Proposition 19 Essay

The legality of cannabis has been the subject for debate and controversy for decades. With the refreshful generation, the tour of supporters of cannabis legitimation has improverd dramatically. In the United States, legalizing hemp is a study concern beca economic consumption it is the most frequently used illegal dit. some(prenominal)(prenominal) 98 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried hemp at least once.Politicians have thought of legalizing marijuana to increase revenue by imposing measurees. At the forefront of this idea is California, which is before long the most populous state in the United States yet has the postgraduateest calculate deficit of all states. Also, California has the 5th highest unemployment rates exceeding 12 part. In 2009, the California economic crisis became severe as the state go about bankruptcy. This budget shortfall has caused the state to look for ways out.Californias way out of a huge budget deficit begins with adv ise 5 hyp nonism 19 also known as the Regulate, Control and levy Cannabis Act of 2010 would legalize mingled marijuana activities, allow local anaesthetic government to regulate these activities, allow for marijuana related government axes, and authorizes various distressing and civil penalties by local government. The California ballot for Proposition 19 opened on November 2, 2010 in California, hoping to change the fate of marijuana legalization in America forever. The add-in failed, only if only trailed the publication by nearly 500 votes. 4 Among the arguments for the passing of Proposition 19 was that legalizing marijuana in California could reduce do drugs-related violence, based on a piece of work conducted by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy. In addition some believe that it would garter alleviate the drug struggle in Mexico. establish on the theory adopted by the etiolate House Office of National Drug Control Policy that up to 60% of Mexican drug cartels profits come from sales of marijuana, legalizing the drug in nearby California would drastically cut their funding.As a termination, supporters of this argument believed that legalization would lead to a decrease in drug-related boisterous crime in Mexico. 3 Also cited were a savings of $960 million per grade in fair play enforcement romaine lettucets, and a generation of $350 million a course in state and local appraise revenues. Supporters also argued that passing the peak would result in additional benefits including tourism and spinoff ndustries such as cafes and paraphernalia.Based on Californias wine industry, proponents of this theory anticipated that legalizing marijuana in the state could generate up to $18 billion, including the creation of 60,000-110,000 Jobs. 4 perhaps one of the most well-known arguments for the legalization of Marijuana is to treat conditions including smart and nausea caused by HIV/AIDS, cancer and other conditions. When present ed with all the randomness above its easy to see why so m both good deal can rationalize their decision to support Proposition 19. change magnitude revenue and employment rates while decreasing law enforcement costs and crime, ll by providing the public with a safe wonder drug to aid in a variety of ailments. What could e better? Untortunately though all these claims seem viable none ot them can escape scrutiny. To visit Marijuana as a potential drug, scientific evidence call for to be provided to substantiate the claims. To date the evidence is non sufficient for the marijuana plant to gain FDA approval, for devil main reasons.First, there have not been enough clinical trials showing that marijuanas benefits outweigh its wellness risks in patients with the symptoms it is meant to treat. The FDA equires cargonfully conducted studies in large numbers of patients (hundreds to thousands) to accurately tax the benefits and risks of a potential medication. 5 Also, to be considered a legitimate medicine, a marrow squash and soul must have well-defined and measureable ingredients that are consistent from one building block (such as a pill or injection) to the next. This consistency allows doctors to determine the dose and frequency.As the marijuana plant contains hundreds of chemical compounds that may have diametrical effectuate and that vary from plant to plant, its use as a medicine is difficult to evaluate. However, tetrahydrocannabinol-based drugs to treat pain and nausea are already FDA pass and prescribed, and scientists continue to investigate the medicinal properties of cannabinoids. Regarding the supposed economic benefits of taxing marijuana, some comparison with two drugs that are already regulated and taxed, alcoholic beverage and baccy is worth considering.People dont typically grow their own tobacco or distill their own spirits, so consumers accept high taxes on them as retail products. Marijuana, though, is easy and cheap to cultivate, indoors or out, and Proposition 19 would allow individuals to grow as such(prenominal) as 25 consecutive feet of arijuana for personal consumption. Why would plurality volunteer to pay high taxes on marijuana if it were legalized? The answer is that many would not, and the underground market, adapting to undercut any new taxes, would barely diminish at all.This bill also implied that marijuana would be regulated and controlled by the enterprisingness. In fact, the law provides for no regulation or control, but leaves it up to local governments to initiate such controls and or regulations. In addition, there are no provisions to tax marijuana finale or use in the initiative. Instead, such taxation, f it ever happens give be left to local governments. In fact, a provision of the initiative specifically prevents the state of California from taxing marijuana sales any much than the usual sales tax in contrast to cigarettes and liquor. 