Legal Status of Marihuana in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Legal Status of Marihuana in the USA - Essay Example Several decades of prohibition of marijuana proves that its illegal status does not work, so the state should legalize drugs and instead teach people to use them responsibly and properly. Â  Legal status of marihuana will benefit the society and the state as it will solve the problem of criminal responsibility and black market operations. Medical marijuana is a point to consider. Some states have legalized medical use of marijuana and do not penalize patients who have a doctor's recommendation. These states are.Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, California, Hawaii, Maine, Washington, Nevada, Oregon, and Maryland. In the case of marijuana, especially of smoked marijuana, the scientific difficulties are compounded by the fact that the substance has a recognizable psychoactive effect (Belio 2007). A herbal mixture similar in taste and aroma to marijuana might not produce the psychoactive effect and make many of those who are test subjects reasonably sure they are not receiving actual marijuana, which could skew perceptions and the results of any test. On the other hand, the main problem is that politicians and moralists speak about two opposite issues: medical use of marijuana and its legal status. ... Â  Marijuana smoke does contain many of the same harmful substances as tobacco smoke does, including known carcinogens, and there a laboratory and cellular research indicating that marijuana can cause cellular damage and disorders (Nadelmann, 2004. Medical Marijuana 2007). Â  Legal status of medical marijuana will benefit the government and allows to collect taxes, control black market, and illegal operations. Crop production uncertainties are just one perturbing factor in gauging the number of illegal drugs being produced. Medical marijuana will create the certain problem for society and the state. The main problem is that marijuana policy does not only affect marijuana users, but also the rest of society. Criminalizing marijuana use, on the one hand, can lead to higher costs of law enforcement and a black market while decriminalizing could lead to public disturbance caused by unwanted marijuana use in public. Similar to alcohol and other illicit drugs, prohibition does not work and does young from its usage (Nadelmann, 2004). It is possible to oppose these arguments stating that legal status of marijuana will worsen the problem of drug addiction and give free access to the wide target audience to marijuana. Fines, cautions, probation, exemption from punishment and counseling are favored by most justice systems. It is important to keep in mind that cannabis policies at all levels of government could affect the prevalence of cannabis use and the related social consequences. While this is the case for the cocaine and heroin market, the cannabis market is not associated with violence (Belio 2007). Â