Fourteen states already allow the drug for medicinal usage. South Dakota will vote this fall on whether or not to join them. Meanwhile, California is on the eve of possible legalization, and Massachusetts last year lowered punishment for possession to little more than a parking ticket fine. Yet a new poll (appropriately released Tuesday) shows that just over half of Americans, mostly of older and more conservative sects, oppose legalization of marijuana.
Concerns range from the argument that the drug is illegal and should stay illegal (ignoring that alcohol was once illegal, too) and the fear that the legalization of marijuana would cause a period of nationwide “reefer madness.”
Though the opposition to marijuana reform has been disintegrating since the counter-culture’s eruption in the 1970s, still, the U.S. is torn on the issue, despite the attention both politicians and the Obama administration has given it in the past year, though the Obama administration has said that it will not target marijuana dispensaries the way his predecessors did.
If we consider this to be an issue that will persistently pop up over the next decade or so, and it is something that the American people will eventually accept and pass, the opposing side should look into the positive things that could come out of marijuana reform, such as economic benefits that come from taxation of the drug, safety and regulation that will inevitably be provided to those who would use the drug regardless and the fact that drug cartels with possible ties to terrorists will no longer be funded through illegal drug trafficking.
Medical breakthroughs with medicinal marijuana have put the topic on the table for legislators. Considering the benefits and the political obstacles this issue faces, the American people should gear up to consider legalization a viable option in the future &- especially where we are already seeing some of the benefits of marijuana in states that allow for its medicinal use, and the lack of chaos that ensued surrounding the relaxing of punishments for the drug in Massachusetts.
Either way, this is a hot-button issue, and no matter your stance, both sides should be educated about the definite advantages and disadvantages of what will happen if this does or does not eventually pass. Instead of worrying about what could happen, perpetuating that chaos will ensue if the drug is legalized, we must be realistic and aware of the climate surrounding the argument. For the half that disapproves, there are nearly as many who do approve &-&- many of the younger generation, prepping to take over the leadership positions soon to be vacated by their parents.
Opposers take note, not action, for an educated understanding is the only thing that will prepare you for the inevitable, and necessary, changes to come.
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