Marijuana Legalization: Medical Benefits, History & Economics

Introduction

Though the banning of marijuana began in the United States prior to Prohibition and continued through the 1930s across the majority of states, it was not until the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 that it became illegal to possess or transfer cannabis under federal law (unless one was using it for medical or industrial purposes). It was not until the 1970 Controlled Substances Act that marijuana was made illegal at the federal level even for medical use (Dragone, Prarolo, Vanin & Zanella, 2019). However, in recent years several states have pushed to reverse marijuana laws, either for medical purposes or for recreational use. Colorado, for example, has made the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes legal. The problem is that under federal law marijuana remains a Schedule I narcotic—classified in the same dangerous category as heroin and cocaine (DEA, 2018).

The criminalization of marijuana led to more than half of all drug arrests in 2010 stemming from marijuana possession or sales (ACLU, 2018). As the American Civil Liberties Union has noted, "of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simply having marijuana," and African Americans were 3.73 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites (ACLU, 2018). In other words, there is a direct link between the incarceration crisis in the United States and marijuana criminalization. Because tension between federal and state authorities over this issue persists, there is a clear need to understand the ramifications of keeping marijuana illegal or of decriminalizing it entirely. This paper sheds light on the history of marijuana criminalization in America and presents what researchers and experts have found regarding marijuana as a helpful or harmful substance, ultimately providing findings on whether decriminalization would be in the best interests of the country.

Literature Review

Marijuana was a staple crop of American colonialists at the founding of the country, just as it had been grown all over the world for thousands of years (Deitch, 2003). The Founding Fathers grew marijuana and used it both recreationally and medicinally (Deitch, 2003). It was a popular crop throughout the early decades of American history because of its health qualities and industrial applications. Hemp was used for textiles, rope, and other purposes. It was beneficial for the soil, and CBD was viewed as effective in remedying a number of ailments. It was not until the pharmaceutical and plastics industries began to grow that marijuana was framed as a public danger (Deitch, 2003). Because marijuana had both medicinal and industrial uses, large pharmaceutical and oil interests viewed it as competition—urging legislators to ban it and using propaganda films such as Reefer Madness to build public opposition. For thousands of years, though the plant's capacity to produce a high was well known, it was never considered dangerous to society or to human life (Deitch, 2003). Thus, the criminalization of marijuana had more to do with business and industry than with any genuine threat the plant represented. It was essentially banned so that the pharmaceutical industry could sell its own chemical substances—substances that have since proven far more dangerous and fatal for Americans than marijuana—while the oil industry promoted plastic as the dominant material in textiles and manufacturing (Deitch, 2003).

Though marijuana has been criminalized since the 1930s by the federal government, its classification as a substance as harmful as other hard drugs has not gone unchallenged. Beginning in the 1970s, the Schedule I classification was questioned, and in 1988 DEA Chief Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young found marijuana to be "one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man" (Eddy, 2010). In his review for the Congressional Research Service, Eddy (2010) noted what Young had reported more than two decades earlier: the evidence "clearly shows that marijuana has been accepted as capable of relieving the distress of great numbers of very ill people, and doing so with safety under medical supervision. It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for [the] DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record" (p. 9). Nonetheless, Young's recommendation was blocked the following year, and the DEA continued to classify marijuana as a highly dangerous substance.

As Fiala (2019) notes, the tension between the medical community—which holds that marijuana can help with pain, particularly for arthritis patients—and law enforcement, which continues to treat it as an illegal substance, leads to unnecessary and troubling confrontations. One notable example is the arrest of a 69-year-old grandmother at Disney World for carrying CBD oil prescribed by her doctor to treat arthritis pain. She was held for 12 hours before being allowed to post bail. Though her case was later dropped by the local prosecutor, the arrest illustrated that even elderly patients prescribed cannabis by their physicians are not safe from prosecution. As her attorney observed, the legal framework itself is deeply confused: "A little drop of oil, with the CBD, is a felony. Meanwhile, you can have up to 19.9 grams of leaf-marijuana, and it's a first-degree misdemeanor" (Fiala, 2019). This discrepancy is compounded by the findings of the medical community, which has conducted extensive research on marijuana's capacity to relieve pain.

As Romano and Hazekamp (2013) demonstrate, CBD oil (cannabidiol), derived from cannabis, is used to treat pain and has a range of positive effects, particularly for elderly people suffering from joint pain or arthritis. It has also been used to help manage cancer-related pain. Compared to drugs like fentanyl, CBD oil is far less addictive and destructive: fentanyl overdoses have contributed to hundreds of thousands of deaths during the opioid epidemic, whereas marijuana has only rarely and indirectly been associated with fatalities. Romano and Hazekamp (2013) further note that historical records and research on marijuana's beneficial effects "have been historically helpful to provide hints on the biological processes controlled by the endocannabinoid system, and on the potential therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids" (p. 2). The science of marijuana as medicine has been studied in considerable depth, and the mechanisms by which it relieves pain and brings comfort are well understood.

