By AMEARA DITSCHE
Arts Editor
On March 31, 2021 Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana in New York State. Regardless of your personal opinion on smoking weed, the legalization of it is undoubtedly good. Marijuana being illegal has not stopped anyone from using it. You can purchase marijuana on street corners, in college dorms, and on social media. It has been medically proven to aid in treating numerous conditions like anxiety, Crohn’s Disease, and cancer. The primary way of consuming marijuana has been smoking, but there are other ways to ingest it. Of course objectively lighting something on fire and inhaling smoke into your lungs isn’t amazing on your body, but cigarettes are legal. It’s an adult’s choice. There is quite literally no reason to oppose the legalization of marijuana other than the advancement of a personal agenda.
It’s time to face the fact that drugs won the war on drugs. Keeping weed illegal will not keep weed away from anyone. It is probably the most accessible black market product and has been for decades. The criminalization of marijuana has mainly worked as a method to further oppress people of color. Black and Latino men are disproportionately imprisoned for small time weed convictions. Racist policies like stop and frisk allowed these communities to be targeted and jailed for victimless crimes. Someone who got pulled over by a racist cop when they had an eighth on their pocket does not deserve to be in jail or have a criminal record. The Governor’s bill will expunge former marijuana convictions, furthering the reversal of damages caused by criminalization.
The legal weed market has been incredibly helpful in rebuilding economies. Colorado schools have benefited from the dramatic increase in funding. In 2018, The Colorado Department of Education Reported $86.3 Million in Marijuana Tax revenue as part of their budget, a considerable spike from even 2016 when they reported $54.2 Million. By giving adults the right to safely partake in consuming marijuana, the state has also stimulated the economy resulting in helping children succeed. New York plans to use 40% of funding on reversing damages on communities most affected by the war on drugs, 40% to public schools, and 20% to combating addiction, The New York Times reports. The government help combat the systemic By supplying a product already in such high demand people will pay high taxes for it, the state is essentially earning free money.
Legalizing cannabis will only help people. People are inevitably going to experiment with drugs, we do not need to waste time worrying about the safest one. Hard drugs like heroin, crack cocaine, and meth have ravaged communities, while the only thing a stoner will ravage is the kitchen. With weed having pain killing effects, it can help decrease opioid prescriptions. The over-prescribing of opioids, like fentanyl and oxycontin, is one of the leading causes of the opioid crisis. Drugs like this were once confined to back alley sales and secret cartels, but now you’re only a minor injury away from addiction risk. Now that this issue can target middle class white people, it is labeled a crisis. But when drugs were an issue in black communities, it was a war. With people turning to marijuana for pain treatments, less people need opiates that can pave the path to a deadly addiction. Legalizing marijuana both recreationally and medically will give people suffering from chronic pain a safer more natural option.
Legalizing something allows the market for it to be regulated. When drug dealing is already a crime, many dealers aren’t concerned with the safety of their product. Plus, many people wouldn’t want to admit they committed a crime, so they opt to not seek medical attention in the case of drug induced issues. By legalizing marijuana, it becomes possible for the sales to be regulated and therefore be safer. Marijuana sold in legal dispensaries is tested for contanimates, plus you know exactly who you’re getting it from if things do go poorly. Legal weed means safer weed, and since we know it is futile to attempt to get weed off the streets; the best we can do is ensure the safety of what’s out there.
Marijuana is classified as a mild hallucinogenic, as it causes mind altering effects. Alcohol also offers psychoactive effects and is not only legal but sold in grocery stores. According to the CDC, in 2016, over 10,000 people died in the United States from drunk driving related instances. There is no major data pointing to marijuana causing such imminent danger. If adults of appropriate age can take that risk with drinking, why not weed? I’ve never heard stories of someone’s dad beating their family when they smoked weed, or someone getting sexually assaulted when smoking too much. These are all things I associate with alcohol. It is hypocritical and absurd for alcohol to be legal but not weed.
Even with these points considered you may say, “Okay fine, it can be medically legalized but recreational is pointless.” I guess that could be acceptable if we were positive everyone had a fair shot in the medical system, but instead we know that’s not the case. If only available through medical providers and pharmaceutical dispensaries, people without insurance might not be able to access it. Also, people of marginalized groups often struggle with not being taken seriously by doctors. Black women especially report that their pain is often minimized. How can we assure those who need it, will be able to access it if we keep it under the healthcare system’s lock and key? When things become strictly medical, politics can intervene.
Pharmaceutical companies have lobbied for their drugs to be passed by government agencies. Purdue recently even had to settle $10 billion in lawsuits related to addiction and overdoses connected to their drugs. Birth control is a similar example, because it is a health care issue, it is a political one. This allows for people whose personal opinions and morals go against it, to make decisions affecting millions of people’s health care. If you can recognize it is sexist to govern bodily autonomy concerning birth control, then you can acknowledge the similar issues with marijuana.
Weed being legal isn’t forcing it upon anyone; you still have to ask for a prescription. It is already so common in culture that legalization probably won’t change much about people’s daily lives, especially non-users. There are already rules regulating drinking and smoking in public, so I don’t see any concern for public nuisance. If weed has a negative effect on you, the best answer is just don’t use it.
The drug definitely has negative side effects, but so do virtually all medications. And like all drugs, it affects each taker differently. So even if you hate using marijuana, it is not only naive, but cruel to deny others from this healing herb.
