Members of the Republican Party hold views that are against the legalization of medical marijuana. The opposite is, however, true for the Democrats in the country. A recently conducted Gallup poll revealed that while there were approximately 65% of Democrats in support of legalization of the drug, only about 35% of the Republicans supported the legalization of medical marijuana. Owing to this aid is lowest in the Midwest and the southern parts of the country; regions where most states are Republican (Clark, Capuzzi, & Fick, 2011). The east coast and the west coast are the regions with the most states in support of medical marijuana legalization because most states tend to be Democratic.
The Republicans feel that once the drug is legal, it will find its way into the homes, the candy, the cakes, and the cookies and soon it will be in the brains of our youth. They also feel that the drug will become more pervasive as more states legalize medical marijuana what’s more young people and kids will be able to access the addictive and dangerous drug with ease. Another issue that Republicans raise is that legalization should be put on hold until science proves the drug whether taken for medicinal purposes will have no effect on ones driving (Rubens, 2014).
Democrats notably President Obama and Hillary Clinton left the matter open. The former president left it up to the states to decide what they wanted while Mrs. Clinton felt more studies would be needed before reaching a decision. Looking at other countries, Canada, Holland, France, Uruguay and Jamaica have legalized the drug they feel it is a new pathway to the treatment of glaucoma, cancer, and epileptic patients. Countries like Japan, China, North African states and New Zealand still feel that legalization of the drug would open a door for it to reach the youth (Sznitman & Bretteville-Jensen, 2015).
References
Clark, P., Capuzzi, K., & Fick, C. (2011). Medical marijuana: Medical necessity versus political agenda.Medical Science Monitor, 17(12), RA249-RA261. http://dx.doi.org/10.12659/msm.882116
Rubens, M. (2014). Political and Medical Views on Medical Marijuana and its Future. Social Work In Public Health, 29(2), 121-131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2013.821351
Sznitman, S. & Bretteville-Jensen, A. (2015). Public opinion and medical cannabis policies: examining the role of underlying beliefs and national medical cannabis policies. Harm Reduction Journal, 12(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12954-015-0082-x
