Marijuana has been a largely scrutinized illegal drug in the United States since 1937. However, on January 1, 2014, Colorado recreationally legalized marijuana to be distributed and used similarly to alcohol. Many people have their own opinions toward marijuana but it is hard to deny facts; and for the state of Colorado the positives heavily outweigh the negatives.
Marijuana legalization is a very important topic for our country because of the progressive movements Americans are seeing today. The best way to look at how marijuana legalization would affect our country is to look at Colorado, the first state to legalize marijuana. Colorado has seen positive and negative impacts because of legalization but that occurs with many bills and laws placed by the government.
To get a wide variety of information about this subject it is necessary to use many different informational outlets, news reports being the most used. It is important to know why marijuana was made illegal in the first place. What you’ll find is that cannabis was a widely used medicine before it was outlawed because of an “undesirable group.” Next, it is necessary how marijuana has directly affected the state of Colorado. There are two aspects to look at however, the economic standpoint and the public standpoint. For this project to be effective at showing how legalization has affected Colorado all of the positives and all of the negatives must be present. Of the few negative things mentioned in the articles, edible marijuana seemed to be the one to come up the most. The thing with “edibles” is that they are much more concentrated than just smoking the plant and many people have bad experiences with them, sometimes resulting in hospital visits, because they do not realize how much more concentrated they are.
I chose to write about this topic because there has been a lot of talk recently about whether or not the government should legalize marijuana. Colorado is almost the “guinea pig” in this situation. The government can look at how marijuana legalization is affecting Colorado and use this information to determine whether or not marijuana should be legal throughout the entire country. It is time to take a look.
How did Marijuana Become Illegal in the First Place?
Colorado Department of Public Safety shows early effects of marijuana legalization
After 5 Months of Sales, Colorado Sees the Downside of a Legal High
After two years, debate remains over marijuana legalization’s impacts
How Has The Legalization of Pot Affected Colorado?
In Colorado, a county revolts against legalized marijuana
In Colo., a look at life after marijuana legalization
7 Harmful Side Effects Pot Legalization Has Caused in Colorado
What Colorado has learned from legalizing marijuana so far
WHY ARE EDIBLES STRONGER THAN SMOKING?
How Is Colorado Doing Since Marijuana Legalization?