Friday, December 4, 2015

Legalization of Marijuana and Mainstream Culture


Photo by: Scott Beale 
Recently the debate about the legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic that has caught the attention of many news stations and politicians. With this being such a topic of conversation in the United States’ society, it has drawn many opinions from many people ranging from professionals to the common person. There have been different studies conducted by various sources that either support or refute the legalization of marijuana, each holding their own weight of importance to the topic. After doing further research, the pros and the cons seem to measure up pretty evenly against each other, so I am going to take an approach to the topic that will discuss two academic disciplines that revolve around the discussion of legalizing marijuana. I believe the two disciplines that are most relevant to the subject matter are the sociological (or social) discipline and the scientific (or health professionals) discipline. Sociologist look at legalizing marijuana in manners of how the legalization of the drug will change and become a part of what is considered mainstream culture and how the drug could bring in large amounts of revenue for local economies; while scientist and health professionals view the legalization of marijuana as an action that would increase drug related illnesses and the negative long term effects that are a result of marijuana usage in society.

The prohibition of cannabis (marijuana) in the United States has been around since the time of the first American colonist. Initially every colonist was ordered by King James I to grow a hundred plants per colonist strictly for the export of fiber (6). Cannabis was first prepared for medical purposes in 1850, but laws also came with the then new medical practice that created penalties for mislabeling drugs, adulterating them with undisclosed narcotics, and improper sale of those considered "poisons" (6). Since then, regulations on marijuana only increased and eventually the drug became illegal in all fifty states. It is important to the know the history of marijuana prohibition if one is truly understand why the legalization of the drug now is such a big issue in the United States. In the past there have been less regulations and laws regarding the use of marijuana, it wasn’t until marijuana was considered a drug that laws were made to make marijuana illegal. So what makes marijuana a drug? Marijuana has an active substance called tetra-hydro-cannabinol (THC) which gives users a “high”. THC is what makes marijuana a drug because the substance induces altered states of consciousness like alcohol, caffeine, or cocaine and it directly effects one of the systems in the body, particularly the central nervous system (7). Will all this being said, it’s easy to see why legalizing marijuana is such a controversial topic.

Photo by: Torben Hansen 
On the social aspect of the legalization marijuana, many believe that if marijuana was legalized and became regularly available, then it would simply become a part of mainstream culture (4). In states like California and Colorado where marijuana is legalized for recreational use, new marijuana products are being developed to appeal to growing usage of the drug. Marijuana producers in these states believe that someday marijuana will become as common as alcohol and tobacco products (4). These small business owners want marijuana to become something that you would take and enjoy at a bonfire with beer and friends (4). This could very well become the new social norm if marijuana is legalized in the United States. It’s quite obvious that marijuana product producers and growers are all for the legalization of marijuana, but how does the general public feel about the topic? A study was done on adolescents where they were asked to feel out a survey on their view of marijuana (2). It turned out that 87-90.9% of the adolescents revealed that they disapproved of marijuana, thus the study concluded that individuals in birth cohorts that are more disapproving of marijuana use are less likely to use, independent of their personal attitudes towards marijuana use (2). So it seems that the younger people of the day disapprove marijuana, but other groups of Americans seem to have a different opinion. Views of the legalization of marijuana remain divided along partisan, age and ethnic lines. White, Black, and Hispanic Americans believe that marijuana should be legalized, but don’t necessarily think they would start using marijuana if it is legalized (5). Age groups of Americans ranging from 18-64 years of age think that the drug should be legalized while the age group 65+ years of age think it should not be legalized (5). The majority of Americans also believe that one should not receive jail time if they are in possession of small amounts of marijuana and they also believe that alcohol is more harmful to human health than the drug (5). As a whole, it looks that the American people support the legalization of marijuana, but if marijuana is legalized and becomes regularly available to them, it doesn’t mean they are more likely to use the drug. Marijuana would just become another option for the American people, similarly to alcohol and tobacco products. It just become a part of American mainstream culture and societal norms.

While it seems that most of the American population approves of the legalization of marijuana, there is still a reason while it is still illegal and that’s because of the health risks associated with the drug. Although smoking marijuana gives users a “high”, the drug could also leave users feeling its short term effects and if smoked regularly its long term effects as well. Once inhaled it takes the chemicals released by smoking marijuana to reach the brain in about two seconds, so it does not take long for marijuana to effect the body (3). Short terms effects caused by smoking marijuana are sensory distortion, poor coordination of movement, lower reaction time, and increased heartbeat while long term effects include reduced resistance to common illnesses, personality and mood changes, study difficulties, and lack of motivation (3). There was a study conducted to determine whether medical marijuana users are different from recreational marijuana users. They examined similarities and differences in important clinical characteristics between users of medical marijuana and users of recreational marijuana and found that there are little differences between the two users (1). This being said, all marijuana users prone to experience the negative effects of marijuana whether they’re a medical or recreational user. Smoking marijuana is still smoking marijuana, there’s no way to avoid the possible negative outcomes that come with using the drug (1). The scientific aspects of marijuana and its chemical composition is what professionals fear could be harmful to the society. If marijuana is legalized, there is the possibility that the number of illnesses associated with the drug will increase and the possibility that the American people will abuse the drug.

Photo by; Mike Mozart

The social discipline and the scientific discipline associated with the topic clearly have two different approaches to the topic of legalizing marijuana. The social discipline used pros that come along with the legalization of marijuana like economic growth in the marijuana industry, the increase of social norm and the use of marijuana in social situations, and statistics that showed Americans believe that marijuana should be legalized. This discipline also included a study that stated that adolescents disapproved of marijuana, meaning that there more than likely wouldn’t be an increase in underage usage of the drug. The scientific discipline used scientifically proven negative effects that are associated with smoking marijuana and the possible increase in marijuana related illnesses. This discipline also included a study that concluded that there are little differences between medical and recreational marijuana users, thus stating that no matter how one uses the drug, they will still feel side effects associated with using marijuana. Both disciplines used styles that reflected their mood on the topic. The sociological discipline used a writing style that approached the topic with a laid back, supportive mood while the scientific discipline approached the topic with a more critical, apposing mood. Both disciplines used their own unique strategies to approach the topic of legalizing marijuana to express their different views on the topic.
In conclusion, the topic of legalizing marijuana in the United States can be approached by many different disciplines, each with its own opinion and strategies that it uses to convey their ideas. Disciplines are inclined to have obvious outlooks on particular topics, so it is important for one to be aware of all types of disciplines that relate to controversial topics. The legalization of marijuana is such a hot topic in America because of the different perspectives and attitudes developed by disciplines. One could also conclude that it is because of different disciplines that topics can be disputable, thus developing different opinions that relate to one particular topic of discussion. The legalization of marijuana has evident pros and cons thanks to the different disciplines that relate to this debatable topic, thus it will ultimately come down to whether the American people feel that marijuana is a drug that could become a part of mainstream culture in the near future.

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