Although the use of marijuana between Black and White Americans is roughly equal, Black Americans are 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than White Americans. Marijuana is feared by many, as it is wrongly classified with dangerous compounds. Under the Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is classed as schedule 1 drug along with heroin, LSD, and ecstacy. A schedule 1 drug is one that has no “currently accepted medical use” and has a high risk of substance abuse. Currently, more than half of states have legalized marijuana for medical use, while eight states have legalized marijuana for recreational use. But it is still federally illegal. Placing marijuana in the same category as heroine is absurd, and adds to the stigma around it. Now, Attorney General Jeff Sessions is planning on implementing new reforms against marijuana's legalization, allowing federal prosecutors to attack marijuana businesses where it recreational marijuana is legal. This action attempts to weaken a $10 billion industry, but in reality does nothing to stop the production of marijuana.
Marijuana should be legalized for three main reasons. One, the criminalization of marijuana hasn’t helped rid the US of marijuana use. Two, marijuana has been shown to have medical use. Three, there is a strong sense of racial biases in marijuana possession.
When someone is arrested for possession of marijuana, they are most oftenly jailed on the account of possession of an illegal drug. Said person may not make bail, or get an increased sentence, which has shown to increase criminal activity. 829,625 people were arrested for marijuana law offenses in 2006, 89% of them for mere possession offenses. Some people arrested for personal marijuana use spend over ten years in prison. The criminalization and federal prohibition of marijuana hasn’t diminished the use or the availability of marijuana, it has merely costed the US government more money to fund law enforcement. There are $3.8 billion and 4.5 million hours being spent every year for enforcing possession laws. That time spent each year for enforcing possession laws is equivalent to taking 112,500 officers off of the streets. The criminalization of marijuana has also failed to curb youth access, it has actually steadily increased youth use. One would expect that the US would have decreased Marijuana use given their harsh punishments, but no, it has increased.
Racism has been deeply rooted into the criminalization of marijuana. As I said earlier, Black Americans are nearly four times more likely to be arrested on the charges of possession of marijuana than White Americans, although their use is about the same. On to my point about the actual use of marijuana. There are certain compounds in marijuana that have been proven to treat diseases and illnesses. In accordance to state laws, nearly 1 million people across the nation use medical marijuana to treat illness and disease. These compounds have been found to treat Dravet’s syndrome, an extreme form of epilepsy, which causes polymorphic seizures. Many veterans also use medical marijuana to treat post traumatic stress disorder, because marijuana is extremely calming. Joseph Casias, a manager for a Walmart in Michigan, started using medical marijuana for his inoperable brain tumor to treat cancer when his oncologist recommended it. Although he was using the medical marijuana out of work, and was complying with state laws, Walmart fired him when hearing that he had been using medical marijuana. These unjust incarceration rates of African-Americans as well as the unfair firing of Joseph Casias prove that marijuana should be federally decriminalized as well as legalized.
The stigma associated around marijuana has led to the aforementioned disasters. Thanks to marijuana's bad image, citizens are losing jobs, civilians are being imprisoned and races are being discriminated against. Criminalizing marijuana does nothing to prevent use. In the Netherlands, where marijuana has been legalized and decriminalized for years, 19% of people use marijuana, compared to the 42% of the US. Marijuana should not be categorized with heroine, as that just provides an incorrect perspective on the drug. Marijuana has several helpful uses, and there are very few marijuana-deaths each year, excluding when citizens are discriminated against and brutally treated.
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