While the issue of medical marijuana has become prevalent in recent years, it has been a part of American medicine and culture for centuries. “From the 1800s until the 1930s, marijuana was generally considered a benign, medically efficacious substance that was sold in pharmacies and doctors’ offices throughout the United States to treat various ailments” (Assessment of the Potential Impact of Regulated Marijuana in New York State 2018). From the 1930s until the 1990s marijuana was an illegal substance, but in recent decades marijuana has become acceptable and legal once again for medical and recreational uses in many parts of the United States. The federal prohibition against marijuana has not hindered its popularity or misuse, and its legalization will promote effective regulation and innovation in the industry.
In 1996, California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana use, and since then, thirty-two states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico have legalized the medical use of marijuana (Hanson and Garcia 2019). Ten of these states, and the District of Columbia, have also legalized the recreational use of marijuana (‘State Marijuana Laws In 2018 Map’ 2018). On a federal level, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 substance in the Controlled Substance Act (Drug Enforcement Administration 2018). Since marijuana is legal in some states but federally illegal, there is a lack of cooperation between the different divisions of law enforcement, which leads to inadequate regulation.
President Trump has made statements about supporting each state’s right to decide on the legalization of marijuana, but he has not taken any concrete steps to ensure those rights nor has he proposed a policy agenda to federally legalize marijuana (Sullivan 2018). His predecessor, President Obama, has stated that he “’thinks that marijuana should be treated as a public health issue similar to cigarettes and alcohol,’ but whatever his position, ‘de-scheduling marijuana’ is not something he can do by presidential edict” (Berke 2016).
Despite the White House’s inaction regarding the federal legality of marijuana, several enactments of the Food and Drug Administration in 2018 have have furthered the legal use of marijuana. Epidiolex, an oral treatment for patients with rare epileptic seizures, became the first medication containing a purified active marijuana derivative to be FDA approved (Food and Drug Administration 2018a). Additionally, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 federally legalized industrial hemp in the forms of hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein, and hemp seed oil (United States 2018). The FDA commissioner, Scott Gottlieb M.D., commented on the Act in a press release press stating, “While products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds remain subject to the FDA’s authorities and requirements, there are pathways available for those who seek to lawfully introduce these products into interstate commerce.
The FDA will continue to take steps to make the pathways for the lawful marketing of these products more efficient” (Food and Drug Administration 2018b). The most effective way for the FDA to control the production and sale of marijuana products in interstate commerce would be by supporting the federal legalization of it.
Government efforts to legalize and regulate marijuana products are well founded since the illegalization of marijuana has not significantly impacted the accessibility of marijuana. (Assessment of the Potential Impact of Regulated Marijuana in New York State 2018). A 2017 Marist poll showed that over fifty percent of Americans over the age of eighteen have tried marijuana at least once in their life (Yahoo News/Marist Poll: Weed & The American Family 2017). The surveyed citizens also viewed the regular use of tobacco and alcohol as a greater health risk than the regular use of marijuana. Sixty-seven percent of them also believed that prescribed opioid medications, such as Vicodin or OxyContin pose a greater health risk to Americans than prescribed marijuana.
Opponents of legalization also fear heavy marijuana use, which has happened in Colorado, where twenty-three percent of users consume marijuana almost daily (Light et al. 2014). However, the 2017 Marist poll found that of the approximately 54.5 million Americans who use marijuana, sixty-three percent say they use it regularly. The marijuana usage of the citizens of Colorado reflects the national standard of heavy users. The same phenomenon of heavy usage can be found with alcohol, where the “top 10 percent of users consume, on average, more than 10 drinks each day” but this misuse has not resulted in outlawing alcohol consumption (Lopez, 2018). Opponents of the legalization of marijuana have also predicted that legalization will encourage underage usage, however the use of marijuana by minors has decreased in states that have legalized marijuana for both medical and recreational use (O’Keefe et al. 2008).
The group Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, which is comprised of fifty-seven medical doctors, has released a declaration asserting that the “prohibition is harmful, ineffective, and unnecessary” and they “support cannabis legalization for adults, preventive education of minors, and regulation of the industry” (Nathan et al. 2016). They believe that the phenomenon of declined minor usage of marijuana mirrors the global trend that “preventive education has reduced the rates of alcohol and tobacco use by minors”, and they think that legalization of marijuana will cause a decrease in minor use. They assert that “ending prohibition creates a legal distinction between underage and adult cannabis use. If we want our children to believe that cannabis can be harmful for them, then we must differentiate use by adults and minors.” These doctors represent the scientific view that marijuana has many benefits, and they believe that legalization is the best way to mitigate any potential misuse in adults and minors.
Another benefit to the legalization of marijuana is the ability for the federal government to impose taxation. There has been significant tax revenue in states that have legalized marijuana, and the states that haven’t legalized it are missing out on potential revenue. “In Colorado, the legal marijuana industry has created 23,000 jobs and generated $200 million in tax revenue” (U.S. Representative Jared Polis, D-Colorado 2018). California has collected $135 million in tax revenue in the first half of 2018 (California Department of Tax and Fee Administration 2018). In addition to all fifty states collecting marijuana taxes, the federal government can profit from significant potential tax revenue, which can be used to fund research and development on how to mitigate marijuana risks.
There is also a considerable environmental impact of indoor and outdoor marijuana cultivation, which warrants the need for federal regulations to moderate the effects (Warren 2015). Indoor cultivation is the preferred method of marijuana farming because it allows for the environmental control necessary for optimal growth. Indoor cultivation also allows for multiple harvests per year since it operates without the constraints of different seasons. Indoor harvesting has become preferable to growers because it simplifies surveillance of the crops. Indoor harvesting is also energy intensive due to the expenses of high intensity lighting and humidity control, which results to one third of total production costs. The energy used in indoor cultivation amounts to one percent of the country’s electricity and produces harmful carbon emissions.
Due to the lack of proper regulation, outdoor marijuana farming has also produced grave negative externalities. These negative externalities include deforestation and the overuse of pesticides and rodenticides, which have destroyed and poisoned parts of Californian wildlife. Federal legalization and regulation of all marijuana growing facilities will mandate accountability for the farmers of the negative externalities they create. The federal liability for the farmers will encourage technological innovation to produce more efficient and environmentally friendlier ways of harvesting marijuana.
It is clear that the states are not doing an adequate job of properly regulating marijuana and creating a mainstream federal legalization to enable the country to better combat the potential harm of marijuana. The FDA has made significant efforts by legalizing particular entities containing marijuana and federal legalization is a reasonable next step. Contrary to some opinions, legalization will not lead to a rise of misuse or encourage use in minors, and it will mandate safer harvesting methods. It will also allow for the implementation of taxation and promote research and development of marijuana usage and harvesting.