Marijuana can also provide relief for elderly people suffering from multiple sclerosis (Zettl, Rommer, Hipp & Patejdl, 2016). Though discussions of marijuana's benefits are often associated with younger users, for the elderly it can be a meaningful source of comfort. As Zettl et al. (2016) show, cannabis is frequently prescribed for elderly patients dealing with chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, or related conditions.

Pain relief is not the only documented medical benefit, however. Marijuana has also been found to help treat depression (Collins, 2014). The difficulty is that health care providers often feel uncomfortable recommending a substance that, despite its benefits, could potentially expose patients to legal jeopardy. Because marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I narcotic, many providers are reluctant to counsel patients on its use. Nevertheless, the benefits of marijuana for pain relief, depression, Tourette's syndrome, and Alzheimer's disease are all well-documented within the medical community (Collins, 2014; Romano & Hazekamp, 2013).

With respect to decriminalization at the state level, Oregon led the way in the 1970s by reducing the penalty for possession of an ounce of marijuana to a $100 fine (Anderson, 1981). Ohio and California followed (Anderson, 1981). It took several more decades for voters to place the issue on state ballots and overturn prohibition entirely. In 2012, both Washington State and Colorado voted to fully legalize marijuana for recreational purchase and use. Many other states followed—including Alaska, California, Nevada, Maine, and Oregon—as did the District of Columbia. In 2018, Vermont became the first state to legalize marijuana through an act of its state legislature.

The economic benefits for these states have been significant: Colorado posted tax revenue increases of half a billion dollars following the legalization of recreational marijuana (Smith, 2017). Legal sales shifted money out of the black market and into the formal economy, generating investment, creating jobs, and channeling funds into communities, schools, and public services.

Summation of Findings

The findings of this literature review demonstrate that marijuana was made illegal not because evidence showed it to be dangerous—on the contrary, thousands of years of history attested to its positive uses for health and recreation—but because it posed a commercial threat to the pharmaceutical and oil industries. A consequence of prohibition is that people turned to harder drugs, both legal and illegal, in the absence of legal access to marijuana. In recent years, however, medical research has affirmed cannabis's value for human health, and many states have acted accordingly by legalizing it. Those states have also observed significant economic benefits, as tax revenues from legal marijuana sales have increased dramatically.

Conclusion

The research shows that marijuana is a substance with considerable beneficial properties. At the same time, attention should be paid to research examining the potential negative effects of marijuana use on the developing minds of young people. Because adolescent brains are still maturing and may be chemically affected by marijuana use—with consequences that could persist into adulthood—there is a legitimate need to understand the risks that legalization might pose for younger populations who gain easier access to the substance.

For this reason, it may be prudent to consider legalizing marijuana while regulating it in the same manner as alcohol and tobacco in the United States. Both of those substances are legal to sell and consume, yet both are subject to meaningful legal restrictions—most notably, it is illegal to sell either to a minor. Comparable regulations for marijuana could safeguard young people whose brains are still developing. The medicinal value of cannabis does not imply that it should be freely accessible to adolescents, and unregulated adolescent use could generate its own social costs, including motivational deficits that negatively affect communities.

Future evaluations should therefore examine the benefits and risks of marijuana legalization in tandem, comparing them systematically so that a fuller understanding of how to legalize and regulate the substance can be developed. Canada's national legalization provides a ready-made case study for such an examination, and tracking its outcomes over time would yield invaluable data for U.S. policymakers.

References

ACLU. (2018). Marijuana arrests by the numbers. Retrieved from

Anderson, P. (1981). High in America: The true story behind NORML and the politics of marijuana. NY: Viking Press.

Bazelon, D. L. (1975). The morality of the criminal law. Southern California Law Review, 49, 385–405.

Collins, S. (2014). How pharmacists can counsel patients on medical marijuana. Pharmacy Today, 20(4), 6–7.

DEA. (2018). Drug scheduling. https://www.dea.gov/drug-scheduling

Deitch, R. (2003). Hemp: American history revisited: The plant with a divided history. New York, NY: Algora Publishing.

Dragone, D., Prarolo, G., Vanin, P., & Zanella, G. (2019). Crime and the legalization of recreational marijuana. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 159, 488–501.

Eddy, M. (2010). Medical marijuana: Review and analysis of federal and state policies. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Fiala, E. (2019). Great-grandmother arrested at Disney World for having CBD oil in her purse. Retrieved from https://themindunleashed.com/2019/05/great-grandmother-cbd-oil-arrested-disney-world.html

Romano, L. L., & Hazekamp, A. (2013). Cannabis oil: Chemical evaluation of an upcoming cannabis-based medicine. Cannabinoids, 1(1), 1–11.

Smith, A. (2017). Colorado passes a milestone for pot revenue. Retrieved from https://money.cnn.com/2017/07/19/news/colorado-marijuana-tax-revenue/index.html

Zettl, U. K., Rommer, P., Hipp, P., & Patejdl, R. (2016). Evidence for the efficacy and effectiveness of THC-CBD oromucosal spray in symptom management of patients with spasticity due to multiple sclerosis. Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, 9(1), 9–30.