Analysis of the Paint Industry

Analysis of the Paint Industry Color has captivated everyone throughout the history, be it myriad cultures, age-groups, occasions, etc. Color has become a significant part of every family. Every age and every region has produced dyes and pigments based on the availability of the resources. The history proves the existence of colors from past thousands of years, discovered in the caves of Southern Europe. Paint is defined as the group of emulsions, consisting of pigments suspended in a liquid medium, for use as decorative or protective coatings. Today, contemporary paints and coating consist of countless of hundreds of thousands to fulfill the varied requirements of hundreds of thousands of applications.†Paint† ranges from the broad group of environmentally sound latex paints that many consumers use to decorate and protect their homes and the translucent coating that line the interior of food homes and the translucent coating that line the interior of food containers, to the chemically complex, multi-component finishes that automobile manufacturers apply on the assembly line. Paint made its earliest appearance about 30,000 years ago .Cave dwellers used crude paints to leave behind the graphic representations of their lives that even today decorate the walls of their ancient rock dwellings. The utility of paints has evolved from a decorative use to a surface protection use. Also, know as surface coatings, paints can be classified on the basis of end use, solvent system and solid content. Paint is comprised of three separate things working together. A pigment is used for the color. A binder is used to hold the pigment to the wall. And lastly, a carrier is used to apply the pigment and binder to whatever. There are many types of paint but they all have these components. For white latex paint, the carrier is de-ionized water, the pigment is very finely ground Titanium dioxide, and the binder is a synthetic polymer that resembles liquid rubber. The pigment and binder are put together with force (grinding) and then the two are slowly dispersed into the water. Titanium dioxide is the single largest input used in the manufacture of paints. It is a pigment (non-petro-based) that accounts for about 30% of material costs. Phthalic anhydride (PAN) and pentaerythritol (Penta) are the other two important petro-based inputs used in the manufacture of resins. Organic pigments, solvents, oils and a range of chemical additives are also used in the manufacture of paints. INDIAN PAINT INDUSTRY The Indian paint industry has come a long way from the days when paints were considered a luxury item. Today the awareness level on preventing corrosion through paints is relatively high, a development that should be a huge boost to the paint industry. The Indian paints industry offers lucrative scope for stable revenue streams to manufacturers of both decorative and industrial paints. The Indian Paints sector is valued at Rs 66 bn in value terms and is very fragmented. The current demand is estimated to be around 650,000 tonnes per annum and is seasonal in nature. The per capita consumption of paints in India stands at 0.5-kg p.a. as compared to 1.6 kg in China and 22 kg in the developed economies. Indias share in the world paint market is just 0.6%. The typical characteristics of the Indian paints industry include raw material intensiveness, working capital intensiveness, seasonality of demand, price elasticity of demand and low entry barriers with respect to technology and funds. Crucial parameters that make India a favorable proposition include the low per capita consumption of paints (1.0 kilogram), growth in construction sector (it is being offered industry status) and growth in the auto/white goods market respectively spurring demand for decorative and industrial paints. The industry has also witnessed increased activity in the industrial variety of paints with the entry of MNCs in auto, consumer durables etc, which has been gaining steadily over decorative paints in the last one decade. Indian paint industry is century old and the can be retraced by the history of Shalimar paints which was set up in the year1902 in Kolkata. Till the 2nd World war, industry consisted of small paint producers and 2 foreign companies. Post World War 2, imports were restricted which led to the birth of many domestic manufacturing facilities producing paint. Nevertheless, foreign companied ruled the market. Initially, British paints such as Goodlass Walls (currently famous as Kansai Nerolac), ICI, British Paints (now known as Berger Paints), Jenson Nicholson and Blundell Eomite dominated the market. The Indian paint industry has evolved a lot in recent times, both in terms of industry structure and product portfolio. Not long ago, paints were largely considered to be a luxury item. Such a mind†set has changed significantly of late due to the growing awareness on preventing corrosion through paints, by providing a massive fillip to the paint industry. Indian paints industry is Rs.15, 000 crore market Growth drivers for Indian paint industry Per capita consumption at 1.5kg is currently very low as compared to the developed countries (20kg/annum). Usage of lime extracts (chuna) in rural and semi†urban markets as well as lesser awareness of the protective attributes of paints can be one of the reasons for lower consumption levels. With growing income levels, both in urban as well as rural India on the back of various government initiatives like NREGS, Farm loan waivers, pay commission led salary hikes etc, the per capita consumption will improve in the medium as well as long term. Rising income levels: According to McKinsey, proportion of low income groups