Legalization of Recreational Pot-Use Raises Concerns and Disputes

February 18,2013

Colorado and Washington take the lead as the first states to legalize recreational pot use. Many have concerns on what repercussions will follow however...

Legalization of Recreational Pot-Use Raises Concerns and Disputes

Colorado and Washington take the lead as the first states to legalize recreational pot use. Many have concerns on what repercussions will follow however. The first of many points is on the possible health complications associated with legalizing recreational use of a drug still listed as a controlled substance. There is worry that because it is legalized, the message will go out that marijuana is safe and even good to use.

What research was able to garner is that marijuana has many beneficial effects that the adult population can take advantage of. Setting a law with a bar requiring people to be age 21 and over help will help send the message that children and young adults are forbidden to partake in the recreational use of marijuana. The only negative health effects that were found with using marijuana were in people who began using it at a young age. As the brain continues to develop between the age of 18 and 19, using marijuana before the brain finishes maturing can have permanent negative side effects, such as short term memory loss and slowed reaction and motor function. Aside from underage use, those with pre-existing heart conditions are also pre-cautioned from using marijuana often. Other than these two categories, medical problems are generally low.

The more pressing and now more popular item of discussion pertaining to the legalization of marijuana stands with the precedent it sets for the rest of the country. Many believe that by opening the market to marijuana, allowing commoditization and sale could lead to a highly profitable source of revenue which could resolutely help the struggling economy. Opposing this, many say that opening up the market would mean that what was once part of the black and illegal market is now okay and brought into the streets of the nation. However, none can dispute that the legalization will sharply decrease the amount of petty arrests dealing with the drug, and thus free up considerable prison space and save millions of dollars. Regardless of what benefits the legalization of marijuana could have, the stigma of it being a bad drug is still heavily cloaking the idea.

One notion was unanimous amongst the countless blogs and articles written on the subject; Colorado and Washington are the first, but probably won't be the last states to legalize marijuana. In the possibly near future the population will see whether or not, or more accurately which states follow the model that the first two have set. It will also be seen whether or not the legalization of recreational use will turn out to be good or if the proposed negative effects will come to be true.

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