Legalize It: How Marijuana Can Save California

In order to clarify any sort of potential biases that could affect the following post, let me first go ahead say that I do not and will not smoke marijuana either recreationally or for medical reasons, regardless of its legal status. Between my asthma and personal preference to retain sound judgment and a clear conscious whenever possible, it’s not something for me. However I am not one to impose my opinion on others. After all, I’m no expert in pharmacology nor should I tell anyone how they must spend their free time until it infringes upon the rights of others.

To legalize, or not to legalize, that is the question. As the subject of archives of music, plenty of apparel, a plethora of blogs and diggs, and so much more, this topic is nothing new to the public discourse, but rarely do politicians make it a serious issue in fear of alienating a large demographic of voters who are morally opposed to the use of the plant. Ever since the flower children of the sixties, every subsequent generation has become increasingly more open minded to use of marijuana, especially in Los Angeles where there are more medical marijuana dispensaries than Starbucks coffee shops. While it is impossible to predict the number of Californians that smoke pot (check out this compliation of street names for marijuana) legally or illegally, there is a significant enough consumer base to justify the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act (AB 2254) proposed by Assembly Tom Ammiano of San Francisco. With the state budget deficit stacking higher and higher despite huge cuts to social programs, California’s politicians will have to seriously consider whether taxing and legalizing marijuana, the state’s largest cash crop at approximately $14 billion, is in the best interest of the state.

There’s a laundry list of explanations as to why California could benfit from decriminalizing marijuana. In a state where balancing the budget is nearly impossible thanks in part to the infamous Prop. 13, the retired judge James Gray suggests that on top of the new source of tax revenue, the state would save close to a billion dollars since the state would no longer have to arrest, prosecute, and imprison non-violent offenders. Currently, marijuana makes up 47% of all drug related arrests, 88% of which are for possession.

The state would also be able to track the distribution of marijuana, helping the DEA and police crack down on underage consumption of marijuana since it would follow alcohol’s precedent and remain illegal to purchase or possess for those under the age of 21. Since it is commonly agreed that marijuana is most harmful when it is consumed while the mind is still developing, this will focus the efforts of law enforcement in the right place. Additionally, some of the tax revenue would go towards marijuana education and rehabilitation programs, again mimicking successful trends to curb abuse and encourage safe and responsible use of marijuana through healthier means like edibles and vaporizers.

Decriminalization would also destigmatize the safe medical use of marijuana and encourage more research on the medicinal use of pot. After a 20 year period where almost no research was done on the subject, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research was created in 2000 and has shown promising health benefits in treating a number diseases and ailments with marijuana. However, the state funding for the Center is almost depleted, and researchers are hoping its success will encourage the Federal Government to provide the grants needs to keep the successful program afloat. As more information is learned and the public becomes more accepting of the many medical uses of pot, doctors from all walks of life will feel more comfortable prescribing the drug to the patients, allowing a greater number of Californians to reap the medical benefits of marijuana.

Legalization is accordant with California’s claim to being a political pioneer of civil liberties. Marijuana laws are just another way that citizens see the government as overstepping their jurisdiction and unnecessarily treading upon personal freedoms. In a time when the public trust toward the government is already dwindling toward historic lows, every step to restore the state’s images must be taken in order to retain democracy. By appeasing the wants and needs of the people through the legalization of marijuana, Sacramento would work towards repairing its shattered image by lowering public contempt toward government.

However, despite all these things, there are moral arguments keeping AB 2254 from passing. Because of intense propaganda campaigns that have demonized the plant, rational arguments for the safe use of marijuana have been disregarded because of the moral stigma of the drug. Compared to many both legal and illicit drugs, the side effects for marijuana are relatively harmless. Users also do not have the dangerous withdrawal symptoms from physiological dependency commonly found in other street drugs.



With both alcohol and tobacco known to be far more dangerous than marijuana, doesn’t it seem logical that the safer drug be legal? Since history shows that the consequences of prohibiting the use of alcohol or tobacco far outweigh the benefits, decriminalizing marijuana would prevent a hypocritical situation where Americans could recreationally get drunk or smoke a cigarette, but not engage in the healthier behavior of smoking marijuana.

Some argue that since marijuana is a ‘gateway’ drug, that more people will be vulnerable to eliciting more dangerous drugs, but both scientifically and socially that argument falls short. Dr. Andrew Moral studied the issue, and his research showed that people who are predisposed to using drugs tend to use marijuana because it is more readily available. This shows that marijuana, contrary to the gateway argument, do not cause people to try hard drugs, but instead connects them with drug dealers. If marijuana was legally sold, pot smokers would be purchasing their product from reputable sources, and no longer need to enter into the world of illicit drugs.

All in all, it seems clear that politicians from California need to seriously consider its current drug policies and whether they are in the best interests of their constituents or even the government itself. The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act balances the budget, encourages the use of medicinal marijuana, furthers research on the effects of marijuana in both recreation and medical scenarios, promotes safer use, and expands civil liberties. Before writing it off as some hippie movement, rationally consider how the legalization of marijuana would benefit the common good.

For more information, check out the fascinating history of marijuana policy in America.