was expected to decline from 24% in FY05 to 10% in FY10e, and it has. This has acted as a significant catalyst for demand growth in decorative paints. Increasing media exposure: With better awareness levels, a gradual shift from unbranded to branded segment as well as improvement in product mix for various players like Kansai Nerolac, Asian Paints as demand for emulsions continues to outpace enamels and distempers. Rising urbanisation: This has led to creation of new homes, in†turn, fuelling incremental demand. Currently, only 28% of Indian population is urban. Urban Share of total population Increase in nuclear families: This is a consequence of younger demographics (60% of Indias population is below 30 years of age), with proportion of working population expected to increase from 40% in FY05 to 48% in FY15e. % of population in 15†64 age group Healthy growth in consumption levels expected for both, urban and rural India Growth in Auto Sector With production of passenger cars expected to grow, demand for automotive paints will continue to remain healthy as sales are expected to grow in double†digits. And with realty majors launching new projects, construction activity is expected to gain momentum and generate demand for decorative paints. Globally, the industrial paints segment accounts for a major share, indicating that this segment offers many opportunities for paint manufacturers. Growth in Auto Segments (FY06†10) The emerging trends in the decorative industry are: Consumers are increasingly involved in making purchase decisions. Consumers expect better and more relevant functional benefits from paints. Emulsion paints are outgrowing the industry growth rate. Trend of dark shades complementing light shades continues. Tinting systems at store level are the order of the day. Companies are getting more consumer†centric and a lot of value†added services are being offered, like application support, colour consultancy etc. Strong growth in the Indian powder coatings segment, as new applications and their advantages are discovered Greater interest in water-based coatings technology while awareness of VOCs and legislation increases. 3. INDUSTRY SEGMENTATION The paint industry can be segmented as follows: End Usage classification: Paints are grouped in either decorative or industrial paints Decorative paints are used for household and construction purposes while latter can be used for industrial products. Decorative Paints consists of myriad types like enamels, acrylic emulsions, distempers and exterior paints. Industrial ones include the marine, anti corrosive metal coatings, etc. Solvent Based classification: Paints which use petro products or water as main solvents. These days water based paints are becoming popular on environment friendliness. Solid Content: Classified based on type i.e. liquid or solid. Powder coatings find application mainly in white goods industry. The Indian paint industry has surprisingly only private manufacturing units. This can be reasoned by the fact that in the past, government perceived paints as luxury product and hence taxed heavily, thus regulating the industry to a non-core business. Sector wise Division Classification of paint industry can be done either product-wise or sector-wise. Sector-wise implies organised and unorganized sectors. The pie chart indicates the same. Organized Sector is dominated by 6 large players and the unorganized sectors owned by about 2500 units manufacturing various categories of paints. Though the organized sector controls 65% of paint market, unorganized sector with 35% of market share is still a force to reckon with. Organized sector can itself be divided into 2 distinct segments (Product wise): Industrial segment which is growing at 15% approximately and decorative segment which is growing at 8% approximately. As shown in the graph, most of sales are accounted for primarily by decorative segment. Decorative segment enjoys almost 77% and industrial segment owns 23% of the market. Organised Market Segment Division Decorative Segment It caters to the housing sector. The following falls under decorative segment. Acrylic Emulsions: Premium decorative paints are acrylic emulsions used mostly in the metros. Enamels: The medium range consists of enamels, popular in smaller cities and towns. Used on substrates like steel, wood, concrete, etc. Cement paints: Used for exterior purposes Distempers are economy products demanded in the suburban and rural markets. Nearly 20 per cent of all decorative paints sold in India are distempers. Industrial Segment Industrial Paints include powder coatings, high performance coatings and automotive and marine paints Two-thirds of the industrial paints produced in the country are automotive paints. Structure of Paint Industry 4. MARKET PROFILE The leaders in the organized paint industry are Asian Paints (India) Ltd. (APIL), Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd. (GNPL), Berger Paints, Jenson Nicholson Ltd. (JN) and ICI (India) Ltd. â€Å"Asian paints† is the industry leader with an overall market share of 33 per cent in the organized paint market. It has the largest distribution network among the players and its aggressive marketing has earned it strong brand equity. The Berger Group and ICI share the second slot in the industry with market shares of 17 per cent each. GNPL has a market share of 15 percent in the organized sector. APIL dominates the decorative segment with a 38 per cent market share. The company has more than 15,000 retail outlets and its brandsTractor,Apcolite,Utsav,ApexandAceare entrenched in the market. GNPL, the number-two in the decorative segment, with a 14 per cent market share too, has now increased its distribution