Decriminalization and Legalization of Drugs: Political, Social and Economic Impacts (Essay Sample)

Decriminalization and Legalization of Drugs
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Decriminalization and Legalization of Drugs
Marijuana decriminalization and legalization is one of the most contentious issues today. There are disagreements regarding its impacts on both the legal and the underground economies. In Canada, marijuana for medical use was legalized in 2001. However, the country prohibits marijuana for recreational use, but the new Liberal government has promised to legalize it. In the U.S., states such as Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana, while others have decriminalized it. This discussion evaluates the legal, political, social and economic impacts of decriminalization or legalization of marijuana.
Decriminalization means that people who are found in possession of small amounts of marijuana do not get a jail sentence or a criminal record. On the other hand, legalization means that people are allowed to use, cultivate, retail, and transport marijuana as long as they abide by the laws stipulating the amount, age, and place of consumption (The Economist, 2014). Therefore, if marijuana is legalized in Canada, one of its impacts will be an end to the monopoly of the industry by the underground economy, which is run by criminal gangs. Consequently, the legal economy will benefit from tax revenues. Conversely, if marijuana is decriminalized, people will consume it without facing criminal consequences, but the criminal monopoly of the industry will not be undermined. Thus, gangs will still continue to supply it to the people and benefit the underground economy (The Economist, 2014).
Legalization of marijuana will affect the demand and supply of the drug. Essentially, legalization will increase the supply of the drug and the underground economy will make less profits. On the other hand, the legal economy will benefit from taxes (Tencer, 2013). The sale of marijuana will no longer be monopolized by the underground economy because there will be legal distributors of the drug (MacQueen, 2013). The price is also expected to drop due to the high supply. Additionally, the price of the drug will also decline because there will no longer be charges for the risk of supplying it. The demand is expected to increase after legalization as more people will be able to access the drug easily and cheaply, and without the risk of facing legal ramifications (Wang, 2014).
Legalization or decriminalization of marijuana will have several political, social, economic, and legal consequences for Canada. Firstly, on the economic front, the Canadian government will get a lot of revenue in terms of sales tax (Tencer, 2013). It is estimated that British Columbia can gain licensing and taxation revenues of up to $500 million annually if the drug is legalized (MacQueen, 2013). Legalizing marijuana will ensure that the drug is taxed, leading to high revenues for the legal economy and reduced profitability for the underground economy. Moreover, more employment opportunities after the legalization will be realized. There will be a retail network of approximately 2, 700 outlets that would be needed to sell marijuana to around three million users in Canada (Tencer, 2013). This, therefore, implies that more jobs will be created. Furthermore, the increased production and retail of goods after marijuana is legalized will improve the country’s Gross Domestic Profit. The open availability of marijuana is expected to eliminate the underground drug economy. However, for this to happen, the legal sellers must provide marijuana at a lower price and higher quality than the criminal gangs (Tencer, 2013).
Furthermore, the political impact of marijuana legalization is that Canada will be perceived as not adhering to international treaties that prohibit the production and possession of the drug. These treaties include the Convention on Psychotropic Substances, the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, and the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Blanchfield, 2016). Thus, the government will have to find a way of complying with these treaties, such as amending its obligations to them.
There are also some social impacts of legalizing marijuana. Some opponents of legalizing marijuana argue that the consumption of the drug will increase, leading to higher social health expenditures. The society will bear the healthcare burden caused by an increase in, for instance, lung-related ailments (Wang, 2014). However, supporters of legalization assert that there is little evidence to prove that there will be a rise in marijuana consumption after legalization. In fact, the increased availability of the drug is expected to reduce the temptation of using it, especially among the youth. For example, the rate of marijuana use in Canada is higher than in countries such as Netherlands where it is not prohibited (MacQueen, 2013). Additionally, studies have revealed that the use of marijuana does not cause lung-related ailments such as lung cancer. Furthermore, in Canada, the health costs related to marijuana are very low at $20 per user, in comparison to those of alcohol and tobacco, which are $165 and $800 per user respectively (MacQueen, 2013). Thus, keeping marijuana illegal is more costly to the society than making it legal. Moreover, there will be reduced violent crime in Canada after marijuana is legalized. This is because the underground economy makes a lot of profits from selling the drug illegally. As a result, criminal gangs become rich and are able to perpetrate different crimes. If their source of income is curtailed, the rates of crime will decline.
Additionally, there are some legal implications of legalizing marijuana. Firstly, the law enforcement expenses caused by marijuana prohibition will reduce. Therefore, law enforcement agencies will save funds to use for other purposes. For example, Colorado ...