WEED: The legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado begs the question of its benefits.
by Chance Ornelas-Skarin, Staff Writer
Marijuana is pervasive in high schools; its scent lingers in our hallways and restrooms. Of course nobody can obtain it legally at our age, but should it be legal at any age? At the beginning of the year, Colorado legalized sales of recreational marijuana for anyone ages 21 and above. Of course, many criticize the allowance of such an infamous drug, but what is wrong with legalizing it anyway?
According to drugpolicy.org, marijuana is already accessible to so many that 42 percent of adults say they have used it. While many say it is unhealthy, a Harvard study found that it has “been touted as one of the safest recreational substances available.” Although marijuana is healthier than many other recreational substances, such as cigarettes or alcohol, it can still be very detrimental to the health of its consumers. The medical use for marijuana is to help people who live with permanent and painful diseases such as AIDS, but according to the research from Harvard, “the potential dangers presented by the medical use of marijuana may actually contribute to the dangers of the diseases which it would be used to combat.” Marijuana weakens patients’ already-battered immune systems. Use of the substance by healthy people is not as dangerous to the immune system but it still has “effects on thinking and memory [that] may last a long time or even be permanent”(as stated on drugabuse.gov). Marijuana is unhealthy in many ways for whoever uses it.
Health concerns aside, what about the dough legalizing marijuana will rake in? A chart created by Abbas P. Grammy, a professor of economics at the California State University of Bakersfield, shows that the predicted amount of monetary gain for the U.S. Treasury would be over 20 billion dollars annually. With marijuana illegal, both the revenue from taxing it and the cost of prohibiting it burden the U.S. economy by taking away desperately needed funds. This is likely one of the main reasons why both Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana. The fiscal benefits are undeniable. Perhaps the greatest indication that marijuana legalization would support the economy is that “Americans aged 18 to 34, for instance, broadly favor legal marijuana by a whopping 49-point margin”(as stated at NBC news) and, according to Huffington Post, a quarter of Americans say they would buy it once legalized.
Marijuana may not be good for our health but it will surely help relieve the costs of the drug war and bring revenue to the government. It may also eliminate a good amount of gang activity because “Mexican drug cartels make more than 60 percent of their profits from marijuana alone”(Marijuana Policy Project). Legalizing marijuana decrease gang revenue and likely significantly reduce the gangs’ influence in the U.S. Though many oppose legalizing marijuana on the grounds that it is an unhealthy recreational substance, other substances like cigarettes and alcohol are already legal and can be worse for one’s health than the green. Marijuana should be legalized due to the economic benefits—it’s not like the current laws make any difference as, according to webmd.com, “30% of today’s teenagers are smoking marijuana.” With so many already obtaining marijuana, we are better off gaining money from legalizing it than losing money attempting to prohibit what we can’t stop.