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We talk about a lot of interesting marijuana related topics on this blog, but one of my favorite things to talk about is cannabis laws and policies in the United States.

But we are still in a unique time in our country and how weed is viewed. Since the federal government has been reluctant to create a nation wide marijuana program, it is up to individual state governments to decide if marijuana is a road they want to go down.

Even 20 years ago, weed was still completely illegal throughout our entire country. Now, you can legally use weed for any reason if you are an adult, depending on the state you live in. But what if the federal government decides to legalize medical marijuana? What would happen to particular states that still have not legalized weed for themselves?

Well, I think the whole nation would be a bit messy for a few years or so, but eventually we would have it figured out. I would say that, at this point in our country, we can be optimistic about the next decade or so about the feds legalizing medical marijuana.

I hope that I will be able to see it in my lifetime for sure. I probably will, since I am only 22 and have quite a few years left (knock on wood). Anyways, today I wanted to talk about some changes that would occur in the United States if the federal government legalized medical marijuana, so make sure you keep reading to learn more. 

The first thing that we should talk about in relation to marijuana is our prison system. In the event that weed is legalized on a federal level, there would be a massive wave of expungement for prison inmates in the United States with marijuana-related charges. What do I mean by this? Well, to put it simply, the war on drugs in the late 90s and early 2000s has left a lot of American citizens in jail for possessing, growing, or using small amounts of marijuana that would be legal today (depending on the state that you live in).

Historically, weed charges have been a great way for people of color to be targeted and put in jail. Many people that have gotten sentenced to 15 or 20 years in prison time are still serving that sentence out and are missing valuable time to live their lives. Also, prisoners that are released from jail have a hard time getting an education or job afterwards due to background checks that show they were incarcerated at one point.

Not all background checks show the crimes that a person committed either – it might just be assumed that the person was part of a robbery or assault, when in fact they just got caught smoking a joint. Either way, federal legalization of weed would allow for many of these people to get out of prison and finally try their hand at living life again.