network to 11,000 outlets to compete with APIL effectively. Berger and ICI have 9 per cent and 8 per cent shares respectively in this segment followed by JN and Shalimar with 1 and 6 per cent shares. GNPL dominates the industrial paints segment with 41 per cent market share. It has a lions share of 70 per cent in the OEM passenger car segment, 40 per cent share of two wheeler OEM market and 20 per cent of commercial vehicle OEM market. The company is also venturing into new areas like painting of plastic, coil coatings and cans. APIL, the leader in decorative paints, ranks a poor second after Goodlass Nerolac in the industrial segment with a 15 per cent market share. Berger and ICI are the other players in the sector with 10 per cent and 9 per cent shares respectively. Shalimar too, has an 8 per cent share. Asian Paints enjoys leadership position in the Indian Paints industry, with nearly 55% share of the organized segment. Major Market Player 5. COMPANY PROFILE Incorporated in 1920, Kansai Nerolac Paints Limited (KNPL) is the second-largest coating company in India. It is a subsidiary of Kansai Paints, a Japanese company, which holds approximately 69.3% stake. KNPL operates in the decorative as well as the industrial paints segments, and is the market leader in automotive and powder coating segments. It manufactures decorative paints, automotive coatings, general industrial coatings, high performance coatings, powder coatings and speciality coatings. Its manufacturing plants are located at Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Kanpur Dehat (Uttar Pradesh), Perungudi and Hosur (Tamil Nadu) and Bawal (Haryana). Its employee strength is approximately 2,000. The company has a strong distribution network of ~12,000 distributors, 5,000 colour tinting machines and 69 sales locations, as of FY10. The installed capacity for various products as of FY10 is: Paints, varnishes, enamels and powder coatings 2.08 million tonnes (MT), Synthetic resins 79,380 tonnes and pre-treatment chemicals 2,400 tonnes. Exports contributed less than 1% of FY10 revenues. The proximity of the companys plants to the customers plant locations offers KNPL a strong logistical advantage. Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd.is a cognized leader in chosen fields. The company has won many prestigious awards such as National Energy Conservation Award from the Ministry of Power, Government of India for its Jainpur plant, the Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Governance in 2005, the Business Innovator of the year award in 2006 from the CTO Forum Magazine and Best Managed Company award from Business Today in 2004. History It is the second largest coating company in India and market leader in Industrial Coatings. Its Industrial Coatings has a wide range of products in the Automotive, Powder, General Industrial and High performance Coatings space. Nerolac paints, as it is popularly known, are an established brand in decorative paints. Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd is a subsidiary of Japan based Kansai Paint Company Limited, which is one of the top ten coating companies in the world. The technological edge of Kansai helps us constantly innovate and come up with products that meet consumer need gaps. Kansai Nerolac has always believed that the key to its business is: Technology Research Development Innovations Quality Year 1920, a paint company was born as Gahagan Paints and Varnish Co. Ltd. in Mumbai. The journey is marked by moving from strength to strength in every sphere of business be it product introductions through innovation, value engineering and superior technology. 1920: A company named as Gahagan Paints and Varnish Co. Ltd at Lower Parel in Mumbai, was born. 1957: Goodlass Wall Pvt. Ltd grew popular as Goodlass Nerolac Paints (Pvt) Ltd. Also, it went public in the same year and established itself as Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd. 1976: Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd. became a part of the Tata Forbes Group on acquisition of a part of the foreign shareholdings by Forbes Gokak. 1983: Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd. Strengthened itself by entering in technical collaboration agreements with Kansai Paint Co. Ltd, Japan and Nihon Tokushu Tokyo Co. Ltd, Japan. 1999: Kansai Paint Co. Ltd, Japan took over the entire stake of Tata Forbes group and thus GNP became wholly owned subsidiary of Kansai Paint Company Ltd. 2006: On the 11th of July, Goodlass Paints Ltd. name was changed to Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd. KEY HIGHLIGHTS Capacity expansion n plans KNPLs most recent capacity addition was a new plant at Hosur, which commenced operations in the last quarter of FY10 with a capacity of ~15,000 tonnes. The company plans to spend another ~Rs 2.5 billion (bn) to expand manufacturing capacity at Hosur to 0.28 million (mn) tonnes per annum. A further Rs 1.5 bn will be spent on increasing production capacity in other plants, taking total cost to Rs 4 bn Strategic Alliances Nerolac has developed strong relationships with automakers, such as Maruti, which facilitates it in maintaining its market leadership position in the industrial paint segment. Nerolacs parent company Kansai is a global supplier of paints to Suzuki Marutis parent company which further strengthens the relationship. Nerolac has also taken initiatives to strengthen its existing relationship with automakers, which include placing technical teams at automakers paint shops to provide them with services. Such initiatives have proved to be fruitful, and Nerolac has 9 out of 11 automakers as its customers. The other major a well-established client base from the automotive industry includes Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra Mahindra, etc Targeting Rural Market Nerolac has stepped up its efforts to increase its presence in the rural market. The company has introduced some products, such as Beauty Emulsions in the range of 80-100 rupees per litre, which cater to the price-sensitive market. It has also formed an alliance with ITC on its E-Chaupal initiative to improve its presence in the rural market. The company is also making efforts to strengthen its dealer network to improve sales. 