Legalized marijuana is causing some buzz, marching its way through various states, including New York. Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Michigan, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, with 30 states legalizing its medicinal use. To many, this means additional freedom.

Canada recently legalized marijuana, becoming second in the world behind Uruguay. An article from The New York Times noted that Canada is in the beginning of a national experiment. 

With legalization come rules, and those rules include not driving under the influence of marijuana two hours after smoking it. Fines will be placed if two nanograms of THC are found in their blood. Criminal charges will occur if more than five nanograms are found. Police now have a roadside saliva test called the Drager Drug Test 5000 that they can force people to take. 

Here in America, certain states say people can smoke marijuana freely. However, federal laws say marijuana use is still very illegal and criminal charges can be implemented, if decided. Plus, the laws get very murky from state to state. Someone could be a card carrying medical marijuana user and still get arrested, charged and thrown in jail in a different state. 

Mississippi, Alabama, South Dakota and Louisiana remain outliers in the war on drugs, with Mississippi being the most-strict. In a weird twist of fate, marijuana possession arrests have risen since the inception of its legalization with African Americans targeted the most. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “Black people are almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as white people, despite comparable usage rates.”

Marijuana remains on the Schedule I drug list, which means it has not been deemed safe, has a high potential for abuse and has no identifiable medical use. If compared to cigarettes and alcohol, one might argue hypocrisy. 

There is a difference in decriminalization and legalization. Findlaw.com states that “to be clear, decriminalization of marijuana is not the same as marijuana legalization. Decriminalization means that a state repealed or amended its laws to make certain acts criminal, but no longer subject to prosecution.”

Thankfully, some states have passed legalization that now reduces and reclassifies prior convictions. Decreasing penalties for nonviolent drug crimes is a game-changer. Felony convictions are being dropped to misdemeanors and violations. This means a different world to those who could not otherwise find employment, housing or funding for school.  This is a good thing, but we still have so far to go. There are some states that refuse to pass laws expunging prior convictions. 

Controversy still surrounds what legalization would mean, the parameters swimming darkly in a vast grey area. If cigarettes and alcohol, known dangerous substances are legal, then it only makes sense that a less dangerous one is as well.

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