Cannabis Industry- Final draft

For years there’s been this whole debate on whether or not the use of medical marijuana should be legal or not. Now in 2021, the use of marijuana has been legalized in almost all states in the US. This brings me to the topic of discussion since marijuana use is legal ‘Why are there still people in jail for it? Shouldn’t they be released on all marijuana charges? I came across this question when I first saw in the news that Colorado and Washington were the first US states to legalize the plant, before this I had an idea of what it was, so right then and there I asked myself would all marijuana convictions in those states be dropped? After researching more about this topic I expect to see a lot of positives about the use of marijuana. Also, I’m expected to see statistics of how many are incarcerated for marijuana use or just having it on them.

In my research, I expect to see statistics on how the cannabis industry is growing across the world. Also, I would like to know how soon it will take into effect to release people incarcerated for cannabis. If what I’m looking for is not available, ill use anything I can find that relates to my question. Also ill keep looking through articles and different websites, if anything I can use my social media platforms to do research. I can also use Youtube to search up videos on people’s lives in states where cannabis is legal, to get more in-depth of the topic. In general, ill try to expand my resource options. 

Dr. John Collins. “ Why are so many countries now saying cannabis is OK” London school of economics ( 10-11-2018 ) In this article it talks about how the first international country to legalize the use of marijuana was Uruguay. The reason for this move was to intervene in links between organized crime and the cannabis trade. Later on, the same year that Uruguay legalized cannabis, Washington and Colorado were the first Us states to legalize cannabis for non-medical use. After this, the US government stepped back on enforcing laws and gave states a green light to find alternatives. For example in the Netherlands, it’s illegal to sell cannabis but it’s legal to use it in private areas and can be bought in coffee shops. The rules and regulations for marijuana are different all over the world, in Malaysia a young boy was sentenced to death for trying to sell cannabis oil, in the UK doctors are allowed to prescribe cannabis products. After reading this article I understood more about the positive effects cannabis can bring to people and the economy. The main purpose of this article was to mainly inform people that are new to the drug or someone that maybe doesn’t agree with the legalization of cannabis. I would have wanted to know how long was the process for Washington and Colorado to legalize cannabis. I was also wondering what reasons or statistics did those states present to legalize cannabis. I have also noticed through this article that the author doesn’t choose sides on whether cannabis is a good thing or a bad thing he keeps it neutral. Keeping the genre of this article neutral does not affect the meaning of this article.

Joan Oleck ( consumer tech ). “With 40,000 Americans Incarcerated For Marijuana Offenses, The Cannabis Industry Needs To Step Up, Activists Said This Week” 6/26/2020. In this second article, the tone is different from the first article. The first article’s tone was more neutral than anything but in this second one, it’s more of a one-sided argument. The article started with a big statement that portrays what the rest of the article has in store. The author starts with the statement that an estimate of 40,000 people are still incarcerated for marijuana offenses even though a lot of states are legalizing it and cannabis companies are making a profit. The author also mentions ways panelists can help people that have been incarcerated, not only be released but also give them sort of a fresh start once they are released. The author also gives a real-life example story about a music producer in 2002. He was a music producer for the famous Tupac Shakur and snoop dog, he was arrested on 3 counts of marijuana to distribute it was a total of $900 worth of marijuana because of the laws back then, he was sentenced to 55 years in prison. After serving some years in prison and with some help from his friends he was pardoned in 2016 by the former president Barack Obama. The author’s main purpose in this article was to inform but in a way where it seems like the author doesn’t agree with a topic. As I was reading this article it felt like a one-sided argument writing all their key points. I would love for this author to do an update on this article because it ended with the process people will take to reach their end goal and I would like to know if they have reached it.

Charles S. Gascon. “As more states legalize marijuana, Economics comes into play” This article is mainly talking about how the sale of marijuana in states can impact their economy in a good or bad way. In early 2012 Colorado’s cannabis sales were up to 10- 20 million, in 2018 that number raised to 90 million per month. It also talks about some negatives of taxing cannabis products. For example, The taxation of marijuana will be inconsistent with tax policies on other medical drugs. The purpose of this article was to show statistics on the sales of cannabis all over the US and also how those numbers can affect the economy of states.

In conclusion, after reading all three articles it has been cleared up that it’s a whole process in the cannabis industry on both sides. Also after gathering as much info as I can, I’ve gone even deeper on the thought of my question, the articles helped me find a piece of the answer but I know there’s more to it. For me, the most important article to my question was the second article because it gave me what I was looking for. Also, the article provided a real-life story of my question. As a result of all of this, I have found some good articles that have brought me to the conclusion of my question.