Introduction
The usage of marijuana has been a controversial topic in the society of the United States for decades. Infamous for its adverse health effects and widespread use amongst youth, marijuana is federally considered to be an illegal drug. In the last few years, under public pressure, several state jurisdictions began to explore challenging legal options to decriminalize marijuana as a means of regulation and profit.
Main body
When it comes to the legalization of marijuana, policymakers must consider that the substance can cause physical harm even though it is popular for recreational use. While designing policy, public health and safety must be considered before any financial benefit to the government that might come from creating state-sponsored sales or imposing a tax on private sales. How regulatory decisions are implemented right now will serve as an example to other states and even countries as further attempts are made at decriminalization (Kilmer, 2014, p. 259). Despite the oversimplified debate portrayed by mass media, the concept of the legalization of marijuana is complex. It is not simply a choice between prohibition or legalization of sale, possession, and usage of cannabis. The most common problems arise in determining the supplier, taxation, and finally regulation of the product. Since this is a revolutionary step, there is no experience on how to manage a transition like this. As with any new industry, it must be determined to which extent it must be regulated (Caulkins et al., 2015, p. 4). While the legalization of marijuana can be compared to that of the legalization of alcohol after Prohibition, it also brings similar or even greater risks. Besides the concern of public health that marijuana can impact more so than alcohol, policymakers fear that creating a mass industry will eventually lead to lobbying against regulation and taxation. The most crucial point to consider is that when designing laws and regulations regarding marijuana in the next few years is that they must be versatile. This must be done to adapt to the information gained from the first years of policy and social research done in jurisdictions that choose to adopt any legislation first (Caulkins et al., 2015, p. 9).
Since the 1960s, marijuana has been universally illegal in the United States. By the 1970s liberalization began to happen, with enforcement being more lenient on charges related to marijuana especially amongst youth. By the late 2000s, the attitude towards cannabis began to be more positive, and finally in 2012 Colorado and Washington passed laws legalizing marijuana. In November of 2014, Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia passed similar laws. Currently, the majority of the states have some law in their legislative branches being debated about the legislation of cannabis, while many already allow marijuana to be utilized as medicine. Federal law still considers the drug illegal, however, up to date, it has been said that the states’ decisions will be respected. The focus of the legislation in many states is to end the illegal sale of cannabis and monetize it for tax purposes and so that distribution can be controlled. This can lead to prevention in distribution to minors. Also, legal sales drive criminals out of business ending drug-related violence (Caulkins et al., 2015, p. 3).
Conclusion
There are many challenges in the process of marijuana legalization. So far only a few jurisdictions made the step forward, but weighing their experience further policy will be formed to encompass public opinion as well as public health. Policymakers must create the right administrative resources to work with all aspects of this progressive movement and attempt to not drift towards any radical position on the matter.
References
Caulkins, J. P., Kilmer, B., Kleiman, M. A., MacCoun, R. J., Midgette, G., Oglesby, P., & Reuter, P. H. (2015). Options and Issues Regarding Marijuana Legalization. Web.
Kilmer, B. (2014). Policy designs for cannabis legalization: starting with the eight Ps. The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 40(4), 259-261. Web.