by: Chris Cohen
The recent legalization of marijuana in the United States has initiated a cultural shift that has since gained support. Since the original legalizations that took place in Colorado and Washington in 2012 several other states including Alaska, Oregon, and the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) have decided to also legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.
Marijuana is sold in dispensaries in these states to anyone 21 and over and is only permitted to legally purchase and grow a state regulated amount. The Marijuana Policy Project calculated that Colorado collected over $67.6 million in fees and taxes from marijuana businesses in the first 11 months of retail marijuana sales. Reports show an estimated $10 million of that money will go towards the state’s B.E.S.T. Educational grants program and an estimated 16,000 jobs have been added due to the marijuana industry. The industry is actually producing jobs unlike what many formerly believed.
Researches are beginning to debunk the medical myths spread about the use of cannabis and marijuana on the body, lungs, and mind are being debunked as new ways to use marijuana and cannabis for medical purposes continue to be discovered. Common misconceptions previously made about marijuana claim that the plant increases the chance of schizophrenia, male breasts, and addiction. Schizophrenia effects 1% of people on this planet. In that time marijuana use has substantially increased throughout the world. Yet studies show that there has been no increase in schizophrenic diagnosis by anyone in the medical field. With these discoveries policies are beginning to be called into question. We are beginning to discover the bigger issue is not marijuana itself, the largest obstacles we continue to face are the results and consequences of the policies in place.
The United States led the way in bringing down cigarrete smoking by educating people about the risks and consequences involved. I believe that a similar approach should be taken with marijuana. In effect if we educate people rather than present them with unbelievable facts and information they will be more likely to respond positively and responsibly. The people need to be provided the correct information in order to make the best decisions. However, a sad fact is many people are not informed about the truth. Not just the truth about marijuana, but also the truth about legal drugs. One of the biggest problems in our nation is in how we fail to categorize prescription drugs and alcohol as drugs! Many Americans believe since we can purchase prescribed pills, over the counter medications, and alcohol from the local store and take them home they are not a drug. Statistics show that 1 person dies from a prescription overdose every 19 minutes in the United States. Marijuana cannot produce any statistic comparable to that alarming rate. Statistics show that more people die each year due in incidents related to alcohol and prescription pills compared to cocaine and heroin combined. Marijuana has never killed anyone, ever.
The truth is beginning to be revealed slowly, yet surely. With the arrival of the modern internet it is impossible to control and monitor all the information people can gain access too at the simple press of a button. The internet allows the truth to be spread worldwide. Now that the correct information about marijuana can be found online, people can now search the worldwide web for anything they need to know about marijuana and cannabis. The internet is an uncontrollable database that anyone almost anywhere can gain access to for researching information, or posting information. With a little effort and the assistance of Google you can search for any questions and information you may want to know about marijuana. The advancement of information sharing has given birth to a new culture that has emerged to ignite this societal movement, and it is bringing our modern world in a different direction.
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