Desiree Jenkins
Kelly Turnbeaugh
English 1010
December 5, 2014
IEP: Legalizing Marijuana?
There was once a time where the thought of legalizing marijuana was a figment of the
imagination, slowly but surely the drug has been legalized in several states like Colorado for
example. Impossible you say? It’s not impossible, it happening before you can even realize it.
Now is the time to become educated and find out where you stand on the issue. Are you pro
legalization of marijuana, are you opposed to the idea or are you neutral and could not care what
happens. I think we need to start from the beginning.
In 1989 heroin was sold in the US, the most popular was the drug was sold in America’s
favorite product. That right, Coca Cola obviously knowing what you know now about heroin
you’re gasping at this piece of information. This is only the beginning our knowledge has grown
since then. In this period of time Americans were not aware of the harm it was causing.
“Physicians freely prescribed addicting drugs to their patients, thereby producing a large group
of medical addicts.” (Voth) After this incident there was a list of prohibited drugs and marijuana
was added in 1937.
When I started researching this topic one of the bigger questions that kept popping up
was, what would be the cost of legalizing marijuana? This is a very broad question it could cover
anything and everything however Most of the research I encountered was toward the medical
aspect of the costs. “In 2011 Marijuana was involved in 455,668 emergency room visits
nationwide and marijuana has been proven to impair motor coordination and reaction time being
the second most prevalent drug (after alcohol) implicated in automobile accidents” (Carise)
taxpayers have to pay for the emergency response team having this many emergency room visits
nationwide does add up to a high cost.
What would be different if Marijuana were legalized? David Boyum believed that the
choice between prohibition of the drug and legalizing it is a false dichotomy. Why? Based on his
article “Prohibition and Legalization: Beyond the False Dichotomy” he stated “No sharp line
distinguishes prohibition from decriminalization or regulation (which is what legalization
advocates say they are for).” (Boyum) Boyum also bring to light that under the Controlled
Substance Act Cocaine is labeled as “currently accepted medical use” where as marijuana is not.
This does not seem right we all know the terrible effects of cocaine where as marijuana is a
natural grown substance that might not be as harmful.
With all this information you would probably think that legalizing marijuana is bad and
that most people would agree. There was a telephone survey conducted by the Pew Research
center to obtain the date of the general public on how they feel toward the legalization of
marijuana. Nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) say they favor their state in allowing the
sale and the use of marijuana for medical purposes if it is prescribed by a doctor, while 23% are
opposed.” (Center) This research was conducted in 2009.
We always think about how the issue would affect ourselves, but what about other
people? Like the law enforcement. What is their stance on the issue, actually there are a majority
of law enforcement who are pro legalizing marijuana as it may lower the crime rate. Officer
Doug Wyllie reached out to his fellow officers for their opinions on the matter. Most of the
officers wanted to remain anonymous for fear of being scrutinized or fired for speak out. Others
like Aaron Groves of the Jasper Count Sherriff’s office stated
“Having worked in dope for over 2 years I have has the opportunity to send a few people
to prison for drug related convictions. I interview everyone that I take to jail and I
question then on how and why they got started using illegal drugs. Every single person I
have sent to prison for methamphetamine or methamphetamine manufacturing started out
using marijuana. Some say they weren’t satisfied with the high they got from marijuana
and needed something more, others simply stated that the drug crowd they were hanging
out with exposed then the new drug, If we legalized marijuana I think we risk exposing
more people to other illegal drugs, methamphetamine, heroin, etc. Before working in
narcotics I may have actually considered the legalization of marijuana, but now I’m
adamantly against it.” (Wyllie)
This officer has seen things that made him thing differently toward the legalization of marijuana
after the drug is not called the gateway drug for nothing.
When doctors are prescribing medical marijuana to patients they are risking their well
known name, their licenses and the ability to practice in that state. In the state of Pennsylvania
legalization of marijuana is undergoing review however a few doctors have spoken out toward
the matter and Lucy J. Cairns MD, decided to write an article about the concerns of being a
doctor and prescribing marijuana. Yes marijuana does have the potential to treat or heal cancer
Glaucoma, PTSD, AIDS and HIV. Daniel A, Forman, D.O. (RHPN-Hematology/Oncology)
stated “from a medical perspective, legalizing marijuana prior to having the drug proven to be
safe and effective for the indications for which it is being promoted is working backwards
compared to the usual regulatory process. Marijuana should undergo the same scrutiny that other
drugs go through prior to being allowed to be cold to consumers.” (MD)
AT first was a very neutral party toward this issues however after all the research and the
reading I feel that legalizing marijuana should not be legalized at this time at least not until tons
of scientific tests and research has been completed to inform the consumer of the pros and cons
of taking the drug.
Works Cited
Boyum, David. "Prohibition And
Legalization: Beyond The False
Dichotomy." Acedemic Search Premier
(2001): 865-868.
Carise, Deni.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com. 23 07
2013. 17 11 2014
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/denicarise/legalizing-marijuana-the_b_3620472.html>.
Center, Pew Research.
http://www.people-press.org. 01 04
2010. 17 11 2014 <http://www.peoplepress.org/2010/04/01/public-supportfor legalizing-medical-marijuana/2/>.
MD, Lucy J. Cairns.
www.Physiciansnews.com. 22 08 2014.
17 11 2014
<http://www.physiciansnews.com/201
4/08/22/pennsylvania-doctors-areready-for-medical-marijuana/>.
Voth, Robert L. DuPont MD and Eric A.
"Drug Legalization, Harm Reduction,
and Drug Policy ." Annals of Internal
Medicine (1995): 461-465.
Wyllie, Doug. www.policeone.com. 15
12 2011. 17 11 2014
<http://www.policeone.com/chiefssheriffs/articles/4835061-Legalizingmarijuana-Police-officers-speak-out/>.