In this light, Americans would be expected to have a small rate of marijuana usage, while the Dutch due to their expanded availability of cannabis, should have an increased rate of usage. The empirical evidence to support these conclusions, though, is scant.
Dutch drug policy may appear radical, but let there be no misunderstanding, their laws state clearly that marijuana is illegal. In 1976, it had been decided to take the course of de-penalization, a formal non-enforcement policy for offences involving possession of up to 30 grams, and this quantity limit was dropped to 5 grams in 1995. During the 1980s the de facto legalization started, with the inauguration of small retail outlets known as coffee shops that were allowed to commercialize marijuana in accordance with five rules: they were forbidden to sell to underage children, or to sell other hard drugs, or to exceed the limit of five grams in a day for one person, or even advertise, and public disturbances were not accepted (Mikos, 2009). It is relevant for the issue of legalizing marijuana at federal level to take notice that this frank Dutch endorsement of marijuana commerce did not have any reported negative effect on social welfare in the long run.
All in all, the reasons in favor of legalizing marijuana are manifold. For the first time in more than four decades of debating the issue, a majority of Americans support legalizing the use of marijuana. A national survey finds that 52% say that the use of marijuana should be made legal while 45% say it should not. Half of the participants confirmed to have personal acquaintance with marijuana. More recently, there has been a major shift in attitudes on whether it is immoral to smoke marijuana. Currently, 32% say that smoking marijuana is morally wrong, an 18-point decline since 2006 (50%). Over this period, the percentage saying that smoking marijuana is not a
(Pew, 2013)
In conclusion, close examination of evidence and present conditions point out the fact that this unfairly imposed prohibition is bound to cease sooner rather than later. It is simply unreasonable for a society who freely embraces the harmful effects of tobacco and alcohol to frown upon and rebuke an option endorsed by tax contributors simply because it's "a politically incorrect plant" (Sullum 2013).
References
Cohen, Peter J. Medical Marijuana, Compassionate Use, and Public Policy: Expert Opinion or Vox Populi? (2006, May-June). The Hastings Center Report, Vol. 36, No. 3
Metrik, J. et al. Acute Effects of Marijuana Smoking on Negative and Positive Affect. (2011, April 1). Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, Vol. 25, No. 1
Mikos, R.A. On the Limits of Supremacy: Medical Marijuana and the States' overlooked Power to Legalize Federal Crime. (2009, October). Vanderbilt Law Review, Vol. 62, No. 5
Pew Research Center. Majority Now Supports Legalizing Marijuana. (2013, April)
Sullum, J. The War over Weed: If You Know Why Marijuana Was Banned, You Know Why it Should Be Legalized. (2013, January). Reason, Vol. 44, No. 8
Thies, C.F. The Relationship between Enforcement and the Price of Marijuana. (2012, Fall). Journal of Private Enterprise, Vol. 28, No. 1
Yacoubian, George S., Jr. Assessing the Relationship between Marijuana Availability and Marijuana Use: A Legal and Sociological Comparison between the United States…
