Texas Should Legalize Marijuana

Throughout history, the illegalization of marijuana in Texas has been a source of more harm than benefit to both the state government and residents. As highlighted by the high rates of unreasonable arrests and racial discrimination, the legislation is a threat to public freedom and safety as well as the operation of the state's government and criminal justice system. According to Haines (2022), between 2017 and 2021, Texas led the nation with over 21,000 arrests per year for marijuana possession, accounting for approximately 12% of the nation's total marijuana possession arrests. At the same time, in 2022, African Americans made up 30.2% of marijuana arrests in Texas despite representing only 12.9% of the state's population (Texas NORML, 2022). Such a staggering number of arrests and the high levels of racial disparity significantly contradict the law and order and public health and safety management objectives of the legislation. Clearly, despite Texas perceiving marijuana illegalization as a fundamental law and order and public health and safety management policy, this legislation is a source of great social injustices and ineffectiveness in state administration activities. Therefore, the Texas Legislature should legalize marijuana because illegalization not only infringes on individuals' freedom of choice but also contributes to inequality and increased workload to the state's criminal justice system and the state's government's expenditure.

Supporting Arguments

The main reason the Texas Legislature should pass a bill that legalizes marijuana in the state is that the current state of illegalization acts as an infringement on Texans' human right of choice and expression. Since marijuana consumption is a practice with a long history in Texas, the marijuana illegalization legislation treats unfairly individuals raised in such traditions. As noted by Berman et al. (2023), denying individuals the chance to decide whether or not to consume a widely accepted drug in a society makes illegalization policies act as manipulative tools used to limit the public's freedom and liberty. This means that the legislation illegalizing marijuana in Texas acts as a tool of social injustice that not only sabotages Texans' autonomy but threatens their liberty. At the same time, it infringes on individuals' human right to engage in a cultural practice or freely express the tradition within the Texas society. Hence, as a vital member of the United States, the land of freedom and liberty, the Texas Legislature should legalize marijuana to end the long history of social injustice and uphold fundamental human rights.

The second reason why the Texas Legislature should legalize marijuana is that, currently, the enforcement of the law has turned into a great source of injustices and inequalities in how law enforcement agencies treat and serve Texas residents. According to Martin-Willett et al. (2023), due to the cultural diversity outlining marijuana consumption practices, there has been consistent racialization of the so-called War on Drugs in the United States. The situation has led to a continuous cycle of discrimination and misuse of institutional power, where law enforcement activities tend to target minority and vulnerable communities. For instance, most arrests related to marijuana in Texas involve African American and Latino individuals (Texas NORML, 2022). Despite these two communities appearing to have more history with the marijuana consumption practice, the significant focus of law enforcement activities on targeting individuals belonging to the racial groups makes the illegalization policy a source of discrimination and injustices in the state's criminal justice system. In general, the legalization of marijuana in Texas would help dismantle these discriminatory practices and promote equality and fairness within the criminal justice system and society.

Another reason why the Texas Legislature should legalize marijuana is that the current state of illegalization has led to the development of a huge but unnecessary workload full of misdemeanor cases for the state's criminal justice system. As noted by the Marijuana Policy Project (2024), the illegalization of marijuana in the United States in 1937 and in Texas in 1931 has led to the arrest of more than 15 million Americans. From such statistics, it is evident that the Texas criminal justice system is always piling up marijuana misdemeanor cases. Some of these cases take a lengthy process before resolving, further presenting state courts with the problem of congestion due to the huge number of marijuana misdemeanor cases. Furthermore, it is no surprise that the Texas criminal justice system faces issues of increased misdemeanor inmate population. For sure, addressing these inefficiencies and reducing the burden on the criminal justice system through marijuana legalization would allow the state to focus on more serious crimes and improve overall judicial efficiency.

Lastly, the Texas Legislature should legalize marijuana in the state because the illegalization policy unnecessarily increases state expenditure while missing the opportunity to increase its revenue collection. The illegalization of marijuana makes it necessary for Texas's criminal justice system to spend millions on law enforcement initiatives. According to Farrelly et al. (2023), the Texas government spends hard-earned state revenues trying to eradicate marijuana. This is despite the illegalization of marijuana failing to end the use of the substance in the state. At the same time, marijuana consumption exhibits fewer adverse health effects compared to some common legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco. Both medicinal and recreational marijuana provide positive health benefits, such as calming nerves and reducing depression. Unfortunately, some legal drugs, like alcohol and tobacco, do not offer the same benefits but lead to significant healthcare costs. Hence, legalizing marijuana is a more balanced and beneficial policy for Texas as it reduces unnecessary state spending on enforcement, generates significant revenue, and provides health benefits.

Counterargument and Rebuttal

Counterarguments

The main arguments presented against the legalization of marijuana in Texas include the fact that marijuana is an addictive narcotic drug related to crime. Some people argue that marijuana consumption can lead to serious health risks, such as respiratory complications and mental health issues. As noted by Miller et al. (2020), individuals' learning and thinking capabilities are strongly impaired by marijuana use. These attributes link the drug to harmful behaviors and impaired judgment due to its psychotic effects. At the same time, many believe that the legalization of marijuana will negatively impact the state's criminal justice system and public safety by increasing drug addiction and related crimes. Furthermore, scientific research has shown that long-term marijuana smoking not only causes lung cancer but also other obstructive and inflammatory lung problems. In general, such attributes of marijuana indeed raise concerns over the public health impact that the drug would have on Texas's population if legalized.

Rebuttal

However, despite the fear that marijuana use is closely related to criminal activities, the burden that legalization of marijuana comes with is far less and more sustainable. People can consume marijuana in many ways without necessarily experiencing health problems. In addition to recreational smoking, marijuana can serve as a pain reliever and treatment for vomiting and nausea in cancer patients (Hall, 2020). At the same time, it is rare to hear of a case of someone who had a marijuana overdose. Furthermore, the legalization of marijuana offers great financial benefits that support better state government operations rather than having the current law enforcement burden. For example, the legalization of marijuana in Colorado led to the attainment of approximately $1 billion in marijuana state revenue in only one week (McCarthy, 2022). The collection of such revenue can be instrumental in improving administration and public well-being in Texas. Therefore, legalizing marijuana in Texas would alleviate law enforcement's financial and operational burdens while providing substantial revenue to enhance state services and public health.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Texas must safeguard its residents' health and personal liberty by finding sustainable solutions to marijuana-related problems in the state. Unfortunately, society unfairly links marijuana consumption to criminal activities and perceives it as causing more severe health outcomes than common legal drugs. Nevertheless, the reality is that marijuana is a more financially and medically beneficial drug whose legitimacy will positively impact Texans. Hence, Texas should legalize marijuana because this will not only benefit the state's criminal justice system but also financially benefit the state.