Some people think that legalizing marijuana is the only choice left. (Legalizing Marijuana) Others who disagree say that making marijuana legal will create more drug addicts and drug related crimes. (Zive, 2010) The people that want to make marijuana legal say that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. (Why Marijuana Shouls be Legal) We should have the right to make choices for ourselves as long as we are not harming others with our choice. The use of marijuana is far less harmful than other
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.
Legalizing Marijuana Pamela Horton SOC 120 Introductions to Ethics & Social Responsibility George Greaves October 29, 2012 Some people believe that marijuana is not a drug it is a plant. Many my agree that it is a natural herb planted to help cope with stress of everyday hectic lives. Anything that alters your state of being, or have you doing things out of the norms is a drug. The pro-legalization argument was that if we legalize marijuana it could not be controlled and the efforts to try to control marijuana uses causes more problems than they solve. I feel that if we legalize marijuana we would have a bunch of fried brain lunatics running around committing all kinds of crimes.
This is because the federal government would regulate and tax Marijuana, similarly to alcohol and tobacco. The federal government on average collects close to 7 billion dollars a year just from tobacco. If Marijuana were to be legalized the taxes would be projected to be the same. This means an extra 7 billion dollars a year for use on programs and could be used to prosecute criminals for harsh crimes such as murder and robberies. An estimated 1,663,582 arrests were issued in 2009 alone, this is an extreme amount of arrests, and it’s aiding to the overcrowding of jails.
They say that marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol or tobacco products so why shouldn’t it be legal? One of the biggest things on people’s minds is the money that can be made from the growing and selling of marijuana and how much the government wastes each year trying to fight a losing battle on the war against marijuana.
While marijuana comes from the earth and is natural, man makes alcohol. Some would say the alcohol is worse for you because it is man made. On the other hand, moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with better health and greater longevity. Marijuana has also never been linked to cause lung cancer, unlike tobacco. So the question remains to how long marijuana will be illegal, or if it will ever be legalized.
Stack (2011), “It wasn't until 1914 that drug use was defined as a crime, under the Harrison Act,” (para. 4). Use of Cannabis is seen throughout history and became taboo in the eyes of Americans after finding that many medicinal drugs used were found to be addictive. To this day all narcotic drugs used to treat a variety of conditions are proven to be addictive and are all still widely used in the practice of medicine. Ethical issues and a lack of research studies that prove the effectiveness of Cannabis are the reason the drug has not be legalized in all states.
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.
Final Paper 5/13/2011 Marijuana in California. The debate regarding the legalization of soft drugs such as marijuana is capable of being characterized as one which pits the concept of freedom of the individual against the concept of a paternalistic State. Advocates of legalization argue that amongst other things, marijuana is not only less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, which are legal substances, but also as a matter of fact has been proven to possess certain medicinal property. The people who support the legalization are member of law enforcement and medical professionals, who really know how ineffective and unnecessary in stance prohibitionist. In contrast, those opposed to legalization argue that the legalization of marijuana will
The fact that marijuana is considered a Schedule One drug also has negative effects on the use of medical marijuana. A Schedule One drug means it currently has no accepted medical use and is highly addictive. Some states have passed their own laws about medicinal marijuana but can still be held under the United States executive laws. Medical marijuana cannot be legally prescribed by a doctor, it can only be recommended. It is then left up to the patient to find a medical marijuana clinic and obtain a legal medical marijuana card.