Legalisation vs criminalisation of cannabis - a double edged sword
- Beth Ennis
- Apr 7, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 9, 2019
It has been proven that cannabis has effective uses in the treatment of several medical conditions. Some argue that recreational use of the drug also reduces stress and is good for mental health. However, there is also research proving that it is often a gateway drug and can have a severe impact on the psychological development of those who use it at a young age. So, should it be legalised?
The debate around legalising cannabis is a hairy one to put it mildly. There are many valid points for and against the drug being decriminalised in the UK and the drug has a long history in Britain. It wasn’t until 1928 that it was criminalised – at this point it had already been proven to have medical uses and it was a relatively popular recreational drug.
Despite criminalisation, its popularity remains. A government report last year found that it's the most popular drug in the UK and is used by people of all ages and social backgrounds.
So, what are the arguments for legalising cannabis? There are countless studies proving the effectiveness of the drug and derivatives of it in treating several illnesses. One example is epilepsy. After two children who suffer with severe epilepsy showed dramatic improvement when taking medical cannabis, there was an outcry from campaigners and members of the public to legalise it, and allow people to benefit from the drug being available on prescription.
In recent years, it has been suggested that cannabinoids could be used to treat a huge variety of conditions – including cancer. Macmillan’s website states that cannabinoids can stop cells from dividing (which is what causes cancer) but that it is also unclear whether they can encourage cancer to grow. There is clearly a lot of research needed in this area, but it is certainly promising that cannabis has such positive effects on some illnesses.
It’s not just medical cannabis that some people would like to see legalised though. Many pressure groups argue that the drug is less harmful than smoking tobacco or binge drinking – both of which are legal in the UK. There is no tar in cannabis and there is no nicotine, which is proven to directly affect heart function. Some users report feeling an improvement in their mental health, pain from injuries or illnesses and just all round enjoyment and that they see no harm in. However, this isn’t to say that cannabis has no harmful effects.
Cannabis is legal in 10 states in America although there are pressure groups fighting against this legalisation and normalisation of using the drug. CALM (Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana) is one such group. Scott Chipman is a representative of CALM.
“Pot is a serious psychoactive drug that negatively impacts the brain and body. It changes the user’s perception of space, time, others and themselves.”
He lists multiple reasons that CALM is against legalisation of the drug, including its links to psychotic breakdowns, traffic deaths, suicide and many other issues. It’s certainly true that cannabis is linked to poor mental health, with research suggesting links to depression.
The effects are most dangerous for young users. The NHS reports that smoking cannabis as a teenager can lead to worse working memory (which affects your ability to do basic tasks), worse perceptual reasoning (which makes understanding the world/your surroundings harder) and poor impulse control.
Another concern is that cannabis is widely regarded as a gateway drug – in other words, the drug that people start with before progressing and moving on to take other, more dangerous drugs.
Scott said: “Historically, almost all those who use other drugs started their drug journey with pot. NIDA [National Institute on Drug Abuse] research indicated 72% [of drug users] started with pot. Preventing marijuana use should be the first order of priority to reduce the overdose problem in America, and yet the federal government and President have avoided it entirely.”
One of the main arguments for legalising cannabis is to stop it being bought from drug dealers and to regulate its production to make it safer. It’s well known that many drug dealers ‘cut’ cannabis with other substances to increase the weight of the drug or make it look like there is more of it – this means they make a bigger profit. Addiction charity, Talk to Frank, states cannabis has been cut with glass, lead, aluminium and many other harmful materials. However, Scott says that legalising it won’t stop this issue.
“The black market doesn't go away. The ‘permitted’ and advertising industry fuels more black market sales. Youth use goes up and the potency and frequency of use in all categories goes up. Crime increases both within and outside the industry.”
Another common argument is that pursuing dealers and users of cannabis is a waste of police time. Although it remains a Class B drug, taking cannabis is seen by many in the UK as trivial and many people would rather see the police respond to more serious crimes. In fact, it has been argued that police and the UK legal system are essentially decriminalising cannabis by issuing less cautions and prosecutions to those caught using or dealing it.
CALM disagrees that it’s a waste of police time and resources to investigate cannabis users and dealers. Scott said: “When drug users are arrested they are given access to services and drug courts. Drug courts give the arrested a choice - jail or treatment. Those addicted to drugs often must be coerced into treatment. Many who go through treatment because of drug courts improve and get clean.”
The debate about legalising cannabis is a minefield. In medical terms, it seems like a no-brainer to use whatever treatment has been proven to be effective – and cannabis has in many cases. Why it has taken the government so long to allow more effective treatment for illnesses such as epilepsy is mind boggling to say the least. It is also fair to say that binge drinking culture and cigarette use in Britain probably do a lot more physical harm to public health than cannabis use. But, that isn’t to say it should be legalised.
As pointed out by CALM, there is a huge body of research proving that cannabis can have irreversible psychological effects on users – especially teens. Though there is evidence of ‘responsible’ users who take the drug to self-medicate anxiety, etc., legalising it could have the effect of encouraging many more people to use cannabis. If people could walk into a shop and buy it at 18 instead of having to find a dealer, surely they would be much more likely to try it.
It also seems unfair to simply say “well it’s better than tobacco”. Maybe the focus should be on reducing the use of all drugs rather than saying “well there’s worse stuff on the market, so we may as well throw this into the mix as well.”
We want to hear your thoughts on the legalisation of cannabis - do you support or oppose it? Get in touch with us on social media or send us an email at contact.us.taboo@gmail.com.
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