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Marijuana Legalization in the United States

Ke’mya Edwards

Professor Braunshausen

Writing in Psychology - Sec 92 – 1428

11/10/2024

Introduction/Background

The use of marijuana has recently been legalized in several states in the United States; this is a pretty surprising policy shift from the past traditional drug policies. Marijuana is still considered prohibited by federal law, but many states have slowly progressed toward the decriminalization or even legalization of the plant for both recreational and medical use. This shift is in line with other rises and changes in the perceptions of society on its use of marijuana due to its apparent legalization for business gains. However, the debate on marijuana’s impacts on public health continues to be inconclusive after the legalization of marijuana. More studies have been carried out concerning this topic, stressing such aspects as the impact on health, perceptions, and behavior.

However, there is a lack of extensive knowledge on the chronic effects of marijuana on health. For instance, while listing the changes legalization brings to the potency and usage pattern of marijuana among the current literature gaps, Resko and his team (2021) argue that more needs to be done. Similarly, openness showed that although there are indications that traffic rates have increased after legalization, its contribution to the accident trends is still ambiguous (Farmer et al., 2022).

Similar concerns remain relating to the future enhanced rate of emergency admissions caused by side effects resulting from the increased marijuana potency (Resko et al., 2021). This again demonstrates that the public views marijuana as safe to use and consume at times while at other times there are concerns about the possible effects it might have on their mental health (Curry & Wilson, 2020). Last but not least, the estimates of adolescent marijuana use have for years flared as the primary source of concern. However, the available evidence on legalization suggests ambivalent effects on youth consumption (Schinke et.al 2017). These public health issues will be discussed in this review and the overall impact of marijuana legalization for public health and crime in the United States will be evaluated.

Literature Review

The recent legislation on the use of marijuana in different states has enabled many studies to be conducted to establish its effects on public health, safety, and attitude. According to Curry and Wilson (2020), legalization has mixed impacts on the economy and health of the states. They remind their readers that marijuana legalization is beneficial to states because it has brought enormous tax revenues, but at the same time, it has negative effects on public health. Public use frequencies may rise after legalization due to the simple availability of the substance; long-term health effects are possible. Policies they have proposed indicate that legalization is likely to increase revenue due to higher consumption of the substance but contradictorily bring health risks that are normally associated with liberalization of the substance.

Much literature remains on marijuana legalization and traffic safety, which is why Farmer et al. (2022) offer a narrow suggestion to examine only traffic-related occurrences over ten years. Their research relies on state-level crash data and uses co-variate analysis to isolate factors outside of seatbelt usage including but not limited to unemployment levels and alcohol consumption. The findings show a relative rise of 6.5% in the rates of injury crashes and 2.3% in the rates of fatal crashes in states where marijuana is legalized, but these changes differ in different regions. These fluctuations indicate that there are many aspects of traffic safety where marijuana plays a crucial part, so while in some states the crash rates escalate drastically, in others they remain stable. According to Farmer et al., more studies on the effects of marijuana on public health with consideration to traffic safety should be conducted at the state level.

In the same respect, legislations and regulations are discussed by Knopf (2019) where he also looks at the impaired coordination between the state and the federal laws concerning marijuana. Using the example of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, Knopf captures the act as having the ability to change the legal status of marijuana in the United States by removing federal marijuana offenses as well as decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. While the MORE Act marks a step towards federal acceptance, Knopf underlines the strong staking within the Senate and indecision from the federal authorities. The act's passage could reduce the complexity of rules and establish clear policy paradigms for marijuana usage concerning which more effective health promotion interventions could be developed to parameters of use of safe marijuana and prevent misuse. Subsequently, Knopf's work relates to the larger sphere of legal issues surrounding the liberalization of marijuana policies and the effects of such movements on population health.

Another area of interest in the current literature also about public opinion has been the perceptions people have toward the use of marijuana. Resko et al. (2021) administer a survey to examine Michigan people's perceptions of the health and safety consequences of legal marijuana. The majority opinion reported by respondents is that marijuana is stronger now than before and most of them believe that legalizing it threatens the safety on roads and at workplaces. Furthermore, almost 38% of the participants think that legalization may lead to more ER visits because of side effects. Such issues raise the possibility of having to launch public health campaigns that would help inform the public about moderation when it comes to the use of marijuana, and the minuses of the substance's potency to safety. The study presented by Resko et al. shows that even as marijuana becomes more socially acceptable, people may still require government health campaigns to reassure them about its safety.

On the other hand, rather than pursue the perception of the extent to which youths are at risk, Schinke et al. (2017) look at the relationship between legalization and increased adolescent marijuana use. Their survey sample includes 1305 youths from 48 states and the authors failed to unveil a link between adult legalization and an increase in adolescent drinking rate. However, the authors state that age, gender, and the parents' education level are the factors attributed to the high use by adolescents. For instance, teens in the study whose parents went to college used less than those whose parents lacked a college education. Such trends imply that adolescents nonetheless may be more concerned with the aspect of families and social circles than with the legal aspect of marijuana as such. Schinke et al. also argue that legalization does not always influence youth use but suggests that it is necessary to carry out constant research as people's perception of marijuana changes.

Altogether, these works provide a complex picture of marijuana legalization's consequences for society, the degree of positive impact, and possible public health consequences. The existing literature in the view of the indicated areas notes that states benefit from legalization economically, while traffic safety concerns, potency perception, and effects on youth remain important issues for further qualitative study and policymaking.

Conclusion/Recommendations

Some effects of marijuana legalization are brilliant, while at the same time having risks that could enhance the future health status of a state or country. On one hand, marijuana legalization is a source of revenue through taxation, those funds can be channeled back into health within the community (Curry, & Wilson, 2020). On the other hand, there is still a lot of controversy regarding driving safety issues as the analysis of some states shows that traffic accidents have risen since; the legalization of marijuana (Farmer et al., 2022). The public evaluates the content of marijuana as stronger today and emphasizes possible threats that it poses to disable functioning behind the wheel as well as at the workplace (Resko et al., 2021). Federal decriminalization excluding sale and possession attempts like the MORE Act signifies a drastic change in policy while there are still questions about a united stand in policy reforms (Knopf, 2019). Last, there is no evidence of an increase in adolescent use in the states where marijuana is legal and, although other factors may matter, demographics persists as an important determinant of youth consumption; more public health campaigns are, therefore, needed (Schinke et al., 2017). Future research should analyze the long-term impacts of marijuana on definite health outcomes and youth development because the tendencies in the legal requirements and public opinion can also affect the use habits in the long run (Schinke et al., 2017).

References

Curry, P., & Wilson, W. W. (2020). LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA AND ITS EFFECTS: AN INTRODUCTION. Economic Inquiry, 58(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12877

Farmer, C. M., Monfort, S. S., & Woods, A. N. (2022). Changes in traffic crash rates after legalization of marijuana: results by crash severity. Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs, 83(4), 494-501. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2022.83.494

Knopf, A. (2019). The legalization of marijuana takes another step forward. Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly, 31(45), 5-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/adaw.32550

Resko, S. M., Szechy, K. A., Early, T. J., Ellis, J. D., Hicks, D., & Agius, E. (2021). Perceptions of public health consequences of marijuana legalization. Addiction Research & Theory, 29(3), 255-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2020.1823971

Schinke, S., Schwinn, T., Hopkins, J., Gorroochurn, P., & Wahlstrom, L. (2017). Is the legalization of marijuana associated with its use by adolescents? Substance use & misuse, 52(2), 256-258. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2016.1223139