Legalizing Recreational Cannabis Use
What makes a drug legal and who decides? Good question. Drugs are categorized by schedules, of which there are five. Marijuana is listed as a schedule I drug, which is the most restrictive of all the schedules. Schedule I denotes drugs that have the greatest threat of abuse and have not medicinal purposes. Other drugs in this schedule include heroin, LSD, and ecstasy.
Efforts are being made to legalize medical marijuana in Florida but it has been slow in coming. However, more and more states are changing their laws in regard to the purchase and possession of the drug. This means that the schedule it is currently in will also have to change, which has to be initiated by the Department of Health and Human Services, the DEA, or another interested party such as a drug manufacturer.
In 2013 there were two states that had legalized recreational cannabis use, Washington and Colorado. By 2016 that number had doubled bringing Alaska and Oregon into the fold. Today twenty-six states along with the District of Columbia and Florida have legalized marijuana use in some form whether it’s medical or otherwise. Several states have even decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
The climate is constantly changing on so many things. How we view the drug laws is at the forefront of things that should and must change. The trend of smokers is not decreasing and will continue to grow every year. Even if cannabis is not for everyone, it is becoming increasingly clear that it is not the demon drug it has been portrayed to be. We mustn’t only focus on the legality of a thing to determine its true value to society and the world at large. One only has to look at stats to find evidence of the benefits of cannabis.
Why is this important to know? It is critical to understand that because cannabis remains such a high schedule drug it carries with it the heaviest federal punishment.
Responsible Adult Use Of Mmj
Drugs are placed on a particular schedule based on their perceived medical use and their potential for abuse and dependence. According to the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute at the University of Washington, “studies have not found an association between withdrawal symptoms and aggression among those without a previous history”. So, there are those that may experience some kind of withdrawal from marijuana, which might make them irritable and violent. It should be noted that those same people often have a history of aggression. In fact, violent behavior usually has multiple reasons behind it whether a person uses marijuana or not. To date there has been no definitive evidence to suggest increased violence in adults who use cannabis.
Get Evaluated For Your Medical Marijuana Use Registry Card
Today almost 55 million people have currently used cannabis and 35 million of those say they are regular consumers of marijuana meaning they use it at least once or twice a month. These numbers have grown from previous polls. Many experts believe the increase is due to the changing attitudes towards cannabis consumption so people feel more comfortable admitting it. If this number is correct, then there are almost as many marijuana users as there are cigarette smokers, of which there are 59 million. Cannabis has been around for centuries and it’s safe to say its consumption won’t be going anywhere any time soon.