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Perry Clark
English 102
Ms. Erica Hussey
23 February 2020
Exploring the Effects of Emancipation of Marijuana

Government Accountability Office. “Drug Control: DEA’s Strategies and Operations in the

1990s: GGD-99-108.” ​GAO Reports​, July 1999, p. 1. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=18227647&site=eds-live&s

cope=site.

This document intensively covers various tactics and strategies that were being employed

by the United States government and its agencies to prevent the importation and use of drugs in

the United States in the 1990’s. While this report seems outdated, the strategies outlined in the

document set the stage for the war on drugs into the 21st century. The United States government

is of course concerned for its citizens and their well being, but they make it evident that these

illegal drugs are costing the United States government hundreds of billions a year, through a

variety of methods. This is also when the United States decides to significantly expand the Drug

Enforcement Agency (DEA). Prior to this, the DEA was a very ineffective operation, since it had

little funding or attention. The organization had minimal to no effect on society or halting drug

trade up until this point. Knowing this, the United States had to implement a more aggressive

attack strategy in order to take down these large criminal empires and drug cartels.

I think this article demonstrates really well how the narrative has changed so much in just

twenty years. Going from one extreme of pursuing and eliminating all illegal substances from the

US, to states legalizing a federally illegal substance for recreational use in such a short time is
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remarkable. This makes me wonder exactly what changed to cause these state governments

diverge from these federal organizations and the federal government.

Being a government document, this is a very credible source, especially since it is

outlining their plans for drug enforcement. It is not an opinionated piece, it mostly just focuses

on factual events and statistics, making it unbiased for the most part.

Berenson, Alex. “Let’s Tell the Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence.” ​USA

Today Magazine​, vol. 147, no. 2886, Mar. 2019, p. 20. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=135633190&site=eds-live&s

cope=site.

Alex Berenson, a journalist, discusses the effects of marijuana on society and specifically

the mentally ill. The reason he chose to focus on people with mental illness is because marijuana

is often prescribed to people with such conditions to ease pain and other symptoms. He makes

the very valid argument that the only effective substance in marijuana for pain relief is the THC

oil in the marijuana plant. The difference between smoking a “blunt” and taking THC oil is

significant, he states. My question and a question he also alludes to is if medical officials are

aware that the THC active ingredient is the only beneficial factor for patients, then why is

medical marijuana being prescribed and not just the oil? Berenson believes that the Marijuana

Policy Project (a leading organization in the promotion of legalization) is simply trying to

support those who use marijuana for recreational use. I do not think this is necessarily true, or

even provable, however it is an interesting thought. It is certainly a view shared by many. He

also gets into the effects of marijuana on schizophrenia patients and the correlation to violence.
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Berenson provides several research experiment statistics that support his claim that

schizophrenic people who use marijuana are more violent. Without specific details of the

experiments and without knowing the nature of the patients, it is really difficult to claim that this

is in fact true.

Berenson does an excellent job of backing his claims with evidence and he provides very

convincing arguments that marijuana is harmful to all types of people. This article is most

certainly biased, but this bias did not significantly weaken any of his arguments or statements.

“Consequences of Legalizing Marijuana.” ​The National Bureau of Economic Research​,

June 2014, ​www.nber.org/digest/oct14/w20085.html​.

This article from the National Bureau of Economic Research outlined the effects of

legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use. Through research experiments and

surveys, they found that for states that had legalized, the number of users of marijuana had

increased by a significant margin. No matter the outcome, increased drug use is not good for

anybody, the user, their community or society at large. It was not clear in the research whether or

not marijuana was connected to the use of other hard drugs, however, it is a distinct possibility.

This article highlighted the point that a person’s pain is not quantifiable or measurable in any

way, so for the states which have only legalized medical use, how can one tell if that person is

lying about their pain level? Well, you simply cannot tell and this problem will likely lead to

increased abuse with the legalization of marijuana.

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Since the article is primarily stating the statistics found in the several experiments

conducted, the source seems fairly unbiased. The source is reputable and is certainly legitimate,

which makes the information all that more credible.

Pasternak, Daniel B. “Three New State Laws Legalize Marijuana Use, Sparking More Confusion

and Igniting Further Conflict With Federal Law.” ​The National Law Review​, 21 Nov.

2018,

www.natlawreview.com/article/three-new-state-laws-legalize-marijuana-use-sparking-mo

re-confusion-and-igniting​.

Daniel Pasternak, of The National Law Review brings a very pertinent issue to light as

the legalization of marijuana is on the rise. That would be the battle between state and federal

legalization. Since the 1970 Controlled Substance Act, all Schedule 1 substances have been

federally banned to use and possess. This creates a very incoherent message for citizens of the

United States. Just because the state government legalizes marijuana does not make it technically

legal. The DEA can still come and arrest you because marijuana is federally banned, and the

DEA is a federal organization. Now, policing this would be nearly impossible, hence these

federal organizations are not acting upon it. The federal government has even stated that it will

not currently interfere with state legalization for reasons that were not stated. This makes it all

the more difficult when it comes to the law. If you are going to be tried in a federal court for

possession of marijuana, you could receive a completely different outcome than had you been
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tried in a state court. This has created a significant amount of gray area that these justice systems

have had to deal with.

National Institute on Drug Abuse. “Is Marijuana a Gateway Drug?” ​NIDA​, Dec. 2019,

www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/marijuana/marijuana-gateway-drug​.

Something that is severely overlooked when the topic of legalization is discussed is the

fact that marijuana is considered a gateway drug. According to the National Institute on Drug

Abuse, using marijuana can, more often than not, lead to the use of other drug substances. These

other substances tend to be much more potent, addictive, and harmful than marijuana. Through

numerous research studies, it has been proven that exposure to marijuana at an early age,

especially while the brain is still developing, can be damaging in many ways. THC can greatly

impede processing and reaction times permanently, if it is used during brain development. It has

also been found through lab testing that once dopamine receptors are exposed to THC, the

exposure will enhance the reaction to other drugs one exposes themselves to, making the

addiction even worse.

Coming from a solid, well known source, I believe the information covered in the article

is very reliable. The website obviously is not pro-drug use, since the website holds information

and articles regarding addiction. Knowing that, this source may be somewhat biased, but the use

of factual data and information backs up the claims made.

The war on drugs is an extremely complex and oftentimes political topic and it is only

getting worse by the day. The discussion of the legalization of marijuana is expediting this
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process significantly and is adding a great deal of stress to our society at large. The first article

from the GAO provides a great foundation to understand the United States government’s

perspective on the war on drugs and how the government is choosing to deal with this massive

issue. Marijuana definitely is not the primary concern of the United States government at the

time of making this report, especially since the DEA had just taken down the notorious Pablo

Escobar, the king of cocaine. I have not found a clear article or document discussing the federal

attack plan for marijuana yet, which would help connect many of my other sources back to the

federal ban. On the contrary, the fourth article provides great insight into the battle between

federal and state governments. This sort of self-governing state aspect has not been seen since

the beginning of the United States. It should be interesting to see how exactly this ordeal turns

out in the coming years.

When it comes to the two articles on marijuana legalization effects, there are a lot of

unclear claims and opinions that have not been fully fleshed out with trustworthy statistics and

data analysis. The truth is that marijuana has only been legalized for a brief time now, and there

is still a significant void of unknown information, or at least uncollected information. It is a topic

that has many opinions behind it as well, which makes for a more difficult, concrete answer.

There also may not be a right or wrong answer. Ultimately it comes down to what most

effectively suits and betters our country and society. However, going forth, I hope to enlighten

myself more on the issues at hand through more conclusive and well constructed pieces.