The last, most significant change would be the overall decrease in federal debt. We spend more money on advertisement trying to legalize marijuana instead of actually doing things that need to be done to get to that point.The more states that legalize marijuana would help lower the costs for trying to enforce cannabis federally (Krishna). Many also believe saving money will help decrease our federal debt, which is possible. If marijuana was ever removed from the list of controlled substances then is would lower the costs for trials and incarcerations, which would lead to money being saved.

The other side to legalizing marijuana is that it will destroy the economy instead of making it better or more stable. The number one factor being put into play is the cost of legalizing marijuana. Federal marijuana costs several billions of dollars a year, which roughly comes out to $3.6 billion (Krishna). Information based out of Pueblo County, Colorado said the added costs of $23 million were the attempts of legalization of marijuana (Zhang). As a result of the increased costs, house values in Pueblo County raised by 6%. Andrew Freeman, who consults the governments legalization of weed, has warned multiple times against the legalization for the purpose of generating tax revenues.

Another con associated with the legalization of marijuana is money. Marijuana was made illegal because it is harmful. If any country were to legalize marijuana, it makes it seem that money is more important than the health of others. Instead, some think money should be spent on law enforcement and education on marijuana instead of legalization and taxes (CNBC). Alaska legalized marijuana in 1970 and saw a negative impact from it immediately. Alaskan teenagers alone doubled the use of marijuana that led for it to be deemed illegal in 1990. Hence why many people are hesitant to make marijuana legal because of the increase in use it may have on teenagers.

My stance is still for the legalization of marijuana and that it will have a positive effect on our economy. Seeing both sides to debate is crucial for choosing which one will be beneficial and do more good then bad. Countries would see growths in tax revenue, a rise in income and job availability, an inflation in investment opportunities and a huge decrease in our federal debt.