10 Reasons Why Cannabis Should Be Legalized Worldwide

Debates about whether to legalize cannabis are ongoing in almost every country. Both supporters and opponents present convincing arguments for their positions. However, for many, it’s clear that legalizing cannabis is a step forward. Read on to find out why.

Cannabis is one of the most widely used illegal substances in the world. Around 150 million people report regular cannabis use each year. Public support for cannabis legalization is currently at its highest level in the past century (or at least since prohibition began in the 1930s). Yet, despite growing support, cannabis remains illegal in most countries.

Legalization vs. Decriminalization: What’s the Difference?

Many people mistakenly use the terms “legalization” and “decriminalization” interchangeably. However, these words have very different meanings, and it’s important to understand the distinction when discussing the legal status of cannabis.

Legalization of cannabis means removing legal restrictions on cannabis and its use. Governments may take different approaches: some may fully legalize cultivation, sale, processing, and use of cannabis and its derivatives, while others may only legalize medical use or allow only the sale of cannabis flowers, prohibiting products like extracts, concentrates, and edibles.

Decriminalization involves removing criminal penalties for using, growing, selling, or possessing cannabis. Again, governments may decriminalize cannabis to varying degrees; some may only decriminalize possession of small amounts, limited home cultivation, or private use, while others may take a more liberal approach.

1. Prohibition Has Hindered Our Understanding of Cannabis

Ancient medical texts contain countless references to cannabis. Looking back at these texts, it’s clear how widely cannabis was used throughout human history. It’s worth considering how much more we could know about cannabis today if research hadn’t been restricted for the past hundred years.

One of the most damaging effects of prohibition has been the legal barriers to studying cannabis, its compounds, and their complex effects. Lack of access has directly contributed to our current lack of understanding about how cannabis interacts with the human body. Overcoming this obstacle would allow for comprehensive research to uncover both the potential benefits and risks of this plant for society.

2. Legalization Means Better Regulation

As mentioned earlier, there’s strong evidence that cannabis is a relatively safe substance. But the truth is, we still don’t know enough about cannabis, its compounds, or their effects on the body to say for sure how safe it is.

The fact that most cannabis sold and used worldwide is grown and processed illegally only makes things more complicated. Legalization offers the perfect solution to the existing problems, doubts, and questions about cannabis safety.

Legalizing cannabis would transform the elusive, unreliable, illegal market into a transparent and open one—one that can be properly regulated and held accountable, with a focus on safety, public health, and transparency. People use cannabis despite its illegality. Legalization and regulation would ensure that anyone who chooses to use it can do so responsibly and legally.

3. Legalization Benefits the Economy

In just the past decade, cannabis has become one of the top-selling agricultural products in the United States. Legal markets in California, Colorado, Alaska, Nevada, and other states generate billions of dollars annually, create thousands of jobs, and provide tax revenue for states and communities.

In 2020, when nearly every sector of the global economy faced major financial challenges, the cannabis industry surged. In the U.S., for example, legal cannabis sales grew by 67% in 2020, and the industry’s value reached a record $61 billion.

Many different products have been created, not all of which are THC-based, highlighting the potential of cannabis-derived products.

4. Legalization Is a Real Answer to the Failure of the War on Drugs

The facts show that the vast majority of people convicted for cannabis use are not criminals—they’re consumers. In the U.S., for example, about 92% of cannabis-related arrests are for possession of small amounts, and only 8% are for sale or production.

Statistics show there are simply too many cannabis users worldwide for law enforcement to realistically enforce prohibition. Trying to enforce a ban on such a widely used and accepted substance is not only unrealistic, but also wastes resources and causes unnecessary, unfair suffering for many people.

Meanwhile, research shows that legalizing cannabis does not significantly impact crime rates, but it can be an effective way to eliminate (or seriously reduce) the black market. Legalization has also been shown to reduce cannabis-related arrests, freeing up significant resources and allowing law enforcement to focus on more important issues.

5. Cannabis Is Safer Than Alcohol and Tobacco

While this claim should be approached with caution, cannabis is not as dangerous as many believe. Compared to alcohol or tobacco—which are legal, widely available, and even regulated by food and drug authorities—the health risks of regular cannabis use are still significantly lower.

Studies show that alcohol causes more than 85,000 deaths annually in North and South America. In the U.S. alone, about 500,000 people die each year from smoking tobacco. By contrast, cannabis use does not cause fatal overdoses, and experts worldwide agree that cannabis is not toxic or deadly.

6. Legalization Will End Prejudice and Stigma Around Cannabis

The ban on cannabis is fueled by biased assumptions and outdated prejudices against those who use it. While ending this stigma (built up over the past 90+ years) isn’t easy, legalization can help break the deadlock.

We’re already seeing the negative stigma around cannabis gradually erode in several legal markets worldwide. As more people open up and normalize their cannabis use, legalization will help build a stronger, more modern, and freer society—without old clichés and prejudices.

7. Most People Support Legalization

While attitudes toward cannabis vary from country to country, public opinion polls show that (at least in many Western countries) most people support legalization.

For example, Pew Research Center statistics show that over 90% of American voters support cannabis legalization in some form (whether for medical or recreational use). Seventy percent of voters in the Netherlands also support legalization, as do most people in Australia, England, Spain, and many other countries.

8. Legalization Does Not Encourage Increased Use

Critics often claim that legalizing cannabis will encourage young people to try it. This is a concern, as some studies show that cannabis use in childhood or adolescence can harm the developing brain.

However, fears that more young people will use cannabis if it’s legal are unfounded. Data from the few legal markets worldwide show that legalization does not encourage more young people to try it. For example, in Colorado, the number of young people using cannabis actually decreased after legalization.

9. Prohibition Simply Doesn’t Work

It’s clear that the war on drugs has failed to reduce harm or illegal drug trade. Statistics show that stricter restrictions imposed by governments as part of the war on drugs only drive the drug trade underground.

Prohibition simply doesn’t work. We saw this in the past with alcohol, and we’re seeing it again with cannabis.

Making a substance illegal does not stop people from using it. Moreover, prohibition does not help minimize crime; instead, it wastes law enforcement resources and mostly punishes drug users—people who are often not involved in organized crime.

10. Governments Shouldn’t Tell Adults What to Do With Their Own Bodies

If we accept the evidence that cannabis is significantly safer than tobacco and alcohol (which we can legally buy in large quantities almost anywhere), it becomes clear that banning cannabis is not only hypocritical, but also a blatant violation of our individual freedom of choice.

Prohibiting cannabis to the extent that people are arrested and prosecuted simply for possession is just absurd.

Decades of prohibition have made this clear, but the progress of the last ten years shows promising prospects for the future.

We hope that cannabis will soon be legal worldwide!