6. KANSAI NEROLAC MARKETING PROFILE Marketing Strategies Marketing defines the fact that â€Å"Customer is King† and always every management strives to identify, anticipate and satisfy their Kings Kansai Nerolac is the organization which works on this aspect and its been one of the pillars behind building a successful organization. Nerolac believes that the key strength lies in understanding the consumers and communicating with them in a language they understand and relate to the best. Over the years, Nerolac has undertaken many initiatives, which have met with unprecedented success and really made people sit up and take notice of the same. 6.1. Brand -Nerolac Nerolac commercials have been well -loved over the years and its jingle Jab ghar ki raunaq badhaani ho is now a familiar tune in every Indian household. Many set the same jingle as their caller-tunes. Beginning with the introduction of the new Brush stroke logo, this stands for the ‘process of painting, depicts motion, dynamism and progress through change. The signal red color, which is the color of Nerolac, is a symbol of eternal joy and hope. It has now become an integral part of Nerolacs brand identity and now appears as a sign-off on any kind of communication. The Slogan of Brand Nerolac: â€Å"Kuch Change Kare Chalo Paint Kare† Brand Ambassadors: Presently, Shah Rukh Khan, internationally famed Bollywood hero endorses Kansai Nerolac and has proved to give the brand a touch of glamour and the hope that a famous face will provide added appeal and name recognition in a crowded market. The famous Bollywood celebrity being the co-owner of IPL -Kolkata Knight Riders team is indeed a popular ambassador to the recall value of the brand. Previously Mr. Amitabh Bachhan and Mr. Mohanlal were the brand Ambassadors. Amitabh had embodied Nerolac and had showed â€Å"how it touches the lives and dreams of peopleno matter whom they are and where they come from†. The essence of this thought was captured in the new baseline ‘Yeh Rang hain jo har kisi ko chhoota hain. 6.2. Product Range (Decorative segment) Paints Interior Range Exterior Range Enamels Primer (Impressions) Marble Finish Ever last Impressions High Performance Metallic Finish Excel Total Disney Excel AntiPeel 24 Carat Impressions Eco-clean : Ultra luxury Emulsion(odorless) Low VOC Popular Beauty Emulsion Flexi Suraksha Advanced, and Plus Satin Enamel Premium Silver Synthetic Enamel Smooth finish Beauty Distemper Acrylic Superior Protection Pearl Luster Finish Oil Bound Premium Acrylic Wood coatings include: Wonder wood 2k PU, Wonder wood melamine crystal Clear, Wonder wood melamine and Wonder wood 1 KPU. 6.3.Segmentation Market segmentation represents an effort to increase a companys targeting precision. All businesses operate in â€Å"markets† .A market is the set of all actual and potential buyers of a product or service. This definition suggests that a market is the total value and/or volume of products that satisfy the same customer need. In defining a market, it is important not to focus only on products/services that currently meet the customer need. Thinking about customer needs first and then identifying the products that meet those needs is the best way to define a market. However, it is also important not to define a market too broadly. For example, it is not particularly helpful for a marketing manager to define his or her market as the â€Å"food market† or the â€Å"transport market†. The purpose of market definition is to provide a meaningful framework for analysis and decision-making. Bases of segmentation It is widely thought in marketing that than segmentation is an art, not a science. The key task is to find the variable, or variables that split the market into actionable segments. There are two types of segmentation variables: Needs Profilers The basic criteria for segmenting a market are customer needs. To find the needs of customers in a market, it is necessary to undertake market research. Profilers are the descriptive, measurable customer characteristics (such as location, age, nationality, gender, income) that can be used to inform a segmentation exercise. The most common profilers used in customer segmentation include the following: Geographic Region of the country Urban or rural Demographic Age, sex, family size Income, occupation, education Religion, race, nationality Psychographic Social class: Premium,Middle Upper Class and also Lower Class Lifestyle type Personality type Behavioural Product usage e.g. light, medium ,heavy users Brand loyalty: none, medium, high Type of user (e.g. with meals, special occasions) Demographic segmentation Demographic segmentation consists of dividing the market into groups based on variables such as age, gender family size, income, occupation, education, religion, race and nationality. Customer wants are closely linked to variables such as income and age. Company Kansai Nerolac Paints has manufactured paints as per customers requirements and the products are described above. The main demographic segmentation variables used in this are summarized below: Income Kansai Nerolac has targeted affluent customers with luxury products like the impressions. Various