Recent polls taken by the Pew Research Center and General Social Surveys show that the main reason for support of marijuana is that the American public fails to see marijuana has a major moral issue (Galston, Dionne 1). Compared to gay marriage or abortion, many more Americans are indifferent when it comes to others using marijuana. Those against legalization who consider marijuana to be a gateway drug and a vice argue that legalization will lead an overall increase in consumption of the drug. They argue that legalization will decrease productivity in the workplace, influence children negatively, and increase drug induced automobile crashes. However, the pro-legalization Americans respond in saying increased marijuana use has no lasting health effects, legalization will allow for better regulation of distribution, and marijuana legalization will reduce alcohol consumption in America.
(Clark, n.d.) In November 2012, voters in Washington and Colorado agreed to directly challenge the federal marijuana prohibition and legalize the growing, selling and consuming of marijuana for all people age 21 and older. State officials have spent the last few months working on regulatory schemes that would not run afoul of federal authorities, who have so far taken a hands-off approach to marijuana enforcement in both states. (Clark, n.d.) What message does this send to the users of marijauna and to those who continue to sell and distribute marijuana illegally? In part, that's because legalizing drugs takes away a significant deterrent against drug use. Moreover, for as long as we have monitored drug use, we have seen that whenever there is a decrease in the percentage of young people who perceive marijuana use as harmful, the percentage of users increases.
Others, like me, think that the government shouldn’t have the power to outlaw if it’s not harming or endangering others. There are many reasons why I believe marijuana should be legalized. Marijuana could generate billions of dollars to use for more serious problems, prohibition doesn’t help anything, and legalization could possibly reduce drug use by teens. Our government currently spends billions of dollars annually to lock up marijuana users. These people are normally very peaceful, relaxed, and non-violent.
Imagine how much more money could be made if marijuana became legal. The extra tax revenue would help society because there would be an extra income that could be used towards health care or other things that benefits society. Drug dealers cause a threat to society and if marijuana was decriminalized drug dealers would lose most if not all of their business and crime would decrease. (SASTISTIC PG 4 5 OF RESEARCH NOTES) if marijuana were to be controlled by the government people would more likely to buy from a store than a shady drug dealer. Thousands of job opportunities would be made available if marijuana were to be decriminalized.
Even Thomas Jefferson even said “Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country” (http://www.hemppresidents.com/pot-and-hemp-quotes.htm) while currently marijuana is only legal for medical use in certain states. Marijuana treats those with migraines, relieve symptoms of chronic disease, prevents seizures, etc. Also the ‘American Association of Cancer Research has proved that marijuana slows the growth of tumors. The widespread of marijuana in America its hard to estimate the amount illegally in America. The Process Starting off I simply looked up “major social issues in America” which showed a list of current events and problems.
Marijuana; Not Just a Counter Culture For many people the choice to use drugs is an easy one; no, but for other people when it is a life or death situation, or their depression is great enough, they will do and try anything to help gain relief from pain. With the legalization of Marijuana, medical patients would have the ability to seek other ways of treatment via medicine. Also with the legalization of Marijuana the gateway theory would be proven false. Along with these two solid reasons why Marijuana should be legalized, the federal government would also reap astonishing amounts of revenue that could be used to pay off debts and pay into social security. Marijuana has been used for thousands of years, not always for the “high effect,” but
According to The World Health Organization, even though the United States has more stringent marijuana laws than the United Kingdom, the United States’ use rates among teenagers are significantly higher (Backett). Recall that when alcohol was prohibited, not only did the demand go up but so did the supply— exactly what can be seen with marijuana in today’s underground economy. This insatiable demand creates a vacuum between the United States and Mexico, where foreign marijuana is smuggled into the country, thus causing the drug czars to become rich off of American money which they may use, in part, to supplement their weaponry needs. So, through a chain of processes, Prohibition is actually fueling the very thing it is made to prevent. Marijuana’s Underground With the black-market marijuana industry becoming increasingly wealthy, the drug czars, are finding themselves dealing with several competitors.
(Legalizing Marijuana) The United States currently spends billions of dollars a year to chase marijuana users. (Legalizing Marijuana) These people end up in jail and taxpayers have to pay for their food, housing and all other expenses involved in keeping people in jail. Also by legalizing marijuana the government would be able to collect taxes on it and have more money to spend on the education of dangerous drugs (Why Marijuana Shouls be Legal). Another reason people support legalizing marijuana is for medical purposes. (Legalizing Marijuana) Marijuana helps relieve nausea suffered by cancer patients who are going through powerful chemotherapy treatments.
They believe by using it will bring a person closer to god they also believe that marijuana is the tree of life. Even though not all religions still practice smoking or drinking this herb, for the ones who do they should have the right to religious freedom. The great debate over the legalization of marijuana is costing taxpayers millions of dollars each year. If the lawmakers would just past the law it will help out the Americans people a great deal; by all the positive reason given people will start to see the good side of marijuana. Marijuana can and does help patients reduce pain and help them weight gain.
In 2009 an estimated 858,408 individuals were arrested for marijuana violation. Out of those whom were charged approximately 89 percent were only charged for possession. Depending on the state, the government spends 1 billion to 10 billion dollars annually on the prohibition of marijuana. According to economics professor Jeffery Miron of Harvard University the statistics prove that the American government is further crippling the U.S. financially. After endless amounts of research it has been concluded that legalizing cannabis would be the best financial decision for the United States.