Psychology

The question of legalization of marijuana is a hotly debated one in the United States. Legalization of marijuana refers to whether Americans should be permitted to grow, sell and consume marijuana or not. Currently, the government holds the rights to grow and sell marijuana in all states. Today, marijuana consumption as well as growing is illegal in the United States due to public health and moral reasons (Messerli, 2010). According to Healy (2009), the administration has affirmed that it would defer to state a law regarding legislation and enforcement of marijuana. President Obama clearly stated that he is against the legalization of marijuana.

The positive and negative aspects of the legalization of marijuana
There are various reasons given either in support of legalization or illegalization of marijuana. One of the reasons given for its illegalization according to Ruschmann (2004) is that, the adverse health effects associated with its abuse doubtlessly exceeds the medical benefits that it is claimed to have. Excessive abuse of marijuana is associated with extensive damage to the brain especially for young people. Use of marijuana also is believed to cause extensive stress to the heart thereby putting users at a risk of developing a heart attack. Marijuana produces more carcinogenic hydrocarbons, as compared to tobacco smoke, which activates and initiates enzymatic changes that lead to development of malignant cells that are highly responsible for lung cancer. As asserted by Gupta, (2009), excessive use of marijuana in public places would increase the risks of secondhand smoke damage to the rest of the people. It is also claimed by opponents of marijuana legalization that if the drug were to be legalized it would find its way to the hands of children and young people
 However there are some benefits that would be attained if marijuana was to be legalized. One of them, according to Marijuana Legalization Organization (2002), is that it could increase the revenue collected by the government. As stated by Annis (2007), it would lower the crime rate as it would increase competition and eliminate criminal groups that deal with the illegal sale of drugs.

Conclusion
The debate concerning the legalization of marijuana in the United States is not coming to an end any time soon. Advocates for its legalization claim that it will increase the revenue collected by the government as well as reduce the crime rate. On the other hand, opponents for its legalization claim that legalization of marijuana will lead to increased adverse medical effects in the population.