Decriminalization of Marijuana
Introduction
Marijuana is a substance whose use has been banned in many countries worldwide, the United States being among them. This action has failed to consider the benefits of the drug to the human population. Apart from its healing capabilities, producing and selling marijuana can create new job opportunities, which can help handle the excessive number of unemployed individuals. Governments must consider the act of decriminalizing, which means stopping viewing the drug as illicit. Even though there are individuals who may argue that the negative effects of drug consumption outweigh the positive effects of supporting criminalization, the essay plans to demonstrate the opposite.
History of Marijuana
The consumption of marijuana started in Western China and Central Asia. It has been utilized for its healing traits for millennia. The first case to be documented dates back to 2800 BC, when it was listed in Emperor Shen Nungās pharmacopeia (Xie et al., 2018). Therapeutic indications are suggested in texts of the Assyrians, Romans, Indian Hindus, and Greeks. It is reported that cannabis can treat a wide range of health issues, including depression, arthritis, inflammation, asthma, and loss of appetite.
A section of the Hindus describes their god as the Lord of Bhang as it is alleged that it was his most beloved food. Some of the past Hindus felt that the medicinal benefits of the substance were elaborated by appeasing the supreme beings, for example, Shiva. The ancient texts attribute the onset of fever to the gods’ hot breath, who were upset by the afflicted individual’s behavior (Xie et al., 2018). Utilizing marijuana in religious rites pleased the gods, thus, reducing the fever.
Marijuana or cannabis refers to a complex plant with more than four hundred chemical particles, of which over sixty are cannabinoid compounds. Statistics show that it is the most consumed illegal drug worldwide, and its usage has been related to different mental health issues, especially among the youth (Xie et al., 2018). Despite the connections made between its utilization and the development of psychological problems, it is recognized that not every person who consumes it is impacted negatively in a similar manner.
Although cannabis has been utilized and grown by human beings for more than six thousand years, current literature on its pharmacological abilities is derived from research conducted in the 19th century. The first isolated compound from the plant was cannabinol (Xie et al., 2018). Initially, it was wrongly assumed to be the primary active one responsible for its psychoactive influence. The second element discovered was cannabidiol in 1963 (Xie et al., 2018). In 1964, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (d-9-THC), the main active compound, was isolated (Xie et al., 2018). A cannabinoid study has been done to understand the various elements of the cannabis plant.
One of the cornerstones of the research mentioned above was the recognition of the particular binding sites of d-9-THC in the human brain. This prompted the cloning of the cannabinoid one receptor (Xie et al., 2018). The researchers named the system the cannabinoid receptor system due to the binding affinity of the d-9-THC to these receptors as a part agonist. Soon after, another receptor was found named CB2R (Xie et al., 2018). During about the same period, the availability of the endocannabinoid system was established after the extraction of ethanolamine of arachidonic acid.
The product was named anandamide according to a Sanskrit term meaning bliss. Investigators isolated the other endocannabinoid neurotransmitter three years later (Xie et al., 2018). More recent studies have demonstrated that d-9-THC resembles anandamide in its CB1 affinity while showing less effectiveness at CB2Rs than at CB1Rs. Regarding what different components of cannabis can do to the body or brain of an individual, the substance contains chemicals that alter the way people feel. Each of the one hundred cannabinoids contained in the plant has a specific impact. For instance, Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol produces a feeling termed as high when smoking or eating products with it.
Medicinal and Socioeconomic Benefits of Decriminalizing Marijuana
Whereas all states have legislation on the utilization of medical marijuana, over two-thirds of the United States and the District of Columbia have legalized it for treatment and socioeconomic purposes. They are even considering establishing bills to help achieve them (Neiswenter et al., 2022). While many individuals are using the substance, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved it for treating rare or severe epilepsy patients. Not much research has been done on the matter because the United States Drug Enforcement Administration considers cannabis a Schedule I drug similar to LSD, heroin, or ecstasy. They argue that it is likely for someone to abuse it and lacks medical value.
Therefore, investigators require a special permit to research the medical benefits of marijuana. This is a situation that is not considered to change soon. The Drug Enforcement Administration has determined to categorize the substance as a Schedule II drug, such as oxycodone or Ritalin. However, due to too much pressure from some governmental agencies, they are still keeping it as Schedule I (Neiswenter et al., 2022). They nonetheless agreed to support more studies on cannabis and make the process easier for scholars. The investigation is necessary since physicians need to be able to advise their patients as well as doctors on the secure and effective utilization.
A group of activists has demanded that the federal government, through different agencies, continue the fight against the drug. They claim that it can lead to memory loss which affects the studies of college students (Neiswenter et al., 2022). It can adversely impact the mental wellness of an individual, something that has been witnessed before. Due to impaired judgment, it is easier for a user to commit a crime.