convenience services as previously mentioned are introduced for the ease of customers. Economy range products are being developed by the company and would be introduced soon in the market. Premium class impression products for children based of their interests on sports, cartoons are produced and company extends in paintings services with its well equipped painters. Social class Many Marketers believe that a consumers perceived social class influences their preferences for cars, clothes, home furnishings, leisure activities and other products services. There is a clear link here with income-based segmentation. Age Lifestyle The cultural dominance in India is targeted and paints based on Vastu are carried on to pull in prosperities with paints.Kansai Nerolac provides this with established vastu veterans and help the customers. It also works on splendid work as per the ambience with various methods like 30-60-90. Marketers are increasingly interested in the effect of consumer lifestyles on demand. There are many different lifestyle categorisation systems, many of them designed by advertising and marketing agencies as a way of winning new marketing clients and campaigns! Behavioral segmentation Behavioural segmentation divides customers into groups based on the way they respond to, use or know of a product. Behavioural segments can group consumers in terms of: Occasions When a product is consumed or purchased. Neroalc Paints launches new products near the festive seasons and promotions during those times relate to the festivals giving a slice of life touch.Plus offer varied schemes based on different occasions namely Valentine day offers,F1 fever,IPL dhamaka,etc. Usage Some markets can be segmented into light, medium and heavy user groups. Loyalty Loyal consumers those who buy one brand all or most of the time are valuable customers. Many companies try to segment their markets into those where loyal customers can be found and retained compared with segments where customers rarely display any product loyalty. Importance of Segmentation: There are several important reasons why businesses should attempt to segment their markets carefully. These are summarised below Better matching of customer needs Customer needs differ. Creating separate offers for each segment makes sense and provides customers with a better solution Enhanced profits for business Customers have different disposable income. They are, therefore, different in how sensitive they are to price. By segmenting markets, businesses can raise average prices and subsequently enhance profits. Product segmentation of Nerolac Paints has enabled each segment of the society to relate to a product within the income range. Better opportunities for growth Market segmentation can build sales. For example, customers can be encouraged to trade-up after being introduced to a particular product with an introductory, lower-priced product. Retain more customers Customer circumstances change, for example they grow older, form families, change jobs or get promoted, change their buying patterns. By marketing products that appeal to customers at different stages of their life (life-cycle), a business can retain customers who might otherwise switch to competing products and brands. Target marketing communications Businesses need to deliver their marketing message to a relevant customer audience. If the target market is too broad, there is a strong risk that (1) the key customers are missed and (2) the cost of communicating to customers becomes too high / unprofitable. By segmenting markets, the target customer can be reached more often and at lower cost. Advertisements relating to different paints of Nerolac Paints are on air each signifying a different target market, a different aspect of life. Gain share of the market segment Nerolac Paints is the market leader in the industrial market and gains due to economies of scale. Through careful segmentation and targeting, businesses can often achieve competitive production and marketing costs and become the preferred choice of customers and distributors. 6.4 Promotional Activities. a) Advertising: Kansai Nerolac made a beeline to cricket fever by advertising and booking ad spots on Set Max, the sub continental broadcaster for the IPL matches this summer, for IPL 4. The company has launched ‘Healthy Home Range of Paints that are safer lead free, odour free, low VOC (VolatileOrganic Compound) and eco-friendly. The brand ambassador endorses a wide range of advancedeco-friendlyproducts in the TV, print and outdoor commercials. The same ads have been telecasted in Chennai (Sun Network) in the regional language Tamil in order to remind and recall the brand value of Kansai Nerolac. Television campaign with Irfan Khan and Konkana Sen for Nerolac Impressions was done on popular channels of West Bengal. The campaign was redone to help build the brand saliency during this period. There were various other campaigns endorsed by Amitabh Bachhan which proved to be runaway success to name one -â€Å"Har Din Diwali â€Å"a promotional campaign aimed at the customer. b) Public Relations Kansai Nerolac has always been in the fore front for Public Relations, be it marketing or corporate relations. Kansai Nerolac was the first to initiate the dealers meet and painters meet. It comes up with new product launch activity also. Corporate relations include the famous Mumbai Marathon (17th Jan 2010) which carried an anti smoking message, with a logo on their T-shirts. As part of corporate social responsibility, Nerolac has been conducting health camps for needy people every year. c) Sales Promotions This includes the dealers meet and painters meet which help regularly to build up a good