Marijuana Essay

Marijuana has been a controversial issue for a long time in the United States. Marijuana, which is the common term for the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, “is a psychiatric drug that is the most commonly abused illegal substance in the United States.” (Gale Encyclopedia of Science, 78).   Users of marijuana put themselves at a great risk of developing physical and mental health issues.   Individuals who chose to abuse marijuana are at risk of becoming addicted, which will lead to many problems for their future.   Marijuana also acts as a “gateway” to more harmful drugs.   If marijuana were made legal, the number of users in the United States would increase, drug-impaired driving would increase, and adolescents might assume that marijuana is not a threat to their lives. Since legalization of marijuana would increase marijuana use rather than reduce it and would lead to increased rates of addiction to marijuana among youth and adults, legalizing marijuana is not a smart public health or public safety strategy for any state or for our nation.
One major validation for legalizing Marijuana that remains tempting among individuals is the money. “Taxing and regulating the drug — much like alcohol — could raise $1.4 billion for state coffers.” (The Everything Marijuana Book, 21). Taxing and regulating Marijuana could raise $1.4 billion for California State alone. Taxing marijuana seems like an attractive target to help our economy. However, what is rarely discussed is that as a result of legalization, there would be in an increase in the already high costs of marijuana use in society. Accidents would increase and healthcare costs would rise. For example, “While both alcohol and tobacco are taxed and regulated, the tax benefits to the public are overshadowed by the consequences of their use. Alcohol-related costs total over $185 billion while federal and states collected an estimated $14.5 billion in tax revenue; similarly, tobacco use costs over $200 billion but only $25 billion...