Does science say Marijuana should be legal?
Marijuana has become a big political issue again, not just in the USA but around the world. Whats interesting now though is that we have CASE STUDIES - It is legal to purchase marijuana in four states — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington — as well as in the District of Columbia. Medical marijuana is legally used in many more. So what has happened in these five places – what’s been the social effect of legalizing marijuana – is legalizing marijuana a good thing?? Critics of marijuana legalization say "For every $1 we collect from state and federal taxes on alcohol and tobacco, we spend $10 to address problems stemming from their use. There is no reason to believe marijuana will pay for itself, either." Tax revenue data from Washington and Colorado shows that over $200 million in marijuana taxes have been raised. So was there actually $2 billion in costs for Washington and Colorado? Lets look at road safety - Are there more stoned drivers now causing crashes? Well, there were 3.84 million drivers in Colorado in 2013, but the Colorado Dept. of Transportation shows the number of fatal crashes has not significantly changed But what about overall usage? Is everyone getting high now? Well, a study released yesterday by Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division found legalization has not had much of an effect on the prevalence of cannabis consumption. But what about teen use? In the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the share of Colorado high school students reporting past-month marijuana use fell by 11 percent between 2009 and 2011. Nationwide that number rose by 11 percent during the same period Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper there isn't any evidence that Marijuana is easier for underage kids to get than in the past: "If alcohol, tobacco, caffeine, and pharmaceutical products can be legally sold to adults in this country, it's hard to understand the constitutional economic or for that matter moral arguments put forward on why marijuana can't be within that same ambit of choices for adults." Reports are due Sept. 1 in 2017, 2022 and 2032, examining the effects of marijuana legalization on public health, safety, youth use, criminal activity and more. SOURCES: https://www.codot.gov/library/traffic... This video is presented by Jayde Lovell, directed by Solvi Haugseth, at Youtube Space NYC. SCIQ ON TYT Produced by Jayde Lovell and Bec Susan Gill. ScIQ is a partner of the TYT Network. Follow SciQ on Twitter: / sciq_tyt Follow SciQ on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sciq.tyt?ref=hl Follow SciQ on Tumblr: / dssscience Follow Jayde on Twitter: / jaydelovell Follow Jayde on Instagram: www.instagram.com/jaydelovell Follow Jayde on the interwebs: www.jaydelovell.com Follow Bec on Twitter: / becsusangill Follow Bec on Instagram: / becsusangill Follow Bec on Tumblr: / becsusangill CONTACT For enquiries – please email [email protected] or [email protected]
