Marijuana Legalization: Pro or Con?
Support for marijuana legalization has increased in recent years, particularly since a number of states have legalized the drug, even though the substance is officially prohibited on the national level. The War on Drugs has had a disproportionate effect upon many communities, and there is strong support for decriminalization at minimum, given the argument that enforcement has disproportionately impacted historically discriminated-against communities in a negative fashion. There is also growing recognition for marijuana’s use in palliative care, which has increased the positive public perception of the drug as a whole. But still, questions remain about safety and long-term legalization’s impact and data remains ambiguous about whether legalization is a net positive or negative for impacted communities.

For example, in Colorado and Washington, “within Washington, the rate of perceived harmfulness of marijuana use decreased and the rate of past month use increased among eighth and 10th graders following,” legalization although the rate of acceptance among Washington 12th graders remained unchanged, and in Colorado as a whole (Cerda 146). A 2018 study by the Colorado Department of Public Safety (CDPS) found the proportion of high school students reporting marijuana use (during their lifetime or within thirty days of responding to the survey) remained statistically unchanged from 2005 to 2017. But in Washington, use after legalization among eighth and 10th graders increased by 2.0% (2010-2012) and 4.1% (2012-2015) while marijuana use among the same demographic in states without legal recreational marijuana decreased by 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively, during the same years (Cerda, et al.).

The reasons for increased marijuana use in Washington has been attributed to a variety of possible factors, including the perception that the drug is less dangerous because of legalization, the fact that students may be able to more easily obtain the drug from adults or older teens with legalization, or the decrease in the price of legalization through the black market. One problem, however, is the lack of comparative data given that legalization has been relatively recent, and only in a few states. The increase could possibly be due to Washington-specific factors that are not directly tied to legalization. But the lack of changed attitudes in 12th graders, versus younger teens does suggest that older adolescents may have already formed impressions of marijuana use even before legalization (Cerda, et al.).

The discrepancy between Washington and Colorado may be...…for simply having marijuana,” and despite the fact that African-Americans use marijuana at the same rate as white people, “Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.” This suggests that enforcement of marijuana use is primarily for petty violations, and results in unjust criminal actions, often against poorer individuals less apt to have the resources to defend themselves.

For states wary about legalizing marijuana use, another possibility is decriminalization, or not criminally prosecuting those in possession of marijuana, but not permitting the outright sale of the drug through dispensaries or out in the open (including the controversial sale of edibles, which arguably makes the drug even more attractive for younger users). Regarding my own opinion, before researching the subject I was strongly in favor of legalization. Now I have more reservations, regarding the potential for spikes in use among teens and individuals with mental health concerns, as well as concerns about the impact upon safe driving. I am still in favor of decriminalization, but some states may have legalized the drug for recreational use too quickly, without ample time to consider more limited alternatives.

Works Cited

Cerda, M.,…