rapport with the dealers and painters. Promotional offers and schemes with gifts acts as the major sales promotional methods followed by Kansai Nerolac. Incentives to painters include the token exchanges. Foreign trips are also provided for the dealers who qualify in the promotional scheme parameters. Distribution of T-shirts and caps to the paints are also done. d) Other Services â€Å"Nerolac Assured Paint Service†: Designed to bring the Nerolac experience right to the consumers doorstep, is the service launched by Nerolac. Currently available in Mumbai, consumers can now relax while the Nerolac team takes over the entire paint job right from sourcing to execution. On consumer friendliness platter, the shade cards have been redesigned. The new look shade cards are not only eye catching and consistent in appearance but also try to make the process of shade selection for the consumer lot more interesting and convenient. Nerolac Home Stylers provides profession

Public health policy analysis Essay

Public health policy analysis Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legalization of marijuana has been a heated issue and is featured both in local and national media. The use of marijuana by adults and youth in United States is on the increase. Marijuana use remains a medical problem concern since marijuana users are more susceptible to disorders associated to marijuana use. In the last decades state policies aimed marijuana use for medical purposes, while recent policies are advocating for legalization of marijuana to adults. Public relations campaigns fully advocate for the legalization of marijuana. The main reason being that prohibition of marijuana cause more harm than good and also fuel violence in the markets. The increased use of marijuana amongst the youth is enough evidence of failed control measures against marijuana. These opinions come together to enhance promotion of marijuana legalization (Gerber et al, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The recent opinions to legalize marijuana raised concerns to (ASAM) American Society of Addiction Medicine. In April 2012, they had to form committee to develop the reaction due to the proposal of marijuana legalization. The committee aims at informing the public about marijuana legalization of marijuana and their judgment to the public policymakers. The ASAM recommends that the chemicals in marijuana that deem an effective treatment against some illnesses should be legalized as characterized and standardized products; permitted by the Food and Drug and be dispensed by professional pharmacies just like any other medicine. ASAM’s greatest concern is due to the opinion that marijuana is the most common abused illegal drug in America. Clear distinction between decriminalization and legalization is necessary in explanation of objectives and negative impact of marijuana legalization. Legalization deals with the commercialization of produ ction, use and sale of marijuana. On the other hand, decriminalization removes penalties to personal use while sale and production of marijuana is prohibited. However, ASAM does not support legalization of marijuana since their research findings reveal that marijuana smoking is not a medicine. Background and relevance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marijuana use has several dreadful health effects which raise concern to public health sector. Marijuana can lead to addiction as well as effects of (THC) delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. Research reveals that 9% of marijuana becomes addicted. Marijuana smokers who try to quit suffer from anxiety, depression, insomnia, irritability, and appetite disturbance. In 1993, the National Institute on Drug Abuse carried a study that found that marijuana led to an estimate of 7% of treatment admissions funded by the government. The number increased to 18% in 2009. In Central and Western Europe marijuana use is a critical public health issue. Marijuana is said to be the basic drug being abused in 21% of the incidents in addiction reform services in Central and Western Europe, and 14% of incidents in addiction reforms services in Southeast and Eastern Europe. Research found that of all drug treatment teenage patients, 83% were undergoing treatment for ba sic marijuana use. Retrieved from http://www.asam.org/policies/state-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuana   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Young adults are more prevalent to marijuana addiction. Research from U.S. treatment centers shows that if drug use is started at tender age there is greater risk of dependence. Early use of marijuana might be one of the causes of increased admissions for marijuana addiction treatment. In Europe, the number of patients seeking treatment due to marijuana addiction increased from 200% from 1999 till 2006, and recently stands at 30% of overall admission cases. There are other many health hazards associated to marijuana use apart from addiction. ASAM great concern put a lot of weight to the following major areas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The brain: substances from marijuana results to short-term impact on the brain in relation to attention, verbal fluency, sensory perception, learning, memory, and perception of time. The greatest concern is marijuana consumption during teenage where brain development is in progress. This results to decreased neurocognitive activity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mental health: NIDA found that marijuana use is associated to increased anxiety, schizophrenia and depression. Research studies brought out age factor as a significant risk factor. Research shows that there is correlation between early marijuana consumption and worsening and development of symptoms of schizophrenia. High usage of marijuana can cause acute psychotic reaction as well as initiating the beginning or degeneration of schizophrenia in susceptible persons.