Should cannabis use be regulated by the authorities?

Government regulations are generally designed to protect the rights of consumers and to protect those who are vulnerable, such as children. For instance, authorities have regulated the sale and use of alcohol and tobacco. Without such regulations, the authorities would not be able to control under-age alcohol and tobacco consumption. Although the majority of Americans appear to be in favor of decriminalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use, the question remains: Should the use of cannabis be regulated?

It is clear that cannabis, for both recreational and medicinal use is gaining acceptance around the world. It is important to know the benefits of cannabis as well as its potential harmful effects.

The beneficial and harmful effects of the use of cannabis

There is much evidence that cannabis use for medicinal purposes can be beneficial. But there is just as much evidence that the use of cannabis for recreational purposes can be harmful, especially among teenagers. These harmful effects are a cause for alarm to the authorities, who are not able to control the sale and use of cannabis if it is not regulated. It is not only the authorities who are concerned about the impact of legalization, many legalization advocates share concerns about pot use.

Recreational marijuana use does have harmful effects, for example it has been shown to:

• Impair short-term memory
• Impair judgement
• Distort perception
• Negatively affect school performance
• Impair judgement and motor coordination when driving, and has been shown to be the one drug that is most often found in the blood of drivers involved in accidents.

However, research has also shown that medicinal cannabis can be used to treat:

• Inflammation
• Pain from prostate cancer
• Headaches
• Glaucoma
• Hemorrhoids
• Cancer – and much more

It is not only the authorities who are concerned about the impact of legalization, many legalization advocates share concerns about cannabis use.

What really are the goals of marijuana regulation? To keep pot out of the hands of children, reduce harm to adult users, prevent collateral harm to the public and to get the maximum economic benefit from legalization.

If authorities regulate the use of cannabis, the argument is that they will be in a position to protect and prevent the youth and adolescence from abusing it when it comes to recreational use. This is seen by authorities as necessary because young people’s brains are still developing and maturing and it has become evident that heavy recreational use of cannabis by teenagers and adolescence can have a permanent, negative impact on their IQ. Thus the current thinking is that if the use of cannabis were regulated by the authorities, it would discourage teenagers from using and abusing the substance.

Authorities point another reason why it could prove beneficial for cannabis to be regulated the same as alcohol and tobacco, and that is to create legal work opportunities. The authorities would monitor the quality, growth, harvesting, packaging and distribution of the substance, and this would require a work force. And let’s not forget the additional source of taxes that they see being generated.

At present, cannabis regulation remains a controversial and debatable issue. Both advocates and opponents need to come together for an open-minded discussion about its regulation.

Sources:

Drugpolicy.org

Drugabuse.gov

Drugwarfacts.org