Legalization may provide a net health benefit for Mexican gang members. Whether legalization will provide a net health benefit for American citizens is still a point of contention.
The war of drugs has been done badly. Of course it's ridiculous that people's homes get raided because they have some pot. That doesn't mean legislation needs to jump to the other end of the spectrum. You can forbid trade of cannabis and at the same time NOT put users in jail.
Wait - what are the health effects of prison? I remember reading somewhere that prisoners are some of the fittest people around, and you shouldn't pick a fight with one...
A lot of health dis-benefits are a result of criminalisation.
Some people who call for decriminalisation are calling for drug use to be treated as the health problem that it is.
With criminalisation we see drives to stronger forms of the drug (EG: bootleggers were mostly not selling beer, but spirits). Decriminalisation and legalisation would allow people to grow and actively market weaker forms of the drug.
Criminalisation pushes people towards unhealthier forms of drug taking because it's legally tricky to provide harm reduction information or harm reduction devices. Most people smoke cannabis; and most people mix it with tobacco. That's a pretty unhealthy way to take it. Legally being allowed to sell vaporisers would help.
>> Whether legalization will provide a net health benefit for American citizens is still a point of contention.
Might end up with a few less killed violently.
Might end up with more money to spend on social programs instead of militarised police.
Might end up with much more tax from economic activity brought out of the black market.
Might end up with less contaminated produce.
All of these could end up being better for the health of American citizens.
And even if not you're bringing your problems in-house rather than shipping them off to poorer places and causing suffering there.