Assignment 8

Title page

Criminal law

The arguments provided in the favor of marijuana focus on the benefits of this drug. Supporters of the argument claims that marijuana must be legalized for medicinal use CITATION Tom19 \l 1033 (Head, 2019). By making it illegal it deprives the patients of the benefits of drugs. It is not right to restrict marihuana for medicinal use because it offer relief from pain to the patients of chronic diseases. It is also claimed that strict laws can be adopted for making the drug illegal for other purposes. Findings suggest, “there is good evidence that cannabis has clinical efficacy for nausea, certain types of pain, and symptoms of multiple sclerosis” CITATION Mar167 \l 1033 (Leyton, 2016). Drug trafficking laws can focus on mitigating the risks of its illegal use. Supporters of marijuana deny the reason that it has been the cause of accidents. They blame the weaker laws and regulations. Inability of the states to control drug trafficking is the central reason behind increased risks of its misuse. Facts reveals that, “every year, an estimated 2.4 million people use marijuana for the first time” CITATION Tom19 \l 1033 (Head, 2019). This shows that not all people who take marijuana are using it for the first time. Only a limited population is involved in the misuse of drug so it must not be prohibited for medicinal use. Supporters also argue that strict punishments such as imprisonment and heavy fines can be used for discouraging illegal use of marijuana.

Allowing use of marijuana for medical use is not a step towards decriminalization of marijuana in general. The laws will make this drug legal for medical purpose only, which prevent general population from using it. However decriminalization laws will change across states. Laws will also explain the amount of pot that could vary from 10 to 100 grams among states. Possession of small amounts marijuana as permitted by the law will be legalized. This means that only people who possess large amount of pot will be jailed. This will also assure that trafficking of marijuana will receive harsher sentences CITATION Mar167 \l 1033 (Leyton, 2016). General population will be discouraged by using marijuana without prescription from the doctor. Decriminalization laws might vary among states because what amount is allowed in one state that might be illegal in other.

The evidence used for supporting the argument include scholarly journals, articles from credible journals such as Forbes and thought. Co. Facts are offered by these websites that makes the source reliable for the readers. Scholarly articles are taken from credible journals including Journal of Psychiatry. The sources are credible because they include facts that support the argument. McCarthy is a data journalist who has experience of evaluating drug related issues. All sources are thus credible because authors hold relevant experiences.

Most trustworthy source are (Leyton, 2016; Pacula & Smarrt 2017; Todd, 2018). These are articles obtained from credible journals like NCBI and Berkeley journal. The articles offer evidence on the role of marijuana and how it impacts its use. All three sources are credible because significant secondary sources are included for providing evidentiary support. Facts and statistics are also included for proving the argument that medicinal use of marijuana is beneficial and must be legalized. Tamar Todd is an experienced attorney who has specialized in analyzing cases of drugs and laws. His experiences and credentials adds to the validity and reliability of the source. Leyton is a professor in McGill University who has good experience of writing research papers. He has conducted researches on studying the role of laws in legalization of marijuana. All three sources are thus most trustworthy.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Head, T. (2019). 8 Reasons Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized . Retrieved 01 26, 2020, from https://www.thoughtco.com/reasons-why-marijuana-should-be-legalized-721154

Leyton, M. (2016). Legalizing marijuana. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience : JPN , 41 (2).

McCarthy, N. (2019). The Arguments For And Against Marijuana Legalization In The U.S. [Infographic]. Retrieved 01 26, 2020, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2019/06/14/the-arguments-for-and-against-marijuana-legalization-in-the-u-s-infographic/#4081a8a5678b

Pacu, R. L., & Smart, R. (2017). Medical Marijuana and Marijuana Legalization. Annual review of clinical psychology , 8 (13).

Todd, T. (2018). The Benefits of Marijuana Legalization and Regulation. Berkeley Law Journal , 23 (1).