The Legalization of Cannabis for Therapeutic Purpo Essays

The Legalization of Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes (Name) (Institutional affiliation) The legalization of marijuana is a topic that has sparked debate since its ban in the United States in the early 1930s. Lawmakers, scholars and ordinary citizens are ever active in the deliberation on its legalization and are divided on which outcome should prevail. However, the use of cannabis for therapeutic purposes (CTP) has significantly increased, with public perception towards its legalization warming up considerably. Today, marijuana consumption for medical purposes is legal in 30 states, though heavily controlled in most. In Colorado, California, Oregon, Alaska, Nevada, Washington D.C., Massachusetts and Maine it is legal to use cannabis for recreational use. However, research on its potential medical applications is limited and heavily controlled by the federal government, with opponents of its countrywide legalization the most vocal against such an initiative. This paper discusses the perceptions of disadvantages of cannabis use to individuals and society in genera l and maintains the stance that it is not a public threat. To understand the recent intrigue of whether Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes (CTP) should be legalized or not, it is essential to delve into why its popularity dropped since the 1960s. Regardless of the ban on marijuana in 1930, CTP continued to play a significant part of the medical community up until 1961 when a UN convention concluded that due to its high potential for abuse, it was no longer accepted for medical use ( Sznitman Zolotov , 2015) . More advanced medicines were discovered and developed, leading to decreases in CTP use. Nevertheless, the turn of the millennium has seen an increase in the use of CTP, with proponents and opponents in disagreement. Proponents for cannabis legalization cite the critical advantages as a boost in revenue, decrease in crime, its health benefits, better substance control and strong price control. They maintain that every citizen has the right to make their own choice regarding drug use, and specifically cannabis due to its natural component. Opponents of its legalization, on the other hand, are of the opinion that marijuana has addictive properties, is a gateway drug, has severe health effects and increase the societal problems that are prevalent in our communities. Surprisingly, the opponents of marijuana legalization are often the lobbyists for legislature preventing medical studies and research on marijuana. It has been suggested that CTP legalization will result in the increase in illegal cannabis use among groups such as the youth, high-risk groups and non-risk groups. Regarding the youth, studies have been inconclusive on whether CTP legalization increases in teens to use illegal cannabis. Studies have found that CTP legalization does increase the availability and prevalence of marijuana, but data on teen use is varied. A survey carried out in Colorado, a cannabis legalized state, found that drug-related suspensions in public schools bumped slightly after marijuana was legalized in 2009 but stayed level after (Dills, Goffard and Miron , 2016) . Regarding expulsion, the study found that the rate also rose somewhat but dropped thereafter. CTP legalization has not led to an increase in the use of illegal cannabis by the youth. High-risk groups are people who are more likely to use cannabis like arrestees and ER patients while non-risk groups include a majority of the population. Studies carried out regarding high-risk groups, and CTP legalization found no correlation between the two in the sense that an increase in cannabis use among these groups was not associated with the passing of CTP laws. Majority of the studies involving illegal cannabis use and CTP laws have examined the association using the non-risk population. Eight of these studies found no relationship between CTP laws and illegal cannabis use, with one study suggesting that the changes in perceived risk of cannabis use were unrelated to CTP l egalization. Empirical evidence suggests that CTP legalization resulted in a reduction in the use of illegal c annabis in 48 of the 58 states ( Cerda et al., 2012). Therefore cannabis legalization diminishes the black market for cannabis One hypothesis suggested that cannabis prices would reduce significantly decrease due to CTP legalization, leading to increases in its use. Due to economic theory, this would seem accurate due as cannabis would