Marijuana

The Legalization of Marijuana

Amanda Tucker

SOC120: Introduction to Ethics & Social Responsibility

Tirizia York

February 3, 2013

The Legalization of Marijuana

The legalization of marijuana has been a large debate since the beginning of regulations and restrictions on the substance’s sale as early as 1860. One ethical issue is the debate that legalizing marijuana to create a new taxable sector of the economy is sacrificing moral opposition to recreational drug use. Another ethical issue addressed by marijuana users is that it is hypocritical to be opposed to the recreational use of marijuana when tobacco and alcohol, substance more lethal and far more popular, are allowed and even glorified.

Utilitarianism is the argument that there is always an obvious solution that is fair and appeals to common sense. An individual supporting utilitarianism could argue that the only fair solution is to legalize marijuana with strict laws to ensure there is a limit to recreational use.

California passed Amendment 64: legalizing marijuana this year with these restrictions in place. According to Ferner (2012):

“A64 will allow adults 21 and older to purchase up to one ounce of marijuana from specialty marijuana dispensaries and grow up to six marijuana plants in their homes. Possession is limited to up to an ounce for personal use, but selling marijuana without a license, purchasing marijuana from a party who is not licensed as well as public use of marijuana will remain illegal.”

A supporter of utilitarianism could also argue that marijuana is safer than alcohol or cigarettes. Robert Gable, an emeritus professor of psychology, explained the acute lethality of various drugs. Gable determined a safety margin by dividing the lethal dose by the effective dose. According to Gable (2011), “When it comes to the chances of immediate death by chemical toxicity, marijuana is about a hundred times safer than alcohol or cocaine.” If marijuana were safer than...