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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

opinion oped

EDITORIAL: Follow Canada in weed legalization

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On Oct. 17, Canada became the second country in the world to legalize recreational marijuana use. While each Canadian province will be able to regulate the sale of marijuana individually, in general any person over 18 can buy up to 30 grams from a licensed and government-regulated marijuana dispensary.

It is currently set to be regulated in a very similar way to tobacco and alcohol. It will, of course, be illegal to drive while high and, depending on what local laws dictate, you may not be able to smoke it on the sidewalk.

With Canada being our neighbor to the north, its legalization of marijuana has led people to question our own government’s stance on the drug. The United States still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” 

This classification places marijuana in the same class as heroin. According to the Center for Disease Control, 63,632 people in America died due to heroin overdoses in 2016. Comparatively, most sources conclude that no one has ever died from the use of marijuana alone. This makes marijuana’s classification alongside heroin a complete joke.

In fact, the drugs that Americans can already buy legally are more cause for concern. Alcohol causes 88,000 deaths per year. The DEA found that between 1999 and 2016, 200,000 Americans died from prescription-opioid use. Despite this, drinking alcohol is a common pastime and the amount of opioids prescribed to patients continues to rise. 

Of all the harmful things we can legally do to ourselves as Americans, smoking a joint should be the least of the government’s worries.

If the comparative dangers of other drugs are not a compelling enough reason to legalize marijuana in the U.S., consider the massive benefit the government-regulated sale of the drug would have on the economy.

The legalization of marijuana in the U.S. would be, as it is in Canada, a huge stimulus to the economy and the job market. In Canada, it is estimated that people are currently spending $4.4 billion on marijuana annually. However, only $570 million of this was purchased legally.

With the recent legalization, the industry is projected to grow, and, by 2022, it may be a $5.5 billion industry. This is 5.5 billion taxable dollars that can help fund the government. With the U.S.’s debt around $21.6 trillion and counting, this is a much-needed source of revenue. In addition to taxes, the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. would also create many new jobs and opportunities for people to enter the workforce.

As well as legalizing recreational marijuana usage, Canada is also set to release any person who has been convicted of having 30 grams or less of the drug before the new law passed. If the U.S. were to legalize marijuana, they would have to consider following Canada’s lead and release people imprisoned for prior marijuana offenses. According to an analysis done by the American Civil Liberties Union, over 7.2 million people were arrested in the U.S. between 2001 and 2010 for simply having marijuana.

Furthermore, drug laws are notoriously racist. The ACLU also reported that despite the fact that African-American and white citizens smoke marijuana at roughly equal rates (with white people actually smoking a bit more), African Americans are four times as likely to be arrested on marijuana charges. This statistic also varies by state. In some states, they can be up to eight times as likely to be arrested.

With the legalization of marijuana, and the subsequent release of nonviolent drug prisoners, many racist convictions can be overturned. While this does not get people their lost time back, it would be a step in the right direction.

The legalization of marijuana will do more good than harm. It will keep weed safe and regulated, boost the economy and help reverse past racist applications of the law. As far as drugs go in the U.S., marijuana is not one to worry about. It has not directly caused any deaths, and it is proven to be less dangerous than alcohol, which is legal and incredibly common. The U.S. should look at Canada’s policies as an example and legalize marijuana. 

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