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Public Policy: Marijuana Legalization

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course

Date
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Title

Addressing Marijuana Legalization in the United States

Introduction

Over the years, public opinion concerning marijuana legalization has been inclined to

rule out marijuana. For many years, this opinion has been stable. However, the turn of the

millennium shifted this long-established accord. As much as marijuana is mainly used as an

illicit drug in the United States, many states have legalized its recreational and medicinal use. In

the past, many Americans opposed the legalization of marijuana. This is evident in 2004

statistics, where only 34% of the citizens accepted the legalization of marijuana (Weinberger et

al., 2022). The share of the Americans who think marijuana should be validated has increased

over the years, with 68% of adult Americans in favour of legalization (Vann Jr, 2022). In

addition, 8.3% of Americans 12 years and above used marijuana in 2015, and 16.4% of

adolescents between 13 and 17 years used it in their lifetime (Yu et al., 2020). The figure of

young people using marijuana in the U.S. has been increasing over the years, with 43% of young

adults using the drug (Yu et al., 2020). This has increased the proportion of Americans proposing

the legalization of marijuana.

Various laws, particularly those taxing the sale of marijuana, such as the Boggs Act and

Control Act, have been implemented over the years to restrict the use of marijuana (Hannah &

Mallinson, 2018). However, the consensus of marijuana legalization is still viewed today using

the political lens in America, where mainly the Democrats support the legalization and the

Republicans are against it. The election of Joe Biden as the President of the United States in

2020 has opened an intense debate about the policy that should be implemented related to the

legalization of marijuana (Gould, 2021). President Biden took measures after his election, and as
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a Democrat, he overhauled the United States policy of the legalization of marijuana. This public

policy considers the legalization of marijuana as supported by the President of the United States

and other Democrats.

Importance of Addressing the Issue

Addressing the issue of marijuana legalization is significant in the United States. This is

because it has first been a debate in the country for many years, where some citizens and political

parties have been against it, and some support the legalization of the drug. Various acts have

been enacted in the parliament since 1937 in the U.S. to propel the restriction and regulation of

marijuana use, such as the Anti-Drug Abuse, Narcotics Control Act and Controlled Substance

Act to escalate punishment for the use and possession of marijuana (Murolo, 2022).

However, after the election of President Joe Biden, he decriminalized the United States'

stance on marijuana legalization, where people should not be jailed for marijuana possession. On

this note, this policy plays an important role, particularly to the marijuana sellers and consumers,

to inform them that marijuana possession is not a crime in the U.S. Also, it is significant in

informing the law authorities in the country, particularly the police who arrest people who

possess marijuana. President Joe Biden specifically mentioned that he pardoned those arrested

for simple possession of marijuana, and he urged all governors to pardon those who were

sentenced for possession in the states. He asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services and

the Attorney General to see how marijuana policy would be included in federal law (Wheeldon

& Heidt, 2022). This has been important for the United States because marijuana legalization is

viewed as a factor that increases the country's economic income, creates job opportunities,

reduces racial disparities in marijuana enactment and liberates scarce police resources.

Critique of Policy Option

The main alternative policy to Marijuana legalization is its opposition, the illegalization

of marijuana. The illegalization of marijuana's first trial at the federal policy was enacted in 1906

under the Pure Food and Drug Act (Denham, 2020). This policy included the restriction of

marijuana or cannabis, among many other substances licensed medicine organizations needed to

have on their labels for the consumers to avoid them. After that, between 1914 and 1925, 26

states in America allowed laws prohibiting marijuana. Since that time, the anti-marijuana

policies that were passed have been controversial for the most part. This has been with the

ditching of public complaints and legislative debate. By 1931, 29 states had illegalized marijuana

(Denham, 2020). During this time, Harry Anslinger was the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN)

commissioner, who led the illegalization process until 1962 (Anslinger, 2022). The illegalization

of marijuana came about due to the research related to the use of the drug and high rates of

crime, and other social challenges. This forced the federal government to consider illegalizing

marijuana in most states.

In addition, the policy of illegalization was put in place due to racism. Following the 20th

century, marijuana was not highly used among Americans. However, in 1910 when Mexican

immigrants started moving to the United States during the Mexican Revolution, they carried

along their habit of smoking marijuana (Campos, 2018). There were many Mexican immigrants

in the U.S., and they began circulating the habit of consuming the drug. Also, the word cannabis

was changed to Anglicized marijuana, which some people believed was enhanced to trigger the

strangeness of marijuana and hence fuel xenophobia.

Intriguingly, while marijuana use has been a controversial subject of discussion for over a

century in the United States, scientists and doctors have been unheard-of. Mostly, the consensus

has been triggered by the media's view of drug use and emphasized by support groups and
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politicians that support them. On this note, the debate on the illegalization of marijuana has been

political in the United States. As much as the Democrats, led by the current President of the U.S.,

Joe Biden, support and even implement legalization regulations, some politicians support

illegalization policy. For example, Pete Sessions, a Republican politician in Texas, believes that

marijuana is a drug allowing crimes (Cashin, 2018). Also, John Boozman, a politician in

Arkansas, supports the legalization of marijuana because he believes that the medicinal use of

marijuana has enhanced liberty where doctors can prescribe the drug for any illness (Cashin,

2018).

There have also been cannabis political parties such as the American Legislative

Exchange Council, Corrections Corporation of America and American Anti-Drug Council that

support the illegalization of marijuana in the United States. This policy is determined to be

effective in the United States, according to those who oppose it, because they feel that it is

inclined to various crimes in the country and can help reduce them. Also, the opposers argue that

legalization of marijuana has considerable side impacts that should not allow the government to

allow the drug to be used recreationally only for medicinal purposes.

