https://www.ted.

com/talks/
khadijah_tribble_how_marijuana_reform_could_repair_reclaim_and_restore_communities/
transcript?language=en

TED TALK
Khadijah's reflection on the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" provides a
poignant insight into the challenges faced growing up as a Black female in the South over 40
years ago. Amidst the backdrop of post-civil rights advancements and opportunities, she
emphasizes the limitations, both real and perceived, that existed for her generation. Recalling a
turning point at summer Bible school, Khadijah talks about her early desire to be a "thinker." But
she swiftly changed her mind and decided to become a lawyer, the more traditional career path,
due to social backlash. Time-traveling to her most recent experience at the Kennedy School,
she wryly describes her surprising platform decision to support the importance of marijuana.
Examining the war on drugs' tremendous effects, Khadijah claims that it reversed the victories
of the civil rights struggle. She draws attention to the startling figures—5, 7, 46, 23, and one—
highlighting them as a representation of the unfair treatment that Black and Brown communities
endure as a result of marijuana-related convictions. She questions the legality of marijuana in
light of the fact that several states have legalized its use for certain purposes, disputing the idea
that it is a felony. Khadijah's advocacy is further personalized by the accounts of people like
Keyvette, who is dealing with the fallout from marijuana-related crimes, and her father, a
handicapped veteran who uses marijuana for medical causes. Her passionate call for justice
and equity strikes a deep chord as she highlights the unfair obstacles that people with
marijuana-related criminal records must overcome in order to access homes, jobs, and
educational opportunities. In the end, Khadijah's dedication to supporting marijuana legalization
originates from both a personal and professional standpoint. The experiences of her father and
daughter-in-law highlight the real effects of these policies on people and families. She wants to
use her activism to help create a future in which her grandsons will be able to achieve their
goals without having to overcome unfair obstacles.

https://www.mpp.org/issues/legalization/top-ten-reasons-to-end-marijuana-prohibition/
WEBSITE
Legalizing marijuana goes against the fundamental ideals of freedom in a country that supports
"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Families shouldn't be torn apart by cannabis use, as
it has been shown to be safer than alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.Legalizing and taxing
cannabis can be a significant cash stream, but prohibition wastes public resources. Cannabis
sales taxes in Washington State brought in $600 million in 2020; estimates indicate that
removing cannabis prohibition with taxation and regulation might yield $6.8 billion in excise
taxes. Arresting cannabis offenders distorts the allocation of law enforcement resources,
diverting attention from real crimes. Vital police resources could be diverted to investigating
more serious crimes, as the number of cannabis-related arrests and citations in 2019 exceeded
the total number of arrests for all violent crimes by over 663,000. Cannabis criminalization
causes a great deal of Americans to go through the criminal justice system, which has a
negative influence on people's life. Since 1995, there have been more than 15 million cannabis
arrests, which has made it difficult for people to get a job, housing, education, and other
licenses.Minority populations are disproportionately impacted by cannabis regulations; Black
people, for example, are more than 3.5 times more likely than White people to be arrested for
possessing cannabis, even if their usage rates are equal. Teen accessibility is decreased by
cannabis regulation since licensed firms impose age limits and identity verification. In contrast to
alcohol, where less than 1% of high school students know of a student selling it, 40% of
cannabis sales are known to occur, regulation effectively erects barriers to restrict underage
access.Like with the prohibition of alcohol, the prohibition of cannabis encourages violence.
Because the cannabis business is clandestine, there is a risk of violence for both buyers and
dealers. Quality control, which guarantees cannabis products are free of impurities like
pesticides, molds, and bacteria, is only possible through regulation. The likelihood of dangerous
chemicals reaching the market rises with prohibition. Because illegal cannabis farms may use
prohibited chemicals, reroute streams, and leave hazardous trash behind, prohibition presents
environmental risks. Businesses that are regulated are watched over to make sure
environmental regulations are followed.Cannabis has been shown to be safer than alcohol; it
has a lower toxicity, a reduced risk for addiction, and no history of confirmed overdose deaths.
Consumers should be directed toward the safer substance in accordance with sensible policy
decisions and public health priorities.

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/6376/chapter/3
BOOK CHAPTER

This extensive chapter prioritizes evidence-based medicine over belief-based medicine and
focuses on the scientific analysis of marijuana use for medical purposes. The paper attempts to
provide a nuanced view of the scientific studies on medical marijuana, including its advantages
and disadvantages, while acknowledging the widespread misinterpretation and misuse of
scientific evidence on contentious matters. The main issues discussed are whether medical
marijuana use is safe and whether it can help with certain health issues. The report
acknowledges that these seemingly simple questions are caught up in a web of social issues,
but it is dedicated to evaluating the scientific data without regard to the ramifications for society
or the law. The research team discovered strong agreement among specialists in pertinent
fields concerning the scientific data on possible medical use, despite the fact that disputes about
marijuana usage for non-medical purposes frequently seep into the discussion of medicinal
marijuana. The report makes clear that it is focused on scientific analysis rather than legal
considerations in order to lay the groundwork for a discussion that is well-informed. It highlights
that while scientific analysis alone cannot settle policy concerns, it can highlight areas of
agreement and highlight key distinctions that have been hidden by disinformation and
misunderstanding. The approach emphasizes the significance of scientific validity regardless of
personal opinions on marijuana usage, purposefully avoiding commenting on the intentions of
people presenting facts and arguments. The paper acknowledges that judgments on drug
regulation entail moral, social, and medical factors, but it does not address whether scientific
analysis is compatible with current regulatory practices. The paper acknowledges the impact of
value judgments on drug regulation and points out that decisions concerning policy are
impacted by opinions about the projected safety, efficacy, and medical utility of drugs, even
when they are used exclusively for medical purposes. Value judgments play a more significant
part in regulatory choices pertaining to medications used for nonmedical purposes, like
marijuana, where policymakers have to balance the risks and benefits of medicine with the legal
restrictions on nonmedical usage.