Decriminalisation Versus Legalisation of Marijuana - Terms Are Not
Interchangeable in the Debate Over Pot
By Tom Murse 29.01.2019 ThoughtCo
There's been a lot of talk about whether
medicinal and recreational marijuana use
should be legalised or decriminalised.
But in the discussion about the politics of
marijuana and laws restricting its uses, many
people
mistakenly
use
the
terms
decriminalisation and legalisation
interchangeably.
In fact, there are important distinctions
between decriminalisation and legalisation.
So what is the different between the two and
the arguments in favour of each?
Legalisation
Legalisation, on the other hand, is the lifting
or abolishment of laws banning the
possession and personal use of marijuana.
More importantly, legalisation allows the
government to regulate and tax marijuana use
and sales.
Proponents also make the case that taxpayers
can save millions of dollars by removing from
the judicial system the hundreds of thousands
of offenders caught with small amounts of
marijuana.
Arguments in Favour of Decriminalising
Proponents of decriminalising marijuana
argue that it doesn't make sense to give the
federal government the authority to legalise
the use of marijuana on one hand while
attempting to regulate it on the other, much
the way it sends conflicting messages about
alcohol and tobacco use.
Decriminalisation
Decriminalisation is a loosening of criminal
penalties now imposed for personal marijuana
use even though the manufacturing and sale
of the substance remain illegal.
Essentially, under decriminalisation, law
enforcement is instructed to look the other
way when it comes to the possession of small
amounts of marijuana meant for personal use.
Under decriminalisation, both the production
and sale of marijuana remain unregulated by
the state.
Those caught using the substance face civil
fines instead of criminal charges.
According to Nicholas Thimmesch II, a
former spokesman for the pro-marijuana
legalisation group NORML:
"Where is this legalisation going?
What confused message is legalisation
sending to our kids who are told by countless
ads not to do any drugs (I do not consider
marijuana to be a “drug” in the sense that
cocaine, heroin, PCP, meth are) and suffer
under “Zero Tolerance” school policies?"
Other opponents of legalisation argue that
marijuana is a so-called gateway drug that
leads users to other, more serious and more
addictive substances.
Arguments in Favour of Legalising
Proponents of complete legalisation of
marijuana such as the actions taken in
Washington and Colorado argue that allowing
the manufacturing and sale of the substance
removes the industry from the hands of
criminals.