Trump and marijuana win

Marijuana won voting in the USA on Tuesday. Such headlines appeared on Wednesday in several American newspapers after it became clear that as a result of referenda conducted simultaneously with the elections of the President of the country, residents of California, Massachusetts and Nevada legalized the use of marijuana. Nevertheless, her future status in the United States remains in question.

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On Tuesday, residents of three states voted for the actually full legalization of marijuana and granting her status similar to the status of alcohol or tobacco. But the opinion of one state - California - may be a turning point for the fate of marijuana in the United States and, as its fans hope, around the world. So far, only in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska it was possible to legally buy marijuana for personal consumption and, although in half the states its use for medical purposes was approved, the complete decriminalization of the drug -containing plant looked like a very distant future. Just six years ago, a similar idea was rejected in a referendum in California.

The action in support of the legalization of marijuana in Washington. April 2016

Now her supporters, who threw $ 16 million at the campaign, have achieved an impressive result. The most populated 40 millionth state with the sixth largest economy in the world intends to allow the purchase of 28 and a half grams of marijuana to any resident of the state older than 21 years. Moreover, the Californians will be able to legally grow marijuana - six plants per person - and store it. The staff expects to get a tangible profit by introducing a 15 percent tax on its sale.

The war with marijuana is completely hopeless, and its victim mainly becomes ethnic minorities

“I think this is the beginning of the end of the marijuana war in the United States,” says Governor of California Gewin News , one of the organizers of the campaign to support the legalization of the plant. “I assume that the consequences of this decision will be felt abroad, especially in Mexico and Latin America.” News and his supporters insist that the war with marijuana is completely hopeless, and ethnic minorities mostly become her victim.

One of the strongest arguments of the supporters of the cancellation of marijuana is that the withdrawal of this industry from the underground will strike at drug cartels in Mexico and other Latin American countries that receive gigantic profit, smuggling cannabis in the United States and deprive the income of drug dealers in the United States. However, among opponents of the legalization of marijuana are law enforcement services. This initiative is criticized by the heads of several trade unions uniting police officers. California Senator Diane Feintstin gives data on marijuana abuse by adolescents in the states where it is allowed.

Jonathan Adelman , professor at the University of Denver in the state of Colorado, who was one of the first in the country to legitimize the use and sale of marijuana, speaks of the problems that the state has encountered.

The ability to freely grow a plant in our state attracts criminal groups here

- The main problem is that too many people in Colorado (650 thousand, according to some estimates) regularly use marijuana, the long -term impact of which has been little studied. The second problem is the ability to freely grow the plant in our state attracts criminal groups here, which organize marijuana production, and then illegally export it to other states. We turned out to be attractive to criminals due to location-between California and Illinois, and due to the fact that life in our state is much cheaper than in California.

Therefore, it is much more profitable to grow this product here and sell outside the state. A curious fact: according to our laws, a criminal act is the cultivation of marijuana in Colorado to sell it outside the state. And you can go to jail if it is proved. In other words, the legalization of marijuana for Colorado entailed a lot of problems, including the growth of crime, the appearance of criminal groups.

- Nevertheless, supporters of the legalization say that their movement is non -notostable. Is that so?

This conflict between state legislation and federal laws will be permitted in courts

- I think that this phenomenon will partly spread because California very often finds himself on the point of change. Although, of course, with the advent of Donald Trump, Washington may try to slow down this process. But in the states where the Democratic Party dominates, where the majority of the population are people of left -handed views, this trend, without a doubt, will continue. It has already conflicted with federal laws, according to which marijuana production and use is a crime, but the Obama administration turned a blind eye to this. In the future, I think, this conflict between the laws of the States and federal laws will be resolved in courts, ”says Jonatan Adelman, professor at Denver University.

In recent years, the approval of marijuana as a drug in several dozen states was accompanied by the emergence of the results of numerous medical studies, which refers to the positive drug qualities of the plant. However, in the states where its use was legalized, the number of marijuana poisoning incidents increased significantly.