To counter this, researchers are investigating whether medical marijuana can aid in treating numerous conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, illnesses impacting the immune system, and mental health problems, for example, schizophrenia and muscle spasms. It is believed that the positive effects of using the substance can outweigh the adverse effects (Neiswenter et al., 2022). Cannabinoids are similar to components in the human body responsible for memory, appetite, movement, and pain. Study shows that this chemical can reduce anxiety and inflammation and eliminate pain, destroy cancer cells or slow tumor growth, relax tight muscles, and stimulate appetite in individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
Medical marijuana has received much attention in recent years after some parents discovered that a form of the drug assisted in controlling seizures in kids. The Food and Drug Administration approved Epidiolex derived from CBD as a therapy for those with severe seizures. In research, some had a dramatic decline in reported cases after consuming the drug (Neiswenter et al., 2022). Additionally, the agency allowed two artificially created cannabinoid drugs, dronabinol and nabilone, to be used to treat nausea from chemotherapy.
Marijuana is additionally thought to have socioeconomic benefits, which is a point that decriminalization proponents use. Based on a study conducted by RCG Economics, the legalization of its utilization creates more than six thousand new job opportunities in both retail and production (Neiswenter et al., 2022). It generates an income of above two hundred thousand dollars (Neiswenter et al., 2022). The sector has numerous indirectly induced employment opportunities, such as data analysts, marketing, health professionals, and lawyers (Neiswenter et al., 2022). In the United States alone, it would lead to two hundred thousand jobs (Neiswenter et al., 2022). The figure exceeds that witnessed in other textile manufacturing and coal mining industries.
War on Drugs and Racial Motivation Behind It
The war on drugs refers to the effort by the United States since the 70s to fight against the use of illicit drugs by significantly increasing the penalties, enforcement, or jailing of offenders. It started in 1971 when then-U.S. President Nixon declared that abuse of drugs was the number one enemy of the public (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). He even increased the governmentās financing of drug-control agencies as well as drug-treatment efforts (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). Two years later, the DEA was established as a result of the merger of two offices concerned with implementing the presidentās orders (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). The battle was a small component of the federal legislation enforcement efforts until President Reagan began his term in 1981.
President Ronald significantly expanded the reach of the war on drugs. Focusing more on criminal punishment rather than treatment resulted in a massive rise in the number of incarcerations for non-aggressive offenses. The figures are from fifty thousand in 1980 to four hundred thousand in 1997 (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). His wife, in 1984, led a second facet of the battle with her campaign that insisted that people should resist the temptation of substance abuse (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). In her effort, she targeted to mainly educate children in schools on the risks of the act. It is believed that the expansion of this war was, in numerous ways, driven by an increase in media coverage of the crack epidemic that emerged in the early 80s (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). The rise in concern over illegal drug utilization aided in driving political support for the presidentās viewpoint.
The United States Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which assigned more than one billion dollars to the war on drugs and created a range of mandatory minimum jail sentences for different offenses. One of their key traits was the significant gap between crack and powder cocaine quantity that led to the same minimum punishment (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). Since almost eighty percent of crack abusers were black, mandatory minimums caused an unequal increase in incarceration rates for non-aggressive African American offenders and claimed that the fight was racially motivated.
Worries over the efficacy of the fight and increased knowledge of the racial inequality of the punishments meted out by it resulted in drop-in public support for most aspects of the war. It was observed that the main areas in the nation targeted were the low-income households where most African Americans resided. Therefore, reforms were established during that period, for instance, the legalization of recreational marijuana in more states. Another is the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the disparity of crack-to-powder possession standards for minimum sentences (Rosino & Hughey, 2018). In 2018, another legislation was enacted, the Prison reform law, which reduced the sentencing for some crack cocaine-associated convictions. Whereas the war is still being waged, it is achieved less intensely than in the 80s.
Conclusion
Marijuana is a substance discovered many years ago, and people have used it for various purposes, including medical and recreational. Even though there are negative effects associated with this drug consumption, the paper has highlighted the benefits, such as medical and socioeconomic, which outweigh the adverse effects. Additionally, since the substance does not impact individuals in the same manner, it is essential to consider decriminalization for the population that could be helped health-wise.
References
Neiswenter, S. A., Tupu, M., Cross, C., Fudenberg, J., & Harding, B. E. (2022). Postmortem THC in decedents following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Clark County, Nevada. Journal of Forensic Sciences.
Rosino, M. L., & Hughey, M. W. (2018). The war on drugs, racial meanings, and structural racism: A holistic and reproductive approach. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 77(3-4), 849-892.
Xie, M., Gupta, M. K., Archibald, S. D., Stanley Jackson, B., Young, J. E. M., & Zhang, H. (2018). Marijuana and head and neck cancer: An epidemiological review. Journal of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, 47(1), 1-7.