Legalization of Medical Marijuana and its Implications

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Legalization of Medical Marijuana and its Implications
Already Known Aspects of the Subject
The U.S history on the use of alcohol and other narcotics is significant not only because of how it affects those who consume these substances but also its implications to the economy, public perception, and Public health among many others. The income and money transactions that take place because of the recreational purposes of alcohol and narcotics have critical impacts on the economy. Among the drugs used for recreational purposes, marijuana has been receiving a lot of attention in the recent past. This is mainly due to its legalizations in different states in the U.S. A good example is the state of Colorado where it has been legalized and integrated into the health system as a tool used to achieve certain medical outcomes (Ghosh, 1). Taking a look back into the U.S history on narcotics, Marijuana is not the first prohibited substance that the U.S. government has reconsidered its position on and decided to publicly accept its consumption. This has also happened for other substances such as alcohol consumption which was illegal at a particular period in the U.S. history.
Unknown Aspects of the Subject to be researched
While various studies on the effect of medicinal marijuana have indicated various positive effects of its consumption in the human body with regarding helping certain health conditions, it would be naïve to assume that its legalization will only affect the health industry.

On the contrary, most industries in the nation will be affected in various ways. Besides, even in the health industry specifically, there will be both positive and negative impacts. For instance, the perception change due to the new discoveries associated with marijuana and its legalization in different states will increase its popularity and consumption by the public. This, in turn, will affect the public health of the nation thus, while many patients may be cured by its medical aspects, there are much more that will be impacted negatively by its increasing recreational use. It may also be vital to analyze the new changes in light of healthcare costs regarding the increased use of marijuana both medically and recreationally.
Works cited
Ghosh, T. et al. Medical Marijuana’s Public Health Lessons-Implications for Retail Marijuana in Colorado. The New England Journal of Medicine Website, 2015. http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1500043