Research Paper

Legalizing Marijuana: State Laws versus Federal Laws

Farrion McCollough

[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Legalizing Marijuana: State Laws versus Federal Laws

Power share and legal authority is the authoritative position that allows parties to make decisions about the on-going concerns. These legislations and decision making can be for development and to benefit a large number of population. Legalizing marijuana has been one of the hot topics that have questioned the law and order of whether it should be legalized or not. It can be observed based on the research that, legalizing marijuana has helped a large population in regards to human health and business development. For certain states like Florida, this has become a mandatory because of the health benefits including cancer treatment. At the same time, this is a threat for kids who get to use it in different products.

Every nation has a constitution, and this is the main source which subjects and guides the legislation to make laws according to the constitution. However, the subject matter of the legalization of marijuana has objected and opposed the reputable political maxim and this is considered to be an illegal and violation of the legislation. However, it is an on-going debate that what the actual legislative and executive powers should be. In American society, legality for marijuana has been considered to be the most controversial topic. When it comes to health benefits, marijuana is used to treat psychological disorders and for the treatment of cancer as well, but on the other side, this has increased the ration of drug abuse among the youth and infants ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"8jaeYfQD","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Wilkinson et al., 2016)","plainCitation":"(Wilkinson et al., 2016)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":641,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/9L9GLP3Y"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/9L9GLP3Y"],"itemData":{"id":641,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Annual review of medicine","page":"453-466","title":"Marijuana legalization: impact on physicians and public health","volume":"67","author":[{"family":"Wilkinson","given":"Samuel T."},{"family":"Yarnell","given":"Stephanie"},{"family":"Radhakrishnan","given":"Rajiv"},{"family":"Ball","given":"Samuel A."},{"family":"D'Souza","given":"Deepak Cyril"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Wilkinson et al., 2016). The consumption of marijuana through different products has become a challenge to American society.

There are two main roles, one the opposing party and the other one in the favor of legalizing marijuana. During the year 1906, the legality of the production, manufacturing, sale, and transportation of marijuana was made illegal by the Pure Food and Drug Act ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"nCGdlrvk","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Chu, 2014)","plainCitation":"(Chu, 2014)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":640,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/2ZX4QTW3"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/2ZX4QTW3"],"itemData":{"id":640,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Journal of Health Economics","page":"43-61","title":"The effects of medical marijuana laws on illegal marijuana use","volume":"38","author":[{"family":"Chu","given":"Yu-Wei Luke"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Chu, 2014). This Act mentioned that the use of marijuana is poisonous and can harm individuals who consume this. The opposing party suggests that this will increase the ratio of crimes and can result in a higher number of health issues. The wrong manufacturing of marijuana meaning that dumped marijuana is transported to the market which is a challenge and a threat for all the consumers as well as for the health sector of the American society.

However, the supporting party considers the production and transport of marijuana to the market consider it as legal medication or medical marijuana. Based on the video, it can be suggested that certain political parties also suggest the legality of the manufacturing and consumption of marijuana. This is however limited by them also that, the manufacturing should be transparent, and the quality should be not be compromised for business purposes. Policymakers and advocates suggest that legalizing the manufacturing and sale of medical marijuana may boost economic growth which is a positive impact but at the same time this is a source for increasing the crime rates in the society ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"X81LSdOB","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Polson, 2017)","plainCitation":"(Polson, 2017)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":643,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/E3EZP3YV"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/E3EZP3YV"],"itemData":{"id":643,"type":"chapter","container-title":"The Illicit and Illegal in Regional and Urban Governance and Development","page":"167-189","publisher":"Routledge","title":"Planning for marijuana: Development, governance, and regional political economy","author":[{"family":"Polson","given":"Michael"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2017"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Polson, 2017). However, the medical use of marijuana started in 1996, in California, which was the first state that legalized the use of marijuana as a medical drug. The legality of medical marijuana shows the growth of one party as a powerful that has the authority to pass the bills in the Constitution of the United States.

The recreational use of marijuana has been considered illegal, for this purpose the recreational legislation was initiated in 2012. Colorado and Washington were the first two states which legalized the use of marijuana as entertainment. The legality and illegality remain a challenge in American society despite powerful parties ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"GuCwTpER","properties":{"custom":"({\\i{}Legalized}, 2020.)","formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Legalized}, 2020.)","plainCitation":"(Legalized, 2020.)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":644,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/QGXFBC3Q"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/QGXFBC3Q"],"itemData":{"id":644,"type":"motion_picture","abstract":"Election night 2016 was a big night for the marijuana legalization movement as multiple states passed measures including recreations initiatives in California and Massachusetts. This piece documented the first year of Colorado's legal weed experiment.\n» Subscribe to NBC News: http://nbcnews.to/SubscribeToNBC\n» Watch more NBC video: http://bit.ly/MoreNBCNews\n\nNBC News is a leading source of global news and information. Here you will find clips from NBC Nightly News, Meet The Press, and our original series Debunker, Flashback, Nerdwatch, and Show Me. Subscribe to our channel for news stories, technology, politics, health, entertainment, science, business, and exclusive NBC investigations.\n\nConnect with NBC News Online!\nVisit NBCNews.Com: http://nbcnews.to/ReadNBC\nFind NBC News on Facebook: http://nbcnews.to/LikeNBC\nFollow NBC News on Twitter: http://nbcnews.to/FollowNBC\nFollow NBC News on Google+: http://nbcnews.to/PlusNBC\nFollow NBC News on Instagram: http://nbcnews.to/InstaNBC\nFollow NBC News on Pinterest: http://nbcnews.to/PinNBC\n\nLegalized: A Year In The Life Of Colorado's Legal Weed Experiment | NBC News","dimensions":"14:33","source":"YouTube","title":"Legalized: A Year In The Life Of Colorado's Legal Weed Experiment | NBC News","title-short":"Legalized","URL":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1cyfObqehI","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2020",1,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Legalized, 2020). The illegality of marijuana threatens individual rights, and at the same time this legality of marijuana threatens the health ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"JHEyCshR","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Wells, 2014)","plainCitation":"(Wells, 2014)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":642,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/42YFMN3L"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/smYQhi21/items/42YFMN3L"],"itemData":{"id":642,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"The Journal of Insurance ISSUES","page":"77-92","title":"Marijuana legalization: Implications for property/casualty insurance","author":[{"family":"Wells","given":"Brenda"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2014"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Wells, 2014).

References

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Chu, Y.-W. L. (2014). The effects of medical marijuana laws on illegal marijuana use. Journal of Health Economics, 38, 43–61.

Legalized: A Year In The Life Of Colorado’s Legal Weed Experiment | NBC News. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1cyfObqehI

Polson, M. (2017). Planning for marijuana: Development, governance, and regional political economy. In The Illicit and Illegal in Regional and Urban Governance and Development (pp. 167–189). Routledge.

Wells, B. (2014). Marijuana legalization: Implications for property/casualty insurance. The Journal of Insurance ISSUES, 77–92.

Wilkinson, S. T., Yarnell, S., Radhakrishnan, R., Ball, S. A., & D’Souza, D. C. (2016). Marijuana legalization: Impact on physicians and public health. Annual Review of Medicine, 67, 453–466.