Economics & Health: An Argument for Legalization
I live in Lake Tahoe, on the border between Northern Nevada and California. Over the last few years, the laws and regulations have been changing in how Nevada and California have dealt with marijuana- as an alternative medicine to help people heal and how the laws evolved into allowing recreational sales. At the time of this writing, dispensaries in Nevada have been legally selling recreational and medical marijuana for six months. Recreation sales in California started in 2018 although medical sales have been allowed for years.
Now that 30 states have legalized marijuana in some shape or form, the industry is obviously doing something right as voters across the country continue to usher it into total legality. However, its labeling as a Schedule I drug status on a federal level makes state operators and workers still subject to prosecution.
Here are some reasons why recreational marijuana should just be allowed:
1. It creates legit jobs
According to a Forbes magazine report released in February 2017, the marijuana industry is on track to create at least 250,000 jobs by the year 2020- surpassing the number of employees in the manufacturing industry. There are at least 16 jobs currently offered in the cannabis industry, with professions available in: edibles creation, concentrate processing, glass merchandising, delivery, security, trimming, reviewing, budtending, administration, inspecting, cultivating, lab testing, and more. The list goes on and on.
In this up-and-coming industry, skills across the board are needed in management, technology, glassmaking, chemical science, etc. In Seattle, Monster.com reports that bud trimmers make around $12-$15 an hour and concentrate makers and cultivators can make around $50-$90k a year. People who have been passionate about cannabis for years are thrilled that they can finally learn and grow in a legitimate and unique business venture using the experience they gained during the prohibition era.
“Cannabis saves lives because it gives people opportunity to work and have a job they enjoy going to every day,” says Justin Beckelman, the third legal budtender in the State of Nevada. “If this was available in 2001, I would have gone straight out of high school and into the cannabis industry. I had to wait 16 years for this opportunity!”
2. Marijuana is proven to be better than opioids for pain management
In October 2014, JAMA Internal Medicine released a study that showed that states that allowed medical cannabis had almost a 25 percent decrease in opioid overdoses compared to states where medical marijuana was still illegal. In July of the following year, the National Bureau of Economic Research also researched this topic and piggybacked by stating that by making medical marijuana more accessible, it has the potential to help diminish the abuse of highly addictive painkillers.
The opioid crisis is real and taking thousands of lives every year (according to Bloomberg, 2.6 million people were addicted to opioids in 2016 and that number is rising). What is most disturbing about it is that doctors all over the country are prescribing opioids like candy to treat pain, and subsequently average people easily become addicted and lost control of their lives.
I have a relative in his 60’s who is suffering from colon cancer. There are times when chemo wipes it out of him and he can’t eat, can’t sleep, and suffers from nausea. His doctor keeps prescribing OxyContin to him to help with the pain, even though he doesn’t want it because it makes him even more nauseous. On his last birthday, I brought him a marijuana strain high in cannabinoid concentration. He could barely get out of bed yet wanted to see all of us. He smoked some of the flower and got his appetite back. After ingesting a full meal, he also regained his energy.
“I also work in this industry because I’ve seen friends and people die from opioid addiction in the last 20 years,” says Beckelman. “I believe that cannabis is an option and it’s the correct one to choose rather than Big Pharma.”
3. It helps athletes in recovery and possibly performance
Microdosing (aka taking small hits of cannabis) is not only a sustainable alternative to managing pain, it helps with anxiety and sleep. And consuming straight cannabidiols—the non-THC/psychoactive part of cannabis—makes it seem like a wonder medicine compared to opioids.
Especially in sports like football and hockey, athletes are constantly taking massive blows to their bodies. Team-supplied painkillers have been the traditional way to combat pain and quickly recover for the next game but have long-lasting negative effects. As cannabis is heading towards countrywide legalization, more pro athletes are jumping on board and speaking on behalf of the benefits of using cannabis.
While marijuana is not considered a performance enhancing drug, 420 Games Founder Jim McAlpine believes that it helps him focus and get into a flow state while snowboarding. Other recreational and professional athletes have claimed that helps them in long workout sessions and are consuming it in ways that doesn’t harshly affect the lungs, like through edibles or vaporizing (see this Men’s Journal recipe for pot-infused energy bars).
In October 2017, the World Anti-Doping Agency finally listened to athletes and removed cannabidiols from its 2018 prohibited substances list.
4. States should have power to govern themselves with support from the federal government
We live in a democracy, right? Where US citizens have the right to vote on topics that help better their lives and their communities? Then why is the president and Congress getting in the way of what people voted on? In early January of 2018, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole memorandum- a policy that was created in the Obama era that allowed states to legalize marijuana as they saw fit.
Now that entrepreneurs are building thriving businesses in the marijuana industry, this ambiguous notice makes you question what rights the states, its voters, and industry employees have. The news incited angry responses as consumers called him a “prohibitionist dinosaur” want states that have legalized it to sue him immediately. On January 4, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner tweeted:
“This reported action directly contradicts what Attorney General Sessions told me prior to his confirmation. With no prior notice to Congress, the Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters in CO and other states.”
In my opinion, the Trump administration is impeding progress of an industry that is vital to our economy and our health. In seeing how cannabis helps the employment rate, combats the opioid crisis, helps enhance athletic performance, and 30 state voters are clearly are in favor of it, isn’t time we end prohibition on cannabis?
Kayla Anderson
Please don’t take anything you read here as medical or legal advice. If you need medical or legal advice, consult a doctor or lawyer. The articles and content that appear on this website have been written by different people and do not necessarily reflect the views of our organization.