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Prenatal or perinatal: some research findings have suggested that marijuana causes retarded fetal growth including length, gestational age, birth weight, and head circumference. Other long-term effects vary with age. They include depression, decreased wit, and addiction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Respiratory or pulmonary: research reveals that marijuana contains more tar, carcinogen and carbon monoxide as compared to tobacco. Marijuana is likely to deposit tar four times as compared to tobacco. Chronic smoking has detrimental effects to the lungs. Marijuana smokers inhale greater volumes of smoke and hold it for longer periods. Research reveals that marijuana smokers are more susceptible to bullous disease as compared to cigarette teen smokers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Addiction among other health hazards associated to marijuana outlines that marijuana use affects both the user and their family members. ASAM is concerned since they see that the current discussion is only concerned with reforms to the ongoing marijuana policy and less concerned with detrimental impact of marijuana consumption. Harmful health and safety impacts of marijuana will be of great importance in the decision making in the development a marijuana policy with an aim of improving public health. Objectives of marijuana legalization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legalization of marijuana is considered as a public and safety measure aimed at reducing drug-associated crimes and as a remedy to harm caused by marijuana control such as incarceration among others. Advocators of marijuana believe that legalization of marijuana will reduce illegal marijuana trade and violent crimes associated with the illegal trade. They also believe that it will be a source of revenue as well as reduce cost of law enforcement. There is an ongoing research to investigate the impact of marijuana legalization in United States. Prohibition of drugs such as marijuana increases costs of businesses operations due to violence involved to the illegal drug trafficking. The price of marijuana is expected to reduce to 80% since the social price depend on regulation and taxes. Retrieved from http://www.asam.org/policies/state-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuana   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   RAND research reveals that marijuana legalization I California would not reduce drug trafficking as well as violence associated with illegal drug trafficking. Research reveals that diverted marijuana from legalized production in a given country affects all the others since it would lead to reduction of marijuana across that country. Price elasticity of marijuana under legalized plan is complicated since addictive substances behave differently from non-addictive substances. Marijuana legalization will change it from being luxury for first time users to basic necessity to the marijuana addicted persons. Legalization of marijuana is likely to be accompanied by legal advertisement of commercial use marijuana this is likely to increase marijuana consumption. Although most research were carried to investigate effect of marijuana legalization in California, the findings might also apply in another state. Legalization of marijuana might cause effe cts to the taxes, prices, markets as well as spilling over their effects to the neighboring countries. Legalizing marijuana might be a right step since it will substantiate impact of violent related to illegal drug trafficking. It is also believed that public health problems of criminal justice interventions exceed their benefits. This leads to the question as to whether legalization proposals should be passed and amended. Lessening toughness to marijuana use might not be so much fruitful since there can be little or no reduction in the level of substantial costs and incarceration rates (Morgan, 2011). Negative impact of legalizing marijuana   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Any state considering altering legal condition of marijuana should consider the health hazard involved as well as the profit of coping up with criminalization of marijuana use and sale. Legal drug use provides evidence that it is national public health issue. Legal drugs recently cause a havoc on public health sector since it results to substantial health and financial burden. Legalizing marijuana is likely to lead to an increase in the social costs due to taxes imposed due to the sale of the drugs. The cost of coming up with a regulatory plan for legal marijuana is also unknown. Although legalization of marijuana might be aimed at increasing funding for prevention, addiction and treatment of commercial activities linked to legal marijuana. Health effects of gradual increase use of marijuana would rise sharply. It is also likely that legalization of marijuana will be accompanied by increase in number of marijuana related issues such as dri ving under marijuana influence, violations in act regulating age limits as well as public use violations. Research reveals that marijuana is the most famous drug associated to drugged driving. Fatal injuries, crashes and even deaths are commonly linked to habitual marijuana use. Drugged driving will raise the cost of injuries, loss of lives and crashes. Decreased highway safety is a major negative impact of marijuana legalization (Gerber et al, 2004).