In this New York Times article, Kirk Johnson shares the
discussion being had on the legalization of marijuana in accordance with the
legalization of alcohol. He uses utilitarianism to look at the costs and
benefits of legalizing marijuana based on the results from legalizing alcohol.
He references prohibition and talks about the outcome of the situation in that
time period. He identifies possible actions and consequences, and assigns
values to the costs and benefits of legalizing a drug so many perceive to be so
harmful. In talking about who would be affected, specifically the people in
Washington state and Colorado, he quantifies values.
In terms of Deontology, Johnson briefly touches on the virtues and vices of
viewing marijuana like we view alcohol. He talks about the desire some of these
states have to make marijuana legal considering the economic growth it would
instigate. However, there are some people in the same states who are focusing
more on the vices, saying that should marijuana usage become legal, it would be
a "'Largely state-sanctioned fraud," according to Colorado's attorney
general, John W. Suthers. His belief is that "We have thousands and thousands
of people lying to doctors, saying they have a debilitating medical condition."
When it comes down to the ethics of legalizing a drug, it really depends on whom
you're talking to because everyone's sense of morals and ethics differ to some
extent. Through careful consideration of hypothetical imperative, it all comes
down to what is "right" and what is "good" for a person,
which begs the question of what are our Welfare rights and how do we classify
this? Is it in everybody's best interest to legalize this drug? Is it possible
to regulate marijuana like we do alcohol? Do we even want to lump marijuana in
the same category as alcohol after some of the major problems alcohol usage has
caused? When we can answer these questions with a uniform response, we can then
come to a moral and ethical agreement on whether or not legalizing marijuana
will be beneficial or detrimental to our society.
Legalizing marijuana is and has been a large debate for many years. A lot of people have both positive and negative issues with the legalization and I do too. There are some positives to legalizing it in my opinion. Even though the government has some legal uses for marijuana, I think if it was legal they could make a lot more money if they had complete control over the distribution. I also think the legalization could lower the crime rate. A lot less violent acts would occur because a lot of crimes and murders are over drugs and a lot of people would even get into those situations if they could get the same stuff legally. Some negatives are definitely over use of the drug and of course very easy access to the public. The legalization of marijuana ethically to me is on the fence. I can't say it is right but I also cant say that its wrong.