Impacts of Increasing Legalization of Marihuana upon Mental Illness

Impacts of Legalizing Marijuana upon Mental Illness
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Impacts of Legalizing Marijuana upon Mental Illness
The world has recently experienced an escalation in the rate of legalization of Marijuana, also referred to as Cannabis and weed (Glynn, 2019). Marijuana is usually extracted from the flowers of Cannabis sativa. Although the proponents of the drug argue that it is good for medicinal or positively recreational purposes in which it can be added to either tea or soup, researchers have proven that there are profound negative impacts that usually arise from its use; especially to the mind (Johnston et al., 2018). Most users of marijuana tend to smoke it in the form of cigarettes, in water pipes or in pipes. These users find pleasure in its use due to its numerous active ingredients, most of which are resins, such as ‘shatter’, ‘budder’, and ‘hash oil’ (Blanco et al., 2016). This write-up delves into the impacts of marijuana legalization in the current spell of mental illnesses all over the world.
First, increasing the legalization of marijuana will definitely lead to an escalation in the rates of mental illnesses (Johnston et al., 2018). According to a study that the Cannabis Advisory Commission in California did in 2018 indicated that there were increased rates of emergency admissions in hospitals that were linked to mental disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, psychosis and aggressiveness among many other problems (Blanco et al., 2016). Most of these have characteristics that indicate a false perception of reality. For example, schizophrenia usually exhibits itself through hallucinations, paranoia and delusions (Glynn, 2019). Similarly, marijuana use is likely to lead to increased rates of suicide in the long-term, as evidenced in Colorado state data in which the number of people who were found to have THC in their blood after committing suicide was found to have increased four times between 2006 and 2016 after the legalization of marijuana in Colorado in 2012.
As a spiral effect of increased mental illnesses, marijuana legalization is likely to increase violence and homicide among the users, subsequently instilling fear, anxiety, and stress in its non-users (Glynn, 2019). Marijuana proponents argue that its use often leads to a state of lethargy, relaxation or ecstasy (Blanco et al., 2016). However, research has shown that some users tend to be obsessed and paranoid enough to do very destructive activities such as killings (Johnston et al., 2018). States such as California have dealt with civil cases such as those of Camden Nicholson and Kevin Douglas Limbaugh who killed his parents and housekeeper, and a policeman respectively after using marijuana. The police department in the state has also recorded a number of violent activities that it has come across since marijuana was legalized in the state.
Marijuana legalization will lead to a larger scope of adolescents and young adults who are addicted to marijuana (Johnston et al., 2018). A report by Monitoring the Future survey showed that there had been a gradual decline in the use of marijuana by the youths and teens in the United States until 2019 when the government legalized ...