would decriminalization lead to greater marijuana use.?

Question

Government studies conclude that marijuana decriminalization has had virtually no effect on either marijuana use or beliefs and related attitudes about marijuana among American young people in those states that have enacted such a policy.
REFERENCE: L. Johnson et al. 1981. Marijuana Decriminalization: The Impact on Youth 1975-1980. Monitoring the Future, Occasional Paper Series: Paper No. 13. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan.

Citizens who live under decriminalization laws consume marijuana at rates less than or comparable to those who live in regions where the possession of marijuana remains a criminal offense.
REFERENCE: E. Single et al. 2000. The Impact of Cannabis Decriminalization in Australia and the United States. Journal of Public Health Policy 21: 157-186.

There is no evidence that marijuana decriminalization affects either the choice or frequency of use of drugs, either legal (such as alcohol) or illegal (such as marijuana and cocaine).
REFERENCE: C. Thies and C. Register. 1993. Decriminalization of marijuana and demand for alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. The Social Sciences Journal 30: 385-399.

States and regions that have maintained the strictest criminal penalties for marijuana possession have experienced the largest proportionate increase in use.
REFERENCE: Connecticut Law Review Commission. 1997. Drug Policy in Connecticut and Strategy Options: Report to the Judiciary Committee of the Connecticut Assembly. State Capitol: Hartford.

Rates of hard drug use (illicit drugs other than marijuana) among emergency room patients are substantially higher in states that have not decriminalized marijuana use. Experts speculate that this is because the lack of decriminalization may encourage the greater use of drugs that are even more

that are even more dangerous than marijuana.
REFERENCE: K. Model. 1993. The effect of marijuana decriminalization on hospital emergency room episodes: 1975-1978. Journal of the American Statistical Association 88: 737-747 as cited by the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, 103.

Answer 1

"I think Marijuana should be legalized because I like getting high but I don't want to get arrested."

That said, since the 70s the Dutch have had an amazingly tolerant policy toward marijuana use. They also have studies showing that marijuana use among their teen population has dropped to significantly low levels.

I believe decriminalization would lead to greater use for medical issues. Without fear of arrest, more medical patients would be willing to try it in order to alleviate many of the disease symptoms it has been shown to help.

I believe that the concept of marijuana as a gateway drug is directly related to the propaganda the government currently spews about the drug. The DARE program uses fear in a feeble attempt to curb drug use of any sort. The problem arises when our youth sees others using marijuana without any of the ill effects of the propaganda they received. They try marijuana for themselves and realize that they have been lied to about it. The next leap is the belief that if they were lied to about marijuana, the information on other drugs may be bogus as well. So they go on to try other, more dangerous and/or addicting drugs.

If marijuana were decriminalized, and the real facts about it's use promoted without the scare tactics and lies, I believe more of our youth would recognize the honesty and develop greater respect for what they learn about all drugs.

Answer 2

It's not the question of decriminalizing use of Marijuana, that is Defacto in Canada anyway. It is illegal and criminal on the books, but no-one gets charged criminally for smoking it, only usually for amounts for trafficking. The problem, is do you make using, and growing and selling legal?

If you can use, you should be able to grow your own, like makling your own wine & beer, but if you grow and sell, how can the police know what you are growing, isn't for your own use (like a collective farm if you have friends)

Gov't would make it legal if they could figure out a way to get taxes from it, but it is too easy for people to grow and sell away from the government, and the Government hates that.

And yes , if you could grow your own, usage would soar.

Answer 3

Did decriminalization of alcohol use increase people's use of the drug?

I think all drugs should be decriminalized. It would free up the prisons so we would spend less TAX money, increase revenue as we would tax the substance (and taking substances off of the black market would drive the price down anyway, so there would be little cost difference to the consumer). It would make it safer for users. It would also mean that when someone does get addicted that the addiction would be treated like a disease (as we do with alcoholism) rather than a crime.

Answer 4

I'm not real worried about whether or not more ppl will or won't. I don't believe it will have any real effect on that. I am more concerned about what it will do to the price because it's high enough as it is and you know everything goes up once the government gets involved.

I have yet to hear somebody with the honesty to say "I think Marijuana should be legalized because I like getting high but I don't want to get arrested."
I'll say it.

Answer 5

Decriminalization of marijuana would lead to greater depersonalization. In the commercial, impersonal world of the United States, if you could buy a pack of marijuana cigarettes at the store it would ruin the deal.

People would go home and smoke it all alone in their lonely rooms and we would get a fragmentalized society where everyone is alone.

The personal contact, the dealer who shows you how to enjoy it, and the slight feeling of doing what is "verboten" or tabu is part of the charm of youth.

Answer 6

I haven't smoked pot for over 25 years but might have an occasional one if it were legal. Legal would also mean regulated which would mean better quality control, branding, etc. So I'd have to say use would increase if it were legalized. Unless the price was regulated or it was heavily taxed, it would also probably get a lot cheaper.

Answer 7

Ok so are you a pot head or not?
I'm glad you worked so hard on your grammer/text for this one, but your preachin to the choir darlin we all know miss mary is not the problem in this country.
You keep fighting for the right & keep me posted for any good changes.


P.S. would decriminalizing really make people consume less,
Hmm?

Answer 8

I have yet to hear somebody with the honesty to say "I think Marijuana should be legalized because I like getting high but I don't want to get arrested."

Answer 9

Looks like your stats answer your question, but I have always thought that pot should be legal. My dad used to maintain that the only reason it wasn't was that it would be impossible to tax...it grows really easily. That's why its sometimes called weed.

Answer 10

Two problems with decriminalizing marijuana: one taxation second it leads to use of harder drugs statically.