The League of California Cities and Police Chiefs Assn. have sponsored a bill designed to regulate marijuana more like a medicine. SB 1262, a new bill introduced by Sen. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), has provisions that would require the state Department of Public Health to license growers and dispensaries and to develop standards to ensure that products aren't contaminated with bacteria, mold or chemicals. The bill would also allow local jurisdictions to permit or ban dispensaries.

The bill it tries to regulate doctors by shutting down "doctor mills," where any walk-in with a lame medical excuse can receive a recommendation for marijuana. The bill seeks to only allow a person's primary care doctor or a specialist referred by that doctor to make a recommendation. The recommendation would have to be reported to the state Medical Board and would need to specify the strain of marijuana, the strength and the method of ingestion.

California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana with the 1996 Compassionate Use Act providing few safeguards to keep marijuana out of the hands of those who weren't entitled to it. As a result, medical marijuana was haphazardly managed through local regulations and has become relatively easy to obtain by sick and healthy people alike. California wants to step up its regulation at a time when other states like Colorado have much more efficient and controlled marijuana industries. The legalization movement has won victories in over one-third of all U.S. states. Meanwhile, the debate over the merits of legalization gains traction. Here is a list of the pros and cons of legalization of marijuana.

Pros:

The drug generally isn't more harmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation.

Although the studies that have been done on the harmfulness of marijuana are inconclusive and contradictory, most doctors would agree that it is not very harmful if used in moderation. Like all drugs, it is only when you abuse the drug that problems start to occur. Most doctors believe that marijuana is no more addictive that alcohol or tobacco, and possibly less so.

There are medical benefits such as those for cancer patients.

Increasingly, studies are showing that there are a number of medical benefits of marijuana, most notably in the treatment of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Others also believe that it helps in the treatment of depression.

It could be a source of additional tax revenues.

An enormous amount of money is raised through government taxation of alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs which are considered to be vices. The legalization of marijuana would create another item that could be taxed, generating additional revenue for the federal government to spend on social works, etc.

Police and court resources would be freed up for more serious crimes.

The unsuccessful War on Drugs is very expensive, costing hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of resources for DEA, FBI, and border security, not to mention the cost of police officers, judges, public defenders, prosecutors, juries, court reporters, prison guards, etc. Legalization of marijuana would free up those people and resources to concentrate on more important things like terrorism, harder drugs, rape, murder, etc. in addition to easing the overloaded civil court docket and wait time for other cases.

Drug dealers (including some terrorists) would lose most or all of their business.

One of the biggest opponents of legalizing drugs are drug dealers because they make enormous sums of money because of the absence of competition and the inflated street prices that come from the increased risk. Legalization would lower prices and open the market to competition, meaning that drug cartels that might include terrorists would lose all or some of their business.

Street justice related to drug disputes would be reduced.

On the illegal marijuana market, if someone in the drug trade gets taken advantage of, there is no police to call or lawyers to litigate. This means members must settle disputes by themselves, often leading to cycles of retaliatory violence. Legalization, on the other hand, would create a legal framework to settle disputes.

Limiting the use of the drug intrudes on personal freedom.

Even if the drug is eventually shown to be harmful, it is the right of every person to choose what harms him or her. Our policies toward alcohol and tobacco mirror this stance. Marijuana use can be thought of as a "victimless crime" because only the user is being harmed.

The FDA or others could regulate the quality and safety of drugs.

Many drug users become sick or die because of low quality products or products laced with other chemicals because there is nothing to regulate what is sold and no way to sue anyone for product liability. Making marijuana a legitimate business allows federal agencies to oversee production and regulate sales.c

Aside from recreational drug use, Cannabis has several industrial and commercial uses, as over 25,000 products can be made from the crop.

The plant used in making marijuana has many alternative uses, including construction and thermal insulation materials, paper, geotextiles, dynamite, composites for autos, and insect repellent. In 1938, Popular Mechanics deemed it the "new billion dollar crop", since over 25,000 products can be made from it.

Cons:

Marijuana is often a stepping stone leading to heroin, cocaine, or other harder drugs use.

Studies show that marijuana users often progress to the use of harder drugs. After people experiment with what is considered to be a "harmless" drug, they seek out a bigger "high" and users turn to harder drugs such as heroin, LSD, cocaine, etc. Most people will not start by abusing harder drugs but marijuana use emboldens them to experiment.

Stoned driving and other dangers could increase.

Marijuana use is not actually a "victimless crime" when you consider all the crimes that may be committed when the user is under the influence of the drug. Drunk driving is still a major problem in our society despite all the education and stiff penalties. Driving high would be even harder to detect because unless the user was smoking in the car, there isn't a distinctive of a smell unlike alcohol.

Physical damage could result in users that abuse the drug.

Although some studies have been disputed, marijuana abuse has been tied to brain damage, cancer, lung damage, depression, amotivational syndrome, and even death. The brain damage has been shown to cause memory loss and difficulty in problem solving. It is the government and FDA's duty to protect the public from such harmful drugs.

Legalization could increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of kids.

Even unhealthy legal items such as cigarettes and alcohol are prohibited from being sold to kids because they don't exhibit the same reasoning, responsibility, and judgment of an adult, and their bodies aren't as equipped to handle the intake of these substances. The problem is even worse for marijuana use because developing brains and bodies can be seriously affected by the use of marijuana. All too often kids and teenagers get their hands on alcohol or cigarettes and the same thing would happen with marijuana.

People who have committed or are likely to commit more serious crimes could be taken off the streets. People who produce, sell, traffic, or use illegal drugs are inclined to break the law and someone who commits drug-related felonies is more likely to commit other felonies such as robbery, rape, murder, etc. If such people are in prison because of drug charges, that stops them from committing other crimes. Sometimes there isn't enough evidence to imprison felons for serious crimes like murder but they can still be convicted of drug charges.

More widespread use would increase the dangers of secondhand smoke-damage to bystanders.

The dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke are well-known. More widespread usage of marijuana increases the likelihood that people would suffer the damage of inhaling other people's smoke. Public places like bars would expose innocent patrons and in the home roommates, kids, and spouses would face increased exposure, increasing the health damage to society.

Legalization of marijuana could eventually lead to the legalization of harder drugs or all drugs altogether. Legalization of marijuana would lead to a shift toward an "anything goes" mentality, causing more drugs to gain acceptance and advocacy of the legalization of harder drugs. Drugs like heroin, cocaine, and amphetamines, which we view now as unacceptable for legalization may eventually be sold over the counter at every corner drug store.