The Movement to Legalize Marijuana
The debate to legalize Marijuana has been a prominent issue that consistently debated and discussed in the entire world. Before Marijuana become legal, it has been illegally used in the world. According to National Institute on Drug Abuse, “Marijuana- also called weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane, and a cast number of other slang terms- is a greenish gray mixture of the dried flowers of Cannabis sativa.” It was known that Marijuana was originated from China and later spread to all over the world. The drug has been used vastly in medical field nowadays, however, there are people who abuse the use of Marijuana. Legalization of Marijuana will have both drawback and benefit to the society; however, if an individual takes the responsibility of his or her own action, legalization will bring more benefit to the country’s medical field and economy.
Marijuana consists a compound called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) which make the users high. According to the article from National Institute on Drug Abuse, “The person begins to experience effects almost immediately. Many people experience a pleasant euphoria and sense of relaxation.” In medical fields, Marijuana has been using to relieve the pain for a long time. The physician can prescribe the patients to use Marijuana legally in some part of the world. Anne Harding discusses that “Doctors also may prescribe medical marijuana to treat: muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or never pain, seizure disorders, Crohn’s disease.” It Marijuana is used for medical purpose, it can bring a great benefit not only to society, but also the country’s economic as more medicines can produce through Marijuana.
Despite Marijuana have medical benefits, if a user abuses the drug, there is also risk of using which affect personal life. According to the article from “National Institute on Drug Abuse”, the author discusses the effect of Marijuana, “Instead of relaxation and euphoria, some people experience anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic. These effects are more common when a person takes too much..” The frequent use of Marijuana can lead to addiction like other drugs and long-term health problems such as respiratory problems, cardiovascular risk, mental and psychological disorders.
How do the theories of Justice play a role in legalization Marijuana? There are 3 theories of justice- distributive justice- concerns the proper administration of burdens and benefits to individuals in society, retributive justice- concerns the proper administration of punishment for wrongdoing, and corrective justice- concerns the compensation of individual who have suffered a loss or injury at the hand of another and through no fault of their own. The article from Governing, the author discusses about the ending of cash bail system in California and implementing the law to reduce or dismiss low-level Marijuana offenses. The author mentioned, “On Sunday, California made history again by becoming the first to implement a statewide process to automatically review and potentially reduce or dismiss sentences and records for low-level marijuana offense. In this type of situation, it was certain that retributive justice was applied to the possession of Marijuana before the legalization of Marijuana happen in California. Before legalization, possession a small amount of usage is illegal, and the users can get arrested and put in jail.
According to California Marijuana Laws, “In November 2016, California passed Proposition 64, the Adult Use Marijuana Act (AUMA), legalizing recreational marijuana uses for adults 21 years old of age or older. On January 1,2018, California began its first day of adult-use cannabis sales, making recreational dispensaries officially open to the public. Distributive justice can be applied in this circumstance. As discussed above, using Marijuana can also bring the positive impact to an individual and economy. In California, Marijuana has been legalized and sold in public in certain areas.
The legalization of Marijuana can be very profitable both in medical related problems and in economic problems such as producing different kinds of goods, more job opportunity through selling and farming and it could be taxable. In conclusion, legalization with rules and regulations, for example- age, place, and certain restrictions, will also help to prevent the user to become a drug addict.