There’s Something About Mary-Jane

Five years after the Government of Belize announced that it was considering
decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cannabis, legislators have successfully amended
the Misuse of Drugs Act to decriminalize possession of up to 10 grams of cannabis; more
commonly known as marijuana. The Act also provides for non-recordable penalties for
possession on school premises and allows for smoking on private premises in specific
circumstances. The decision came following extensive national debate and despite heavy
opposition from The Council of Churches as well as many prominent Belizean citizens. Although
decriminalization has been effectively achieved, the debate surrounding marijuana is far from
settled. As Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte made clear over the course of numerous
interviews, it is still very much a crime to grow and retail marijuana. While there has never been
any formal consideration of the legalization of marijuana by the government, there are many
well respected public figures who support the idea, including leader of the opposition Hon John
Briceno. There are arguments to be made for and against legalizing marijuana. Admittedly,
there is no perfect solution to all the legitimate concerns about marijuana use but when health
effects, the impact on society, and law-and-order issues are considered the balance undoubtedly
falls on the side of legalization.
The primary reason for criminalising marijuana possession and distribution has always
been to curb its use and by extension it deleterious effects, however; statistics suggests that
marijuana criminalization has been inimical to its overriding objective. The proverbial war on
drugs has failed; addiction rate, violence, and overall availability of marijuana in schools has
seen a steady increase over the years. According to a 2016 report by the UN Office on Drugs and
Crime, 8.5% of Belizeans use marijuana regularly. Belize is ranked 18th out of all countries in
prevalence of marijuana use, this is higher than the Netherlands, where marijuana had been de
facto legalized. In fact, recent trends in Colorado where marijuana had been legalized, support
the theory that legalization could actually serve to decrease its use. Education and regulations
restricting use to adults has resulted in a steady decline in the percentage of Colorado teenagers
using the drug.The fact is, legal substances can be controlled and regulated while illegal
substances cannot, at least not effectively. Underage drinking laws and marketing campaigns
have reduced underage alcohol consumption worldwide and cigarette use among secondary and
tertiary school students is at an all time low. The illegal market on the other hand, with its lack
of standards and price control, continues to be a major public health issue. Legalization is the
first step in treating marijuana use as what it actually is i.e. a public health issue.
 Legalization would also achieve many of the the goals of criminalization by crippling the
illegal market. Making the legal market more appealing to the standard cannabis consumer
through legalization and tightly controlled regulations would effectively undercut the illegal
market. Legalization means that proper infrastructure can be established including potency
testing, product variety, warning labels; this would protect consumers from dangerous and
counterfeit products, reducing the physical risk from a psychoactive substance and offer overall
peace of mind for the consumer. Not only does an illegal market prevent the government from
enacting standards of quality, purity, and potency; it also promotes violence. The violence in
Belize has increased significantly over the last decade and much of this can be attributed to the
thriving drug trade. Rival dealers and gang kill innocent people as well as each other because
there is no recourse to the law in an illegal market. Violent crime and property crimes have
decreased considerably in Colorado since the state legalized recreational marijuana. Marijuana
in and of itself is not a drug that is inherently violent. On the contrary, marijuana users are
typically more calm and disaffected due to the inherent nature of the drug. The majority of
marijuana arrests tend to be of non-violent offenders and otherwise law abiding citizens.
Eliminating the illegal market would decrease marijuana related violence while
establishing a legal free market would have many economic benefits such as increased
government revenue and job creation. Increased revenues from taxation, licenses, and fees,
could be used to fund government programs and benefit the citizens in a way prohibition
cannot. Legalization would also create an industry which means more jobs and a lower
unemployment rate as evidenced by its effects in Colorado where the unemployment rate has
decreased steadily since legalization and is currently the lowest in America.
The dangers of marijuana has been widely reported for many decades and it’s narrative
as a harmful drug has overshadowed the many medicinal applications of the drug. For instance,
studies show that marijuana may potentially shrink aggressive cancerous brain tumors and two
recent American studies also found that treating epilepsy and other seizure disorders with
marijuana reduced seizures by more than half. THC, the chemical compound in marijuana
responsible for it euphoric effects, was found to reduce spasticity in sufferers of multiple
sclerosis by 30%. Marijuana also reduce depression, pain, and relieves anxiety. Legalization
would allow for better research to be undertaken with regard to its many medicinal properties. It
would also allow for easier access by patients who would benefit from its use.
Despite the many arguments to be made in support of legalizing marijuana, there are still
many staunch proponents of prohibition. The primary argument used to justify continued
prohibition is that there would be a significant uptick in the use of a harmful and addictive drug
if marijuana were to be legalized. But this argument, like so much of the discourse surrounding
legalization, is based mostly on myths. While there is no denying marijuana can have negative
health effects such as bronchitis and inhibited brain development, especially in adolescent
children, its negative health effects pale in comparison to other legal substances, namely alcohol
and tobacco. It is 114 time less toxic than alcohol, it doesn’t cause liver damage. There is no
conclusive evidence that it causes cancer and while it can cause dependency its addictive
qualities are very low, much lower than nicotine. In fact marijuana compares favorably to
cigarettes and alcohol on virtually every health metric. Moreover, marijuana’s negative health
effects are actually reasons why it should be legalized. As expounded on previously legalization
would allow marijuana abuse to be treated as a health issue. The same strong regulation that has
been used to diminish alcohol abuse and nicotine abuse can and should be used to curb
marijuana abuse. It is important to keep marijuana away from minors and it is obvious that the
current framework does not accomplish that. Regulation, standardization, and taxation would
be infinitely more conducive to curbing and controlling marijuana abuse. There is no evidence to
suggest that legalization would increase use in fact as has been previously illustrated, statistics
indicate quite the opposite.
Conclusion
The benefits of legalize marijuana far outweigh its risks as President Jimmy Carter said
in his 1977 speech U.S. “Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to
an individual than the use of the drug itself; and where they are, they should be changed.” This
is especially applicable to prohibition laws against marijuana. Prohibition has failed immensely
as a drug abuse strategy. It has become increasingly clear that marijuana prohibition causes
more problems than it solves. In reality many of the negative consequences associated with
marijuana derive from its illegal status as opposed to its consumption. Therefore there is no
compelling reason to maintain the antiquated policies in respect to marijuana.
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