Assignment 16- Matthew Street

The date is January 17, 1920, and the government has just passed the 18th amendment, making the manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages, illegal in the united states of America. The reasoning? The temperance movement after the united states entered world war 1, in which people believed that alcohol was the reasoning for the social injustices that occurred in every day life. The 18th amendment lasted 13 years, when in 1933, the 21st amendment passed due to the economic benefits of alcoholic beverages as well as it would greatly decrease crime rates because many people in this era were labeled “bootleggers” just for alcohol related crimes.  

In todays society we have a similar situation with a drug called marijuana. Marijuana has only been legalized for recreational use in 8 states where in 21 other states medical marijuana has been legalized. This leaves 21 other states to completely outlaw marijuana in the medical and recreational sense. This leads to the important question: “Why is marijuana not fully legal in every state?”. 

According to the American civil liberties union, or the ACLU, in 2010, of all the drug arrests in the United States, 52% were due to a marijuana related situation. This number of arrests leads to the use of an insane amount of money a year. When I say insane, I mean ($3,613,969,972) three billion, six hundred thirteen million, nine hundred sixty-nine thousand nine hundred and seventy-two dollars in tax dollars just for enforcing laws regarding marijuana. Let that sink in. That is the same amount of money that Lavar Ball said the Big Baller Brand was worth. You too could be a big baller. But, back to reality, in the states that have already legalized the recreational use of marijuana, take Washington (the state) for example, in Washington, marijuana has generated $220 million in tax dollars alone and an equally as impressive $129 million in Colorado. This doesn’t even count for the 18,000 new full time jobs in Colorado generated in 2014 alone, creating an astonishing $2.4 billion dollars in economic activity. This increase in economic production is the main reason why I believe that the legalization of marijuana would result in only positive outcomes for our country.  

To address the point that the antilegalization of weed group has concerning DUIs and if there would be an increase in the number of deaths due to driving while under the influence of marijuana. According to the National highway transportation safety administration, since the legalization of marijuana has been instituted in Colorado and Washington, the rates of fatality are DOWN from a decade prior, proving the exact opposite. The Drug Policy Alliance has stated that in the case that more drivers are testing positive for traces of THC in the body it is because, “[it would] demonstrate an as-expected increase in marijuana use by adults over 21 years of age in the states that have legalized marijuana”. These points not only show that the rates of fatality are down since the legalization of marijuana but also that people are being more cautious in their decision making, especially driving, while under the influence of marijuana.  

A point most people have trouble encountering when it comes to the benefits of weed legalization is the medicinal advantages that weed can have on the user. According to Business Insider, only 6% of studies on marijuana look into its medical benefits but what has been discovered has been incredible. A major find in the field of THC being able to help someone comes in the form of a study which showed that THC slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease. This study came from 2006 and Kim Janda from the Scripps Research Center. In the study, the scientists studied the effects of THC on a patient who was suffering Alzheimer’s disease. Another large piece of evidence from 2003, and the University of the Commonwealth of Virginia, shows that through the use of THC, the frequency of epileptic seizures can be diminished, bringing the epileptic person a large amount of stress reduction. 

The last point which I would like to discuss concerning the legalization of marijuana is the teen use rates. While one may be led to believe that in the states that marijuana is legalized, that the teens in those states would be using marijuana more often, but statistics would say otherwise. According to the national institute of Drug Abuse (the NIDA) in a poll taken of 8th-12th graders. Only 5.5% of 8th graders in the United States say they have tried marijuana one or more times in the past month compared to the 22.9% of all 12th graders. This shows the usage of marijuana extremely increases throughout the teenage years of life. However, in Colorado, following the legalization of marijuana, the teen usage of the drug went down from slightly over 12% in the past month to just 8%, showing that there is a major drop off in the usage of marijuana even in states where the drug has recently been legalized.  

Alas, the question of the legalization of marijuana will continue to live on through the presence of economic benefits, lower fatality rates while driving, lower crime rates, medical benefits, and even lower teen usage rates. As I leave you to ponder the question I must ask you something, will you continue to allow this prohibition to live on, or will we the people act on our version of the 21st amendment. Thank you.