Effects of Legalizing Marijuana on the Criminal Justice System

With today’s current laws, an individual can serve up to 7 years just for possession of marijuana, and for trafficking the consequences can be even more severe. One reason the street value has become so high for Marijuana is because of the strict laws. This also causes people to steal and kill to support their expensive habit. Since marijuana itself is very harmless, it would make sense for our legal system to legalize it.

First of all, a lot of the cells in our jailed are occupied with individuals who were arrested just for possession. The amount of time and money that is being spent to trial and convict such individuals is ridiculous. In 2013 the city of Toronto had set a court services budget for about $55,000, and a significant amount of it being used in the process of convicting these individuals with possession charges. With legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana we can reduce that budget and use our taxpayer’s money elsewhere, so it is more beneficial to the taxpayers.

Lastly, Decriminalization of marijuana would also reduce the street value of cannabis, leading to fewer cannabis related crimes. Legalizing it would make accessibility to marijuana very easy, destroying the demand in the black markets. It can very well eliminate the black market that exists right now. In my opinion it is also not justified to put someone behind bars who had no intention of harming the society, but rather just have on themselves a mere harmless plant, and what makes it worse is knowing the fact that it is my money that is being used to support such actions taken by our government. 

Sources:

1. http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~haans/misc/mjdcrim.html
2. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/substance-abuse-centre-calls-for-pot-policy-review/article20504929/

Can Marijuana cause Death?

Marijuana does not cause death, it is true that it may have negative health effects, but has never been known to cause death. Many people smoke marijuana to be able to take in the THC and experience the different state it puts you in.

When marijuana is smoked in joints or bongs, the general properties of the smoke you are consuming can be harmful for your lungs. There are however much better and cleaner ways to be able to consume the THC without the bad smoke. You can resort to Vaporizers or even edibles. In a vaporizer, marijuana is heated rather then burned, and the consumer is able to intake the heated THC. In edibles THC oil is extracted from the marijuana and used to make brownies, cookies or any other edible item. For an individual to overdose on marijuana, they would have to consume an insanely large amount of it within a very short period of time, which is not feasible for any individual. 

For further statistics on causes of death the graph posted on this link. 

Cigarette smoking alone in Canada leads to about 37,000 annual deaths every year. 29% of these deaths are heart disease and stroke related, which is caused by cigarette smoking. Smoking cigarettes can also lead to many other diseases such as gum disease, lung and liver cancer, bladder issues, yellow teeth and many more. 

In Canada about 13.6% of our population consists of individuals within the age of 16-25, but this 13.6% of our population accounts for 33.4% of all impaired related traffic deaths. As mentioned in the Toronto Star, along with tobacco, alcohol has also become one of the leading health threats in Canada

When we compare the number of people that have been harmed from cigarettes and alcohol vs marijuana, the numbers are indeed shocking. With taking all the facts into consideration, it leaves me startled why the Government of Canada wouldn’t want to legalize marijuana not only for financial benefits, but also for the benefit for our society.

Sources:

1. http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Causes_of_Death#sthash.sTShZqEy.dpbs
2. http://www.maine.gov/dps/bhs/impaired-driving/drugs.html
3. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana

Effects of Marijuana vs Effects of Alcohol on Teenagers and Adults

Even though marijuana is illegal, we all know teenagers and adults are using it regularly and marijuana has been very easily accessible to these people. These individuals use cannabis for many different reasons. Some use it at social gatherings or parties, some use it to relieve stress or relax, for medical reasons and many also use it to enhance experiences; for example smoking cannabis before going to the theatre or before going out to a buffet to better enjoy your night out.

Alcohol is also used for many similar reasons. Although Alcohol is legal in Canada for persons over the age of 19, we all know very well it is not hard for a 17 or 18 year old to get their hands on some booze, whether it’s with an unauthentic identification or through an older friend or relative.

When we compare the consequences of these group of people using these substances we can see significant differences. Alcohol usage in adults and teenagers has led to a numerous amounts of fatal car crashes, many of them causing death. Alcohol is known to cause violent behavior in teens leading to physical altercations, criminal records, expulsions from school, etc. Young people are known to have the highest traffic deaths compared to all other groups here in Canada. When an individual is rage and under the influence of alcohol, they can make terrible decisions. 

On the other hand however, marijuana is known to cause the complete opposite. Marijuana is known to put individuals in a calm state of mind, reduces reaction time and can significantly increase appetite. It is also known to make some individuals paranoid and nervous. There have not been any known cases in which marijuana has led to violent behaviour or any fatal scenarios.

