Drugs have been at the center of a heated debate as of late, so it comes as no surprise that talk of marijuana legalization in the U.S. has caused an uproar throughout the nation. Even though our analysis proves that legalization could be a gamechanger for the economy, national rehabilitation, and racial progress, critics still manage to argue that legalization fosters addiction, increases crime and would be a crushing blow to American mental health. Rhetoric like this has made it so marijuana is only legal in 21 states, but it still isn’t enough.
On the surface, it seems that legalization would produce many negative effects, the largest one being an increase in marijuana usage. But this is not necessarily true: in states that passed medical and recreational policies, legalization does not lead to a significant increase in usage. Thus, support for legalization does not mean support for usage. Evidence shows that people who wish to use marijuana recreationally do so at the same rate across states; the difference between states is who gets arrested for it.
One of the most important benefits that legalization brings is a reduction in racial injustice. Currently, the criminalization of marijuana is sparking debate about how it relates to issues like the policing crisis and mass incarceration. As explained by Akiva Malamet from Catalyst, half of all federal prisoners and about a quarter of state-level inmates are being held due to crimes related to drugs like marijuana, adding to the U.S.'s already high prisoner population. Furthermore, Howard University’s School of Law writes that although rates of drug usage, possession, and selling are similar between most ethnic groups, African-Americans and Hispanic people make up 57% of those who were incarcerated for drug usage. This is significant because African-Americans and Hispanic people make up less than 30% of the U.S. population. In other words, cannabis laws are leading to the disproportionate criminalization of minority groups. The legalization of marijuana would effectively end one of the most frequent forms of legal racial discrimination in the U.S. and reform the American criminal justice system.
Another benefit that legalization puts forth is major economic growth. Already, marijuana sales in the US alone have reached over a billion dollars — and demand continues to grow. But because it isn’t legal in the majority of U.S. states, illegal vendors are making the most money off of cannabis, whereas businesses and the government are bringing no money from the industry. If marijuana were legalized nationwide, it opens an opportunity for businesses to begin selling it and for the government to levy taxes on its sale, which will create millions of jobs, increase economic flow, and increase tax revenue. Since a substantial number of U.S. citizens have shown that they will continue to purchase marijuana, whether or not it is legal, legalizing marijuana would simply be opening the already existing revenue to legal parties in the U.S.
One of the most prevalent arguments against legalizing marijuana is that it will exacerbate existing health issues. However, this has already been proven false. First, as aforementioned, legalization will not lead to a substantial increase in usage due to empirical evidence from states that have legalized the drug. Second, legalization would actually help to reduce the likelihood of overdosing because if legal parties are selling marijuana, it becomes easier for the government to create legislation regulating and taxing it.
In the U.S., marijuana’s current legal status means that, in 29 states, mass policing on communities of color results in marijuana being weaponized to create large amounts of discriminatory incarceration despite the fact that there is no plausible reason for why it’s a crime in the first place. In the world we envision, the public receives economic boosts, racial justice, and a decrease in the imprisoned population. Ultimately, modern America needs and deserves marijuana legalization. 🆅
The opinions expressed within this piece are solely the authors' and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of North Mecklenburg High School or the Viking Voice.