Legalization of Cannabis

"All human beings are born with inalienable rights. These human rights empower people to pursue lives of dignity -- thus, no government can bestow them but all governments should protect them. Freedom, built on a foundation of justice, tolerance, dignity, and respect -- regardless of ethnicity, religion, political association, or social standing -- allows people to pursue these fundamental rights. Whereas dictatorships deny human rights, free societies continually strive to attain them." (Principles of Democracy) In a democracy, our fundamental right to liberty is the cornerstone of our government in which the state should always protect and not infringe upon. However, there are always certain conflicting issues where balance of rights, and morals are at play. One of the current issues relating to rights today is demonstrated in the legalization of cannabis. The use of cannabis for non-medicinal purposes brings upon many issues; primarily the issue at hand is whether or not the state should be allowed to prohibit such actions to protect the individual from harming themselves. In a democratic society the state is obligated to protect individuals from harming others but when they are harming themselves the dilemma of the individual's rights is presented. The legalization of cannabis brings upon strong arguments for both sides in the health effects of the use of cannabis. Also, the costs and benefits to society by prohibiting the use of cannabis will be evaluated. From the information provided, the criminalization of cannabis will then be assessed to see if it is justified or if the rights of the people are being infringed upon. The legalization of cannabis is an issue of rights and morals; however it is essential that even though the majority of the people may disapprove the actions, it is more important for the state to protect the rights of the minority in order to sustain a democratic society.

Cannabis has gone through a large transition with the public and today's view upon the use of cannabis are much more lax than before. In Canada, it is estimated that 2 million Canadians over the age of 18 have used cannabis in the previous 12 months. Studies have also shown that long-term regular users are those that started using at a younger age, the average age of introduction being 15 years old (Senate Special on Illegal Drugs). Cannabis tends to begin at an early age because it is easily accessed and compared to alcohol, it is much more difficult for them to obtain. Therefore it is better to control the situation against drugs through regulation rather than prohibition. Prohibiting drugs through harsher sentencing has made the drug trade much more profitable because of the mark up in prices for the risk factor. In turn the drug trade is attractive to young men and children that are eager for a short cut in life.

The problem of drugs is not the act of harming oneself, but how their actions of taking drugs affect the people around them. The negative effects of cannabis are that it causes impaired concentration and damage to the respiratory system. One of the greatest concerns is that driving under the influence of cannabis and the danger it possesses. It is estimated between 5-12% of drivers may be under the influence of cannabis and this is increased to 20% for young men under 25 years of age (Senate Special on Illegal Drugs). The short-term impairment affects psychomotor skills up to 5 hours and this is a traffic risk because it causes slower judgment upon the driver. It is also known through studies that the use of cannabis is heavier in late adolescence, but the trend tends to stop after they are 24. This is probably due to the deterrent effect from the criminalization of cannabis because the trend is not like that for legal substances like tobacco and alcohol. For alcohol and tobacco, the trend tends to flourish life long. However, one of the weakest arguments for criminalization of cannabis is that it is believed to be a "gateway drug", leading to use of heavier drugs like cocaine and heroin.

The "gateway drug" theory has been proven to be only a myth, as cannabis itself does not cause other drug use. Other urban legends like crime and violence due to the use of cannabis are also proven wrong, which was primarily the reason to pass the Narcotic Control Act of 1923 (Senate Special on Illegal Drugs). Although there is known dependence on the substance for heavier users, it is much less severe than alcohol and tobacco, for there is not any physical dependence. However the issue of driving under the influence is a great concern; it is founded that cannabis leads to a more cautious style of driving due to the driver's acknowledgment of their impairment. This does not justify the impairment because it still has negative effects on judgment skills. The physical health effects of cannabis are far less severe than the effects of tobacco and in Canada the use of medicinal cannabis is strongly supported by the public and government (Senate Special on Illegal Drugs).

The costs and benefits of the prohibition of cannabis produce controversial results. The main fact is that in recent years cannabis has increased dramatically in availability in Canada. There are significant amounts of cultivation, primarily in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. In 1997, it was estimated by the RCMP that 800 tons of cannabis circulates in Canada each year and this amount has dramatically increased to an unknown amount in the recent years. However, a large portion of the cannabis in Canada is shipped across the border to the United States, which is also increasing demands on tighter border control.

One of the general arguments is that decriminalizing or even legalizing cannabis would decrease the cost of enforcement and prosecution cost of those with mere possession charges, which was 21, 381 charges in 1999. However, according to police, their main priority is with traffickers and producers and charges with mere possession were incidental to routine activities like traffic stops. Therefore if the possession charges were on routine activities, decriminalizing would not reduce significant amount of money spent on enforcement but it would still reduce the amount of money spent on prosecuting those with possession charges, which totaled to $5 million in 2000 (Senate Special on Illegal Drugs).

One of the most important elements in evaluating the costs and benefits of the prohibition laws is the opinion of the public. In the last ten years the attitude of the public towards use of cannabis has been more liberal (Senate Special on Illegal Drugs). There is large support for medicinal use of cannabis for it is not considered as a dangerous drug anymore. However, the greatest concern about the issue is the youths and also organized crime. This leads to the legal structure in which the aim is to protect the people