1 Since the enforcement of locally enacted t axation ordain be next to impossible, there will never be any significant revenue produced by dint of this initiative. Another major conflict is that this bill would clear a state law that conflicts with national drug laws. On the surface, this does not seem to be a enlarged deal, since President Obama has stated that e wont enforce the national law in California. However, there is another deal that could cause the expiry of billions of dollars to the state.Public contracts and grants require grantees to effectively enforce the drug-free workplace requirements (which includes marijuana use) outlined by the federal governments Federal body of work Act of 1988. Not only may schools lose their federal grants, but medical research institutions, could lose millions of dollars annually The current healthcare and criminal Justice costs associated with alcohol and tobacco far surpass the tax revenue hey generate, and very little of the taxes collected on these substances is contrib uted to offsetting their substantial complaisant and health costs.For every dollar society collects in taxes on alcohol, for example, we closing up spending eight more in social cos ts That is hardly a recipe tor fiscal health A upstart Rand Corp. report, Altered State, assemble that it is difficult to predict estimated revenue from marijuana taxes, and that legalization would increase consumption but could also lead to widespread tax evasion and a race to the bottom in terms of local tax rates. Perhaps the biggest concern is safety on the roads.In 2010 a comment was made by a formal General serjeant that driving under the mildew of Marijuana is much like creation under the influence of Alcohol. In response an experiment was conducted by two local Los Angeles diarists who decided to take a car and drive stoned. With the help from the California Highway Patrol the road was closed to the public and some(prenominal) obstacles were arranged simulating how a device driver migh t choose to operate in heavy traffic. The experiment, said one of the Journalists was to see how impaired I was by and by smoking pot California has more drivers than any other state, 22 million of hem.So the big concern was if legalizing marijuana would make the roads less safe. The proponents of Proposition 19 insist it wont. The common conceit among supporters is that the impairment is rather slight like taking an antihistamine. The journalists certainly found that driving and drugs dont mix. One of them nearly veered off the highway through a test course. l wasnt 0k, so that was class of shocking to me said one of the drivers. But safety seems to be a big reason support for proposition 19 dropped. 1 share opposed and 39 percent supported in a pollard conducted before the bill was denied in 2010. 5 To give credibility to the tests conducted by the Journalists we can explore the affects Marijuana has on the brainiac. When marijuana is smoked, tetrahydrocannabinol rapidly pa sses from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body. THC acts upon specific molecular targets on brain cells, called cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are ordinarily actuate by chemicals similar to THC called endocannabinoids, such as anandamide.These are course occurring in the body and are part of a neural conference network (the endocannabinoid system) that lays an important role in normal brain teaching and function The highest density of cannabinoid receptors is found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement. Marijuana over activates the endocannabinoid system, causing the high and other effects that users experience. These include distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty with thinking and problem solving, and disrupted learning and memory.Because it seriously impairs Judgment and motor coordinat ion, marijuana also contributes to accidents while driving. A recent analysis of data from several studies found that marijuana use more than doubles a drivers risk of being in an accident. Further, the combination of marijuana and alcohol is worse than either substance alone with respect to driving impairment. As a recreational drug, marijuana is not fall by the waysidee as propitious as most of its proponents would claim. Heavvy marijuana use results in long-term effects on the brain, including lower responses in those areas which are affected by THC.Although users are able to compensate somewhat through the use of other brain areas, the long term effects of his damage, as users age, has not been determined. This damage may be answerable for impairments noted in short-term and long-term memory, along with a host of possible other psychiatrical illnesses. Regular use of marijuana use by young mint can nave especially negative long lasting impact on the structure and tunction o f their brains. A recent study of marijuana users who began using in adolescence revealed a profound deficit in connections between brain areas responsible for learning and memory.And a large prospective study (following individuals across ime) showed that people who began smoking marijuana heavily in their teens lost as much as 8 points in IQ between age 13 and age 38 importantly, the lost cognitive abilities were not restored in those who quit smoking marijuana as adults. 4 A proportion of marijuana users endure addicted and suffer from classic withdrawal symptoms upon abstinence. For a minority of users, marijuana is a gateway drug, and they proceed to use and abuse more tidy psychostimulants.Besides its effects upon the brain, Marijuana raises heart rate by 20-100 percent shortly after smoking this effect can last up to 3 seconds. In one study, it was estimated that marijuana users have a 4. 8-fold increase in the risk of heart attack in the first hour after smoking the drug. This may be due to change magnitude heart rate as well as the effects of marijuana on heart rhythms, causing palpitations and arrhythmias. Marijuana use can lead to increased risks for respiratory cancers and may have some adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects in some users.Marijuana smoke has been placed on the California Proposition 65 list of carcinogenic materials, as involve by California law for materials proven to cause cancer. 5 Marijuana use during pregnancy has been shown to result in lower child intelligence, while increase the incidence of mental health problems. The idea that marijuana is a clear recreational pastime has been disproved through continuing scientific research. Although this bill was denied the keep support for legalizing Marijuana is great, ensuring that this is a topic that will be an issue of debate for years to come.In my opinion we dont need all the problems that will result from the passage of Proposition 19 . This bill would estab lished a legal right to use marijuana, potentially endangering the lives of thers through allowing intoxicated individuals to perform crucial driving Jobs. In addition, this bill could result in the loss of billions of dollars in federal grants and contracts to schools and hospitals, which would be unable to agree with federal drug-free workplace requirements.Contrary to the claims of proponents, Prop 19 would neither regulate, control, nor tax marijuana, but merely provides the legal right of local governments to create their own hodgepodge of local laws and ordinances, which would be virtually impossible to enforce. Although marijuana use does not egatively impact all users, it does have numerous adverse health effects on a significant percentage of individuals, which will result in increased medical and social costs to the people of California.This was a poorly written initiative that needs to make drastic revisions before it can be considered, in addition to the conduction of m ore scientific research needs to be done to determine approaching health risks for the users.