Persuasive Essay On Decriminalizing Marijuana

633 Words3 Pages
Every year in the United States several hundred thousand non violent drug users are incarcerated in prison. Of these non violent drug offenders the overwhelming majority of them are arrested for the lone possession of marijuana, ostensibly for personal use. In the last decade alone more marijuana users have been put in prison than murderers, rapists, thieves, and any other violent criminals combined. The current legal system must be manipulated to use the citizen’s tax money more efficiently towards incarcerating real criminals as opposed to unnecessarily spending billions to keep marijuana users in prison. By eliminating society’s laws levied against marijuana users, taxpayers in America can save billions of dollars that may be allocated towards other threats. Marijuana users…show more content…
Former Administrative Law Judge of the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Francis L. Young stated that, “In strict medical terms, marijuana is safer than many foods we commonly consume”. Marijuana has been scientifically proven to help alleviate these following medical conditions: AIDS, Alzheimer’s, Anorexia, Arthritis, Cancer, Chronic Pain, Depression, Gastrointestinal Disorders, Glaucoma, HIV, Menstrual Cramps, Migraines, Movement Disorders, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Spasticity, Parkinson’s Disease, Peripheral Neuropathy, Scoliosis, Seizure Disorders, Epilepsy, and Nausea. The DEA’s Francis L. Young also stated that, “It is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death.” In 2006 statistics compiled show that cocaine usage took an estimated 10,000 users lives, 100,000 died from their usage of prescription medicine, 150,000 died from their alcohol consumption, and a whopping 450,000 died from tobacco products in stark contrast with the 0 deaths attributed to Cannabis
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