No time is high time to legalize marijuana

If Rasmussen, a media company that conducts public opinion polls, has said that after the national survey 56% favored marijuana to be legalized, leave it just as it is.

In a world where democracy is worshipped and considered as god, results from polls and surveys can not be taken for granted, especially this season of American politics under a “litmus test”. However, the “legalizing marijuana” controversy is very far different story to use the public opinion to advance the call for legalization. Needless to say, this issue deserves an in-depth research and study, which should be the best rallying point, if America still worthy of respect from the rest of the world.

What is “legalizing marijuana” supposedly meant for?

This controversy sends signal to the U.S. government to allow Americans sell, buy, grow, and use marijuana. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 criminalizes selling, buying, growing, and using or possession of this drug. Furthermore, this law categorizes marijuana (Schedule I) as with substance with high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the U. S., and has insufficient accepted safety use of the drug.

Through the years of outright prohibition by the federal government, a number of States in the U.S. have passed Propositions to allow medical use of marijuana, only to have them overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, which affirmed federal right over States’ Propositions.

Why, why, and why?

Now, this surge of public interest in legalization of marijuana circumvents the long time problems America has endlessly been fighting for: the failing “war on drug”, fiscal problem, health, crimes, name it, the pro-marijuana has it.

As precautionary inquiry to the pro-marijuana: are we for legalizing marijuana just because of what the majority of Americans chose to do so, including the reasons like crime rate, recreation, health and medicine, and so and so? Science and research is still studying and discovering effects further from marijuana use. When comes a time proving that we are mistaken by our choice we made today, could junkie Americans turn back time? Isn’t it the future of certainty would be the high time to legalize marijuana, is it? If you ask when, the answer is the American generation—the more disciplined, who have more pride in their ambitions and goals for their children, and have most clear understanding between therapeutic drugs and addictive drugs.

In the meantime, as election day is day-by-day thrilling to Democrat and Republican Americans, the dominating choice of Americans to legalize marijuana can either translates votes that change America to better than nothing or affects how the other side of the world may view the moral health of America, in toto.

Pros and cons

Where there could be numbers of pro and anti-marijuana in America, there could be as many reasons as they may be.

Basically, the reason for legalization could be the fundamental right of Americans to liberty. Significantly, this reason embraces a wider rallying ground that either subscribes or exaggerates the U.S. fiscal problem, the government’s failing “war on drugs”, and the drug’s agricultural, industrial, and medicinal benefits. Convincingly, the anti-marijuana have also used the same ground where legalization of marijuana could pose outright danger and uncontrollable damage not only to the U.S. economic equilibrium, security, and health but also to the Americans moral fiber in the face of the Earth.

Then, where must Americans stand by?

So much data analyses and statistics that pros and cons of the controversy have been presented, elaborated, and discussed since the outburst of “legalizing marijuana” started conceiving. On-line and published reports have qualitatively and quantitatively justified both sides of the controversy, yet with reservations for future development of studies regarding marijuana use.

Common sense argues that we decide things based on values and benefits we could derived from. In a government that is responsive to the public welfare, circumstances beyond human control, health risks, security to every American, the unborn, the young, and the old, and other long-term effects from using marijuana are equally indispensable with the preservation of American culture.

Therefore, in all aspects where pros and cons have been demonstrated and expounded, it could be most significant to unveil and give most consideration to the medical anatomy of effects of marijuana to the users.

Accordingly, the World Health Organization (WHO) disclosed that marijuana could impair capabilities of learning, psychomotor, and human performance. However, WHO concluded that marijuana has demonstrated therapeutic effects for nausea and vomiting in advanced stages of illnesses such as cancer and AIDS, yet more research is needed on this respect.

While the pro-marijuana asserts that the use of marijuana poses a much less serious public health problems than are posed by alcohol and tobacco, they must be shortsighted in considering the prevalence vis-à-vis the quality of daily use of a particular drug.

Furthermore, U.S. statistics concluded marijuana as the most abused illegal drug. Ergo, if marijuana is legalized, then does it follow that statistics would show 9 out of 10 Americans are “hemp junkies”, “psychologically –impaired”, or "morally-unfit"? Or, would Guinness include the U.S. as the undisputed land of crimes and vices run by junkies? My golly, legalizing marijuana issue is not a game of popularity on "Who could be the next American president to tolerate drugs addiction, especially marijuana addiction?".

When public welfare is at risk to a future irreparable damage, precautionary measures must be the first pillar to stand by. Where there have been no stable findings and confirmations about the effects of using marijuana, and where everybody, including science, is unsure of, then today is not high time to legalize marijuana use either for recreational or medical.