This previously ran in our April 2022 print issue.

As more and more states legalize marijuana recreationally and/or medicinally, we can finally see the negative stigma of the flower slowly deteriorating. 

The negative connotation of marijuana is long-lived and has been unrightfully living in most people’s minds since their discovery of drugs. 

According to a Pew Research Center survey, a whopping 91% of Americans are already in support of the legalization of marijuana. This can be for many reasons, including getting rid of the racially charged incrimination of marijuana possession, allowing patients a healthy alternative to opioid drugs, or even just to self-medicate. 

Marijuana has constantly been proven to help with pain, anxiety, and stress, and people who have not tried the substance them- selves can also come to the conclusion that it doesn’t need to be classified as a Schedule I drug by the DEA, alongside heroin. 

Additionally, with the legalization of marijuana, we can see the plant be further regulated for consumer safety and also taxed so that it can contribute towards growing our economy. With the legalization of marijuana the “shady” aspect of the flow- er is hindered as more and more well-established dispensaries come to fruition whilst money is taken away from cartels, organized crime, and street gangs. Studies from FBI crime statistics show that violent crime in Washington decreased in the years after legalization, which further proves how this peace plant actually promotes peace in one way or another. 

Alongside the medicinal benefits marijuana brings, it also takes away violence and organized crime from the streets in a legalized state. With the legalization, police can find themselves dispersing their resources for other uses, instead of constantly feeding the costly enforcement of marijuana. 

The stigma surrounding marijuana has long been tainted, flawed, and flat-out inac- curate for as long as it has been around. It is common knowledge that most things in life are fine in moderation, and marijuana is no different. 

Another fact concerning the legalization of marijuana is how it is far less harmful than tobacco and alcohol products which are both legal. Alcohol is proven to have caused deaths by alcohol poisoning and tobacco with lung cancer, but marijuana has yet to take a life, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

Although laws have loosened up on marijuana since the 20th century, it is ob- vious that the full legalization of marijuana benefits the consumers, law enforcement, and the economy.