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   American Academy of Pediatrics predicted that legalizing marijuana will result to increased use of marijuana amongst the youth. The fact is that there is a positive relationship between drug use and availability. Advocators of the policy should consider detrimental effects of marijuana availability to the society if the law was passed and amended. There will be an increased incidents of marijuana related cases, addiction as well as the regulatory cost that will be passed to the public in form of taxes. International context   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The advocators of marijuana legalization policy usually come from experience from nations with less strict policies on drug use. It should not be understood that no country has ever legalized marijuana. Most countries use decriminalization policies where they have a specific limit of marijuana or a given drug use for personal purposes while drug use for commercial services remains illegal. In a country like Netherlands, commercial drug businesses are illegal and are constrained with criminal sanctions. Other than being arrested, drug users are put in check by the Commission for the Dissuasion of Drug Abuse (CDT). This commission dispenses the appropriate punitive measures to the drug user where some are withdrawn if they obtain treatment against addiction. A country may be penalized for imposing such a policy to the citizens. For example, recently there was a proposal that Uruguay government would sell marijuana for personal use to the pub lic. However, the fate of this proposed law is not clear. In addition, if the law was to be passed Uruguay would be fined by the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board for going against the United Nations Single Convention of 1961. ASAM encourage exhaustive study and evaluation of distinct drug laws and programs both local and international which will enlighten the public on future strategies that aim at enhancing public health. Retrieved from http://www.asam.org/policies/state-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuana 2012 State-Level proposals on marijuana legalization   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Several states such as Oregon, Colorado and Washington brought up proposals to legalize marijuana. For instance, Colorado Amendment 64 also known as Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, if passed the policy would legalize possession, purchase, use, transport and display certain amount of marijuana by people aged 21 years and above. The state will be responsible for regulation of marijuana sector via licensure of manufacturing, cultivation and retail stores and testing facilities. The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act if passed would bring up Oregon Cannabis Commission to regulate cultivation and sale of marijuana to people aged 21 years and above. The Washington State Initiative Measure No. 502, if passed it would regulate and license marijuana distribution, possession and production to people aged 21 years and above. Washington policy would also withdraw civil and criminal activities authorized by the policy. Upon passing these policies, would chan ge everything for example, it would change marijuana from being luxury to first time users to personal use, it will also accelerate tax collection, and commercial use and sale of marijuana. The full impact of effect of legalizing marijuana are unknown (Morgan, 2011). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is great need of considering public health consequences of a policy before proposing to make changes. There are more negative consequences linked to marijuana legalization as compared to the benefits that advocators think of. People are called upon to study various polices and programs so that they can be able to make appropriate policies that aim at improving the public health of citizens. The legalization policy will make marijuana more accessible thus increasing the risk to the youths who might fall in the trap of consuming the drugs. Marijuana legalization will also lead to an increased activities associated to marijuana such as drugged driving which leads to loss of lives, injuries and crashes. Recommendations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I oppose proposals to legalize use of marijuana in any of the states in America. There is more harm than good of implementing this policy. The predicted public health costs associated to marijuana legalization are high and hurt the citizens and the public policymakers. Health professionals and physicians should enlighten people on the probable effects of implementing such a policy. Marijuana is associated to a lot of negative effects and thus should not be legalized. The following should be recommended: The public should be enlightened that addiction to marijuana is a public health concern and marijuana is not safe to consume. The physicians should lead the war against legalization of marijuana. The parents should be enlightened on the dangers of making marijuana accessible to their teenage children through legalization of such a policy References Gerber, R. J. (2004). Legalizing marijuana: drug policy reform and prohibition politics. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Morgan, K. (2011). Legalizing marijuana. Edina, MN: ABDO Pub. Co.. State-Level Proposals to Legalize Marijuana. (n.d.). State-Level Proposals to Legalize Marijuana. Retrieved May 6, 2014, from http://www.asam.org/policies/state-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuana Source document

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