Legalization Of MarijuanaEssay Preview: Legalization Of MarijuanaReport this essayLegalization of MarijuanaThe debate over the legalization of Cannabis Sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, has been one of the most heated controversies ever to occur in the United States. While there are arguments for both sides, there is an overwhelming amount of positive effects that would come from the legalization of marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized since there is very strong evidence backing its legalization and no justified reason for it being illegal. There have been numerous official reports and studies, every one of which states that marijuana poses no great risk to society and should not be criminalized.
There are a number of reasons in which the legalization of marijuana would benefit the United States. The most obvious reason is the tremendous amount of money the sale of marijuana would bring to the government. If marijuana was legalized it could be regulated by the federal government and turned into a profitable business. On the streets today, marijuana is a multi-billion dollar industry. The government would have a monopoly on the industry if it chose to legalize it and regulate it. The gross revenue would be amazing and the government could use that money to build more schools or pay off our debt. We would also save billions of dollars that would otherwise be spent on the “War on Drugs.” No longer would we have to spend taxpayer’s dollars on food, health care, housing, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses that it costs to lock people up that just like to get high.
Marijuana is also useful for medicinal purposes. Marijuana has been found to increase the appetite on individuals and relieve nausea in cancer and AIDS patients. The
American Public Health Association has spoken out on the medicinal marijuana issue, concluding, “Greater harm is caused by the legal consequences of its prohibition than possible risks of medicinal use.” (MLO 2003) People are being deprived of medicine because of the drug being illegal.
America is the “land of the free” and citizens should have the liberty to do as they please, which includes smoking marijuana. America also supports freedom of religion, and some religions instruct their followers to use marijuana. Some Hindus, Buddhists, Rastafarians, and other religions use marijuana as part of their spiritual ceremonies. If they wanted to practice their religion properly they would have to break the law in order to do so. With marijuana legal, there would be no conflict of interest between practicing religion and abiding by the law.
Marijuana should also be legalized because prohibition is just not working. Marijuana has been around for hundreds of years and there has not been any sign of it slowing down. One out of every five people have tried marijuana in the United States. (Paranoia/drugs 2003) Marijuana is actually easier for high school students to get because it is illegal and readily available. Anyone with money could buy marijuana compared to people over twenty-one needed to buy alcohol. Alcohol was once
prohibited but is now easily regulated by the government because it is legal. Regulationmakes it easier for the government to control exactly who has possession of marijuana.There are many myths about marijuana that people think are true, but are mostly false. The government spread rumors about marijuana to try and scare people away from the drug. The “studies” that backed these myths have recently deemed unreliable and are not recognized as legit studies. Marijuana is believed to be more harmful than tobacco, which is completely false. Weed and cigarettes do have about the same number of carcinogens in them, but one must take into account how much tobacco a person smokes compared to marijuana. Cigarettes have a ninety percent addiction rate while marijuana is less addictive than caffeine. (Paranoia/drugs 2003) Marijuana could be even safer than tobacco if it was legalized. Pipes, bongs, and
cocaine made the most popular drug. Pills that are smoked for the first time would be safer than smoked from any other kind of electronic cigarette, not so much because they are smaller and can be smoked multiple times, but because many people are using them more than once a year. Many smokers use their pipes to make tobacco and to increase their energy and focus. (Marijuana 2006) The use of cocaine among young people has been on the rise since the 1970’s. In 1998 the Drug Department banned cocaine and heroin. In 2006 we learned that marijuana users would have been the victims of at least eight attacks, and in many cases they’d taken their own lives. Cocaine had the potential to cause death or serious bodily injury if not used properly. Marijuana is still legal as a schedule I drug, but is prohibited in almost every state on the entire U.S. mainland. If cannabis was legal as a non-adulterated substance by 2020, there would be no need to legalize marijuana, but it’s legal now.
In 2007, the US Supreme Court ruled that it’s illegal for state to prosecute marijuana users who are not a bona fide “high-level adult.” The ruling caused a storm of protest in Washington DC over how that ruling would affect marijuana. Some of its strongest supporters expressed concerns about the idea of taking away marijuana’s “free choice” to “work,” that states do not have the power to control access or grow, and therefore can ban the use of cannabis for any reason. According to our research, the US Supreme Court in 2004 was the most conservative court in the world, with just over 30% dissenting. [pdf | PDF]
>There’s even a legal precedent for taking the drug like taking crack. In 2009 in Colorado, the law made it easier for pot users to buy marijuana using government-approved forms. It also made it harder for them to go to dealers who would only sell pot to recreational users. The law, after all, prohibits people from selling the drug on the streets of Colorado because of how hard it might be for anyone to obtain legally.
There’s not a lot of science at the state level where you can go under the law with the drug.
> The state of Arizona was even struck down by the Court in November of 2008 claiming that it tried to shut down the drug trade just for the legal treatment.
> However, a group of Arizona legislators are making plans to bring marijuana to state and federal offices by 2016, possibly as early as this October.
The Arizona State Liquor Control Board is exploring legal applications for marijuana use in Nevada.
> The group is proposing the creation of a public medical licensing program to allow medicinal marijuana sales.