There are fewer concerns about the possibility of a marijuana-related business legally opening in their own neighborhood: 57% would not mind them if a business or business selling marijuana opened legally in their neighborhood, while 41% would bother them. While a majority of those who say marijuana should be legal say they have tried the drug before (65%), 34% of those who support legalization say they have never tried marijuana. Of those who say marijuana should be illegal, 29% say they`ve tried it before, while 71% say they haven`t. When asked why they support or oppose the legalization of marijuana, people on both sides offer very different points of view. But a common theme is the danger posed by marijuana: proponents of legalization mention its perceived health benefits or consider it no more dangerous than other drugs. For opponents, it is a dangerous drug, which harms people and society in general. The percentage of 12- to 17-year-olds who use marijuana is higher than the national average in all states where marijuana is legal. For example, 16.21 percent of Colorado teens and 18.86 percent of Alaska teens reported using marijuana in the past year, compared to an average of 12.29 percent for the entire U.S. in 2015-2016. [39] Marijuana use by Colorado teens increased by an average of 20% over two years after adult-use marijuana was legalized. [78] Finding out why many support the legalization of marijuana raises questions about why anyone would oppose it. Again, it is important to look at both sides of the debate.
Here`s what critics have to say about marijuana legalization. Weed is less harmful than legal drugs such as alcohol or tobacco, so keeping it banned is pure hypocrisy. In fact, cannabis has proven health benefits, from treating glaucoma to preventing epilepsy to relieving multiple sclerosis symptoms. There is no health reason to keep it illegal, it is a purely cultural hangover from the time when pot was considered a dangerous and exotic import. Tobacco is more addictive than cocaine, but there is no evidence that marijuana is physiologically addictive. If you ban pot, you can also ban the consumption of burgers, bungee jumping or other moderately risky hobbies. Meanwhile, medical societies in the states of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware issued a joint statement in March opposing the legalization of recreational marijuana because there isn`t enough research to prove it`s safe. While the PAA does not believe marijuana use should be legal, it believes it should be decriminalized so that penalties for marijuana-related offences are reduced to less serious criminal charges or civil penalties. Our efforts should be focused on prevention and treatment, not on locking up children; We want to give our young people a good future instead of taking it away from them. Marijuana is especially dangerous for young people because the human brain is not fully developed until about age 25 (four years after the legal age in states that allow recreational marijuana).
[79] [80] The American Academy of Pediatrics stated that adverse effects of marijuana use in adolescents « include short-term memory impairment and decreased concentration, attention span and problem solving, which clearly impair learning. Changes in motor control, coordination, judgment, reaction time and tracking capacity were also documented; These can contribute to accidental deaths and injuries. [156] Studies show that students who use cannabis do less well in school. [81] Cases of exposure to poison marijuana in children under 9 years of age increased more than fivefold in Colorado after legalization. [12] SIN found « an increased risk of unintentional cannabis overdose injuries in children » in states where marijuana is legal. [255] The University of Colorado Burn Center reported a « significant increase » in marijuana-related burns after legalization. [161] Nearly six in ten Democrats (59%) support legalizing marijuana use, as do 58% of independents. By comparison, only 39 percent of Republicans do. From four states and Washington, D.C. After adopting measures to allow the use of marijuana for personal use, 27% of supporters say legalization would lead to better marijuana regulation and higher tax revenues. About one in ten (12%) cite the costs and problems of enforcing marijuana laws or simply say that people should be free to use marijuana (9%).
Estimates in the United States suggest that legalizing marijuana would improve the country by about $18 billion each year. The profits would come from tax revenues for the sale of marijuana and savings for the justice system – including the cost of incarcerating smokers. Since prohibition will never stop people from smoking drugs, the state might as well make money from it. Colorado cashed in more than $5 million in the first week after retail sales were legalized. It could also be a big boom for the economies of producing countries. A Jamaican company recently struck a $100 million deal to supply Colorado with medical ganja. When we make legal decisions about marijuana, we need to think about the health and well-being of our youth. The Marijuana Policy Project, an organization that conducts campaigns to legalize marijuana, said: « Study after study has confirmed that marijuana policy reforms do not result in increased rates of marijuana use among teens. The state`s most extensive investigations indicate a moderate decline in rates of marijuana use among teens in Colorado and Washington. [42] Although marijuana retail stores opened in Colorado and Washington in 2014, marijuana use among teens in these states was lower last year in 2015/2016 than in 2014/2015.
[39] Dr. Hans Breiter, a psychiatrist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and co-author of the study, said, « People think a little marijuana shouldn`t cause a problem. if someone agrees with work or school. Our data directly indicates that this is not the case. [111] A study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry states: « There is good evidence that cannabis use causes acute adverse psychological effects in a high proportion of regular users. [112] These are the reasons why I cannot support its legalization – I don`t see the advantages, only the disadvantages. More than half of adults in the United States, or more than 128 million people, have tried marijuana, even though it is an illegal drug under federal law. Nearly 600,000 Americans are arrested each year for marijuana possession, or more than one person per minute. Public support for marijuana legalization has risen from 12% in 1969 to 66% today. Recreational marijuana, also known as adult-use marijuana, was first legalized in Colorado and Washington in 2012. Public opinion about marijuana legalization has changed little in recent years, but it has changed dramatically in the long run.
A new poll found that 53 percent favor legal marijuana use, while 44 percent oppose it. As recently as 2006, only 32% supported the legalization of marijuana, while nearly twice as many (60%) opposed it. The case for the use of marijuana for medical purposes was presented in a letter from the World Health Organization to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on January 24, 2019. About 30 countries around the world had legalized medical marijuana in 2018. As of January 2017, there were approximately 122,814 full-time legal marijuana jobs in the United States. [54] A report by New Frontier Data found that the cannabis industry could create a quarter of a million new jobs by 2020. [55] [56] [57] An estimate of the Marijuana Policy Group`s economic impact projected the creation of more than 130,000 jobs in California after legalization. [15] [59] A few years after legalization, approximately 18,000 additional full-time jobs were created each year in Colorado, both in the marijuana sector itself and in related fields such as security and real estate. [15] Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) stated that the U.S.
cannabis industry « is expected to create nearly 300,000 jobs by 2020 and reach $24 billion by 2025. » [20] Millennials (currently aged 18-34) have been at the forefront of this change: 68% support legalizing marijuana use, by far the highest percentage of all age cohorts. But across all generations — with the exception of the silent generation (70-87 years old) — support for legalization has risen sharply over the past decade. Tax revenues in legal marijuana states fund police, addiction and psychiatric treatment centers, housing programs, as well as school programs such as anti-bullying campaigns, youth mentoring, and public school grants. [49] [73] « The effects are really felt at the local level. Some counties completed 20 years of infrastructure work in just one year.
