Legalize Marijuana?

In recent years, several countries have legalized the consumption and marketing of marijuana and others are contemplating doing so. The issue of the legalization constitutes a moral, political and economic debate that intermittently jumps into the public arena. Its detractors focus on the harm that its consumption causes to health (such as the cognitive impairment it can cause), while supporters talk about its therapeutic benefits (due to its effectiveness in combating some conditions such as anxiety or depression).

The fact that it is prohibited means that, except in cases of small traffickers or legal exceptions such as cannabis companies, numerous organized crime groups are responsible for the management of this drug, which entails blood crimes, insecurity in the streets and considerable activity of submerged economy. These facts, together with many others such as social pressure, an increasingly early consumption in many places or an increasingly widespread consideration of the normalization of its moderate use, are those that have led executives in various countries to legalize it or to be evaluating doing it. 

Holand (only through Coffee shops), Jamaica (decriminalized possession in small amounts), some states of USA (regulated distribution), and now Canada (The law stipulates the possibility of cultivating four plants per household. Citizens over 18 years of age may purchase one gram at the price of 10 Canadian dollars through authorized public and private vendors, and its distribution will be in charge of the province or territory. The limit of their legal consumption was determined at 30 grams per month) have legalized for recreational reasons.

Countries that have legalized the marijuana for medical use: Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom. 

Today Canada struggles to meet the huge demand for legal cannabis.

Numerous stores dealing with empty shelves and disgruntled customers, with fears that many consumers will go to the black market. Trevor Tobin opened one of the first legal cannabis shops in Canada last month, he had high hopes of playing a small role in a historic national experiment and making a good profit.

Overwhelmed with optimism, he and his mother Brenda raised $ 100,000 in savings to create High North, one of the few private retailers in Newfoundland and Labrador. But the couple quickly found themselves looking at empty shelves, and seeing how the money they had invested slipped away. Day after day, the staff of the only cannabis shop in Labrador City has had to turn down customers because of their limited inventory and they have even reached the point of temporarily closing the store.

When Colorado (USA) legalized recreational cannabis, it took three years for the supply to finally meet the demand, and Canada could expect a similar delay to normalize. It takes a certain amount of time to grow, process and package, send and test The Canadian government will succeed in eliminating the black market, as long as the legal offer comes into operation quickly, otherwise, they run the risk of securing a black market.

It strikes me that there is so much demand for a recreational need for this drug. It makes me doubt if this is the right way to meet the consumer's expectations and I wonder if legalizing becomes more a threat than a proper way to fight crime. Marijuana is the door for the consumption of other more harmful drugs. The only way I could imagine legalizing Marijuana in my country step by step would be with clear rules to protect the young generations to consume and a strong education in the schools. 


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/04/cannabis-weed-marijuana-canada-high-demand
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis
https://www.heraldo.es/noticias/sociedad/2018/03/15/que-paises-esta-legalizada-marihuana-1223756-310.html