Is Legalization of Marijuana a Chance We Want to Take?
The legalization of marijuana has been an issue for a long time, but since Governor Schwarzenegger opened the door to serious discussion of the subject as a remedy to California’s financial problems it’s getting more headlines than ever. Amsterdam is frequently cited as the model for legalization, but any proponent who has researched the Amsterdam results would realize that using it as a model defeats their purpose.
Immediately after Amsterdam’s legalization of marijuana, there was virtually no change in the number of people using it – which is being used as a rebuttal to those who think more people would smoke it if they could get it legally – but things changed dramatically thereafter.
Over the next several years, as marijuana became commercialized, usage increased by 300%. At that time, 44% of young people aged 18 to 20 said they had used it, and the number who had done so within the past month more than doubled. That, and other problems, led to stricter laws being passed.
