Activity 7: UF Law Panel Review

            We have seen so far throughout our course how attitudes about many types of drugs have changed over time and how use of these certain drugs have changed as well. Marijuana, currently, is one of these drugs that has received much attention as arguments for both the legalization or continued criminalization for the drug have come forth in efforts to affect public policy.

            Arguments against the idea of making medical and recreational marijuana legal to use stand on the idea that the drug is labeled a scheduled 1 drug, and according to the Controlled Substances Act in the category of the most dangerous types of drugs out there. Being in this category, the federal government states that there is no accepted medical use for the drug and it has a high potential level of abuse. Just by listening to that alone, one would think maybe marijuana should stay as a schedule 1 drug, yet even research into how this drug can possibly be helpful cannot even be done because the drug is illegal. Progress with research in this drug is also an issue both parties talk about. People against marijuana use also claim that the drug is a gateway drug, meaning an individual who uses it will more likely begin to try other drugs such as cocaine and heroine. This too, they argue, is another strong point for marijuana to stay illegal especially because it is popular among the youth of our country and therefore they are the ones who could experience the most harm from it.

            On the other side, advocates for the legalization of marijuana first claim opponents of the drug are typically just against the drug because of the negative social stigma it holds, not necessarily because they have taken a good look at the facts. They argue, in regards to public policy, marijuana can really help on the healthcare issue. Even though those against the drug say there isn’t any medical use for marijuana, advocates not only claim that there is, but also claim that there are more harmful drugs out there with worse side effects that are currently being used in the medical field. An example of this would be something like prescription drugs, which even though legal, have an extremely high rate for abuse in this country, especially in the state of Florida according to the video we watched in class. Advocates also claim there could be financial benefits for the government if they decide to make marijuana legal and then create a tax on it, just as they do with cigarettes. If marijuana became legal, there would be less focus on making arrests regarding it, and instead of filling up our prisons with “drug offenders”, we can look to more serious issues or those individuals who are involved with more serious drugs.