I guess you can argue that it may impair driving to an extent, but I believe we can all agree when I say it’s safer to be high and drive, then to drink and drive. 

Sources:

1. http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/01/17/majority-of-canadians-support-legalizing-or-decriminalizing-marijuana-new-poll-suggests/
2. http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/health-headlines/pot-should-be-legalized-and-regulated-like-alcohol-says-addiction-centre-1.2046372
3. http://luxury.rehabs.com/marijuana-rehab/social-impact-and-effects-of-marijuana/
4. http://www.madd.ca/madd2/en/services/youth_services_statistics.html
5. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/03/06/alcohol_one_of_canadas_top_health_threats_study.html

Health Effects From Marijuana Use

Marijuana is known for its medical use. It is commonly known that marijuana indeed does help patients suffering from chronic pain. Marijuana is also known to be a great painkiller. It can help with stress, relieve headaches and can significantly increase your appetite. Many patients with eating disorders have restored to using medical marijuana. Intake of cannabis is known to give users what we refer to as “the case of the munchies”. 

However use of marijuana also carries many negative effects. In our brain our pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception is heavily influenced by cannabinoid receptors. The receptors are activated by chemicals that are similar to those that are released when an individual consumes THC. When these receptors receive high volumes of these chemicals both from those produced in our body and those consumed from smoking marijuana, it harms these receptors which leads to complications in the functions that are influenced by these receptors. This basically means heavy usage can lead too short term memory loss and slower reaction times.

To sum it up, marijuana isn’t perfect. Yes there are some negative health effects, but these are in situations when an individual is consuming excessive amounts of it. The way I see it is everything should be done or consumed in moderation. Too much of anything is not good for our body, no matter what it is. We have exposure to tobacco products and alcohol which can do significant damage to our health and can lead to death, but we are not allowed to relax and smoke a joint?  I don’t see the justice in that, but that is my point of view, what is your? What do you think? 

Sources:

1. http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/health-headlines/pot-should-be-legalized-and-regulated-like-alcohol-says-addiction-centre-1.2046372
2. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
3. http://o.canada.com/news/national/the-pros-and-cons-of-pot
4. http://search.proquest.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/docview/199053491?pq-origsite=summon

Tax Money from legalizing Marijuana

The war on drugs has been in effect for decades in Canada. While little progress has been made with regards to the fight to eliminate use and distribution of these drugs especially marijuana. This war on marijuana has landed many innocent citizens in jail or in court fighting against a criminal offence of which they have been accused. With given current social trends and economic situation, it would be in our best interest to be able to profit from the sale of a substance which the public can use for recreational and social purposes.

The State of Colorado and Washington in the United States of America have made the step to decriminalize marijuana for recreational use and allowing sale and transportation of it with some regularities. Washington State has also projected to generate about $3 million dollars’ worth of tax money over a span of 5 years through the sale of marijuana. If you think that's crazy, consider this, the state of Colorado brought in an astonishing $2 million dollars in tax from sale of marijuana within the first month!

 In Toronto alone, our approved budget for 2013 had made available about $70,000 on engineering and construction. With an additional couple million dollars, we can raise our budget for such services significantly. Taking into consideration our current road conditions, we can really use that money. That money can also be used to better train police officers and build better schools and libraries which helps to give back to the individuals of our society, the ones are paying the tax initially.

The government of Canada is also spending about $2 billion dollars annually to enforce drug laws in Canada. Legalization would significantly reduce this number also. A poll on national post also suggests that majority of Canadians are indeed in favour or decriminalizing marijuana. Marijuana has also never been known to cause aggressive or violent behaviour but has been known to help physical pain and also with eating disorders. A professor from Western University of Ontario, who is also an economist stated "legalizing marijuana makes economic sense". I also believe that the government of Canada should review its laws and innovate them in such a way that benefits the interest of our society and our economy.

Sources:

1. http://search.proquest.com.library.sheridanc.on.ca/docview/1223390082?pq-origsite=summon
2. http://www1.toronto.ca/wps/portal/contentonly?vgnextoid=92c11764e70e1410VgnVCM10000071d60f89RCRD
3. http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/marijuana-legalization-would-be-tax-bonanza-prof-says-1.2596086
4. http://www.businessweek.com/debateroom/archives/2010/03/legalize_mariju.html
5. http://www1.toronto.ca/City%20Of%20Toronto/Strategic%20Communications/City%20Budget/2014/PDFs/Public%20Book/Net%20Gross%20Revenue%202014%20Operating%20Budget.pdf