DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS

Good reasons to decriminalize Cannabis

Sonia Colunga
Universidad de Monterrey

Author Note

Sonia Colunga, Department of Laws, Universidad de Monterrey.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Sonia Colunga.
Contact: sony_cbs@hotmail.com

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DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS
The decriminalization of cannabis has been a controversial issue in the governments of
different countries. Some countries already decriminalized the marijuana and it had very good
consequences. If the marijuana is allowed, it could have some effects on the people, so this essay
will discuss some of them.
Though cannabis is prohibited around the world, it remains the most commonly used illegal
drug.
So should cannabis be made legal? The decriminalization of cannabis is a good idea because of
the failed War on Drugs, medicinal purposes, and its danger compared to alcohol and tobacco.
The online scientific journal Neuropsychopharmacology published that using cannabis
damages the brain making smokers more likely to become hooked on other harder drugs like
cocaine or heroin. However, it has been observed that in countries were cannabis is prohibited,
the probability of cocaine used in people who never had smoked weed is higher than countries
with liberal cannabis policy (Brink, 2008). Marijuana is not a gateway drug, people sometimes
try other harder drugs because when they want to buy weed, the dealer offers them different stuff
and if the cannabis is decriminalized, the market of this drug could be separated from other more
dangerous drugs.

DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says: Legalization or decriminalization of
drugs will lead to increased use and increased levels of addiction. Nevertheless, the use of
marijuana in the states where it was decriminalized has not risen significantly in comparison with
the non-decriminalized states (The effects of decriminalization, 2004). A good example is
Portugal, where cannabis is not penalized, the illegal drug use among teens declined and the
number of people looking for treatment for drug addiction increased (Szalavitz, 2009). The
decriminalization of marijuana doesnt makes difference in the rate of people who use it. The
government, instead of spend money trying to arrest weed smokers, should use it in other better
things.
The War on Drugs has failed because the demand for drugs has not changed. In the article Drugs,
Nadelmann notes, A drug-free world, which the UN describes as a realistic goal, is no more
attainable than an alcohol-free world and no one has talked about that with a straight face
since the repeal of Prohibition in the United States in 1933 . It is said that insanity is doing the
same thing over and over and expecting different results. Alcohol prohibition failed and the
difference between that and the prohibition of cannabis is that we are still trying to enforce a
failed policy. With that said, is not the War on Drugs insanity? According to Nadelmann, The
extraordinary profits available to those willing to assume the risks enrich criminals, terrorists,
violent political insurgents, and corrupt politicians and governments.

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Using cannabis damages the lungs, causes irreversible changes in the brain, can be
addictive and more things (Porter, 2009). But cannabis consume has less serious health problems
than the use of tobacco or alcohol (Brink, 2008). Consuming alcohol or tobacco can have more
dangerous consequences than consuming cannabis. Smoking cigarettes is very bad for your
health, in fact is more dangerous than smoking weed. Also the cigarettes have nicotine, a
chemical that is much more addictive than cannabis. Another fact is that the alcohol kills more
people per year than all other drugs combined, it can cause death by alcohol poisoning,
asphyxiation, cardiomyopathy, and cardiac infarct. Nobody has ever died directly from cannabis
use.
The use of Cannabis has been in the main stream media and played a role in the lives of many
people from all over the world for several decades now, yet the government continues to try to
suppress Marijuanas growing popularity. What the governments does not realize is that by
prohibiting the use of Cannabis, they are inadvertently driving the recreational drug users
towards a more dangerous mood-altering substance in alcohol. This issue expands every year
with the growing rate of alcohol-related incidences. Disgruntled marijuana users are being
bullied by the governments into using, and possibly abusing, alcohol. People looking for an
alternative substance to marijuana turn to alcohol because of its false image of being less
harmful. In truth, alcohol presents several more dangers than Cannabis.

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DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS

Several organizations, politicians, and parents oppose these facts for the simple reason that
marijuana is a drug that has been illegalized. Alcohol is also a drug that was in the same
position that Cannabis is in now.
There are several issues surrounding the decriminalization of marijuana. One issue is how
marijuana would be regulated in regards to the law. If the use of Cannabis was decriminalized,
the only two safety measures that should be taken are banning use in public areas and driving
under the influence of marijuana. The American Journal of Nursings Deena D. Dell and Judith
A. Snyder report that Cannabis has been proven to decrease a smokers performance in divided
attention tasks such as driving; therefore driving under the influence of marijuana should hold
the same consequences as driving under the influence of alcohol.
By bringing the market for drugs out into the open, legalization would radically change all that
for the better. With that said, the legalization of cannabis is an intelligent decision because it
will take the profits away from the corrupt and put the profits in the Governments pocket since it
would be regulated.
Doctors have shown that cannabis has some medicinal purposes, which is a reason it should be
legalized.
The legalization of marijuana can have positive effects. Marijuana has been proven to be less
likely to create crime, it can be used as a medicine, and isn't any more dangerous than most other
legal substances on the market.

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DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS
It's difficult to understand why it is illegal.

Legalizing marijuana would reduce the numbers in prisons, help the country's Ill citizens, and
make money for the government by taxing the plant.
There is no feasible way to completely abolish drug use in the United States. As with
Prohibition of Alcohol in the earlier part of this century, the fight against drugs has backfired.
Many countries are spending billions of dollars a year to fight a war, which over the last 60
years, has shown that it cannot be won. "So let's use a little reverse psychology on the subject.
What would happen if marijuana or other illegal drugs were legalized" (Rosenthal, 133)?
First, the billions of dollars that the government is spending trying to abolish illegal drugs would
be put to better use and the governments would be able to tax the "new drugs" just as they do
alcohol and tobacco. These money could then be spent to provide better education on the effects
of drugs and drug abuse, better healthcare, and research on medical uses of drugs such as
marijuana. "Also, the government would be able to regulate the quality of "products" on the
market, resulting in fewer deaths caused by overdosing and by "junk" drugs" (Grinspoon, Lester,
167).
Second, with government regulation, including sale and distribution, the big drug dealers would
no longer be in control. The drugs would be made affordable or free to those who are addicted,
thus decreasing crimes such as petty theft. The streets would be much safer to walk on, because
the crack dealer on the corner would no longer be pushing drugs to young children.

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DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS
In conclusion, there are more important things to worry about than weed smokers, if they
want to smoke and have health problems is their choice. The government needs to focus on the

real crimes, like the people who drives drunk, or the advertisements of tobacco companies
instead of wasting money trying to arrest and trial simply weed smokers.

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DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS
References

Brink, W. (2008). Decriminalization Of Cannabis. Retrieved from

http://www.encod.org/info/IMG/pdf/Brink_Decriminalization_Cannabis_2008.pdf
DEA. (2003). Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization. Retrieved from
http://www.justice.gov/dea/demand/speakout/speaking_out-may03.pdf
Ed Rosenthal (2002) The Big Book of Buds: Marijuana Varieties from the World's Great Seed
Breeders
Grinspoon, Lester, Bakalar, James B. (1997) Marihuana, The Forbidden Medicine
Porter, M. (2009, February 14). Cannabis And The Risks: Facts You Need To Know. Retrieved
from http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5720180.ece
Szalavitz, M. (2009, April 26). Drugs In Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?. Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html
The Effects of Decriminalization. (2004, September 22). Retrieved from
http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~haans/misc/