Policy Recommendation

The effective option embraced by the United States is marijuana legalization. This has

been a debatable issue over the years, particularly from the Republicans' point of view in the

U.S. Still, the current President of the United States has passed the policy. Studies show that 49%

of Democrats support the legalization of marijuana, while 28% oppose the legalization (Shabad,

2022). Since January 2021, the view of legalization has changed even though it did not have a

clear stand (Shabad, 2022). Some states had implemented the policy in the U.S., while some

were still reluctant to incorporate it. Some people have been favoring the legalization of
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marijuana in the U.S. only for medicinal purposes and not recreational use. So far, after the U.S.

president accepted the policy in 2021, the United States has 21 states that have legalized the use

of marijuana for recreational use (Dills et al., 2021).

The legalization of marijuana has been viewed as an effective policy in the U.S. by

various politicians apart from Joe Biden, interest groups and professors. For instance, cannabis

political parties such as Minnesota Legal Marijuana Now Party and Nebraska Legal Marijuana

NOW Party support the legalization of hemp and marijuana (Yu et al., 2020). Also, Senator Ted

Cruz supports the President in legalizing marijuana as much as he opposed former President

Barack Obama for not implementing it. One of the prominent interest groups that support the

legalization of marijuana in the country is the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana

Laws (NORML). It has been championing for the U.S. government to reform marijuana

regulations both for medicinal and recreational purposes (Lyle, Walsh & Coraiola, 2022). Lastly,

Professor Robert Mikos is also a lead academic advocate for the reforms of marijuana

regulations. He has been writing lectures and books on the state’s constitutional authority to

allow laws that protect marijuana users (Mikos, 2020). The legalization of marijuana is a

recommendable policy by the United States because it is not a harmful drug compared to others.

It is used as a pharmaceutical replacement due to its healing abilities, such as reducing seizures.

Also, the rates of crimes can be reduced because it would not engage the drug dealers in the

business.

Conclusion

The legalization of marijuana is a policy that has been considered in the United States

since January 2021 after the election of Joe Biden in 2020. Much debate has been put in place

over the years concerning its legalization. Opposers of the policy have been linking the
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legalization of marijuana to the immigration of Mexicans who introduced it to the U.S., but this

shows an aspect of racism. Also, they link it to the high rates of crimes in the country. However,

it is better that the President made it clear for marijuana laws to be reformed because it is an

essential replacement for pharmaceutical drugs for medicinal purposes. It can also limit crime

rates because drug dealers will not focus on selling them.

References

Anslinger, H. (2022). Harry Jacob Anslinger (1892–1975) was the first commissioner of the Federal

Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) and was influential in shaping public opinion about marijuana in the

1930s. Anslinger was born on May 20, 1892 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to Robert John and

Christina Fladtt Anslinger, both immigrants from Switzerland. Harry Anslinger. Marijuana in

America: Cultural, Political, and Medical Controversies, 13.

Campos, I. (2018). Mexicans and the origins of marijuana prohibition in the United States: A

reassessment. The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs, 32(1), 6-37.

Cashin, S. (2018). 8 Anti-Marijuana Politicians to Watch Out For. High Times.

[Link]

Denham, B. (2020). Magazine journalism in the golden age of muckraking: Patent-medicine exposures

before and after the Pure Food and drug Act of 1906. Journalism & Communication

Monographs, 22(2), 100-159.

Dills, A. K., Goffard, S., Miron, J., & Partin, E. (2021). The effect of state marijuana legalizations: 2021

update. Cato Institute, Policy Analysis, (908).

Gould, J. B. (2021). Biden's First 100 Days: Putting the Federal Death Penalty on Life Support. U. Ill. L.

Rev. Online, 73.

Hannah, A. L., & Mallinson, D. J. (2018). Defiant innovation: The adoption of medical marijuana laws

in the American states. Policy Studies Journal, 46(2), 402-423.

Lyle, M. C., Walsh, I. J., & Coraiola, D. M. (2022). What is NORML? Sedimented meanings in

ambiguous organizational identities. Organization Studies, 43(12), 1991-2012.

Mikos, R. A. (2020). The Evolving Federal Response to State Marijuana Reforms. Widener L. Rev., 26,

1.
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Murolo, A. S. (2022). Marijuana Legalization. The Dark Side of Reform: Exploring the Impact of Public

Policy on Racial Equity, 67.

Shabad, R. (2022). House passes landmark marijuana legalization bill. NBC News.

[Link]

Vann Jr, B. (2022). Direct democracy and the adoption of recreational marijuana legalization in the

United States, 2012–2019. International Journal of Drug Policy, 102, 103583.

Weinberger, A. H., Wyka, K., Kim, J. H., Smart, R., Mangold, M., Schanzer, E., ... & Goodwin, R. D.

(2022). A difference-in-difference approach to examining the impact of cannabis legalization on

disparities in the use of cigarettes and cannabis in the United States, 2004–17. Addiction, 117(6),

1768-1777.

Wheeldon, J., & Heidt, J. (2022). Cannabis Criminology. Taylor & Francis.

Yu, B., Chen, X., Chen, X., & Yan, H. (2020). Marijuana legalization and historical trends in marijuana

use among US residents aged 12–25: results from the 1979–2016 National Survey on drug use

and health. BMC public health, 20(1), 1-10.