Argumentative Essay On Legalization Of Marijuana

The legalization of marijuana has been a hot topic in the media for many years now. There is a major divide in those who believe it should be legal, those who do not, and those who think it could be legal with modifications on the usage. The number of those who support the legalization of marijuana is on the rise with nearly 50% supporting recreational marijuana legalization, and 81% supporting marijuana legalization for medical treatment as of 2015 ("Public Support for Marijuana Legalization, 2015”). Marijuana should be legalized on a federal level because it is safer than alcohol, it will increase the economy, and there is an unfair criminalization of marijuana.

In the United States, twenty-one states have no laws on legal marijuana use, even for medicinal marijuana. Another twenty-one have legalized marijuana for medical use only. As for the other eight, those states have legalized the use marijuana for medicinal and recreational. The states that have fully legalized marijuana have seen a boost in the economy due to taxes from marijuana sales. Along with helping the economy, marijuana is proven to provide medical aid for illnesses, such as cancer and Parkinson’s Disease. The legalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational use will be a benefit to society.

Growing up, I’ve always been taught that drugs are bad, and my parents have always told me that there is nothing good to them. I remember taking D.A.R.E in fifth grade, learning how marijuana was bad for you and that you should go to jail if you use it. My teachers and parents were my role models though, so I took in everything they told me as a fact, until now. Now I realize that drugs are a good thing. Drugs are a way of life, and they are used by millions of people everyday. There are drugs such as advil, which is used to help patients who suffer from many things, including headaches and fevers. But the drug i’m talking about is marijuana.

Legalizing marijuana is crucial to the medical field because many patients cannot use this marvelous plant to relieve their pain. This plant can help patients with multiple sclerosis, nausea from cancer chemotherapy, HIV, nerve pain, and seizure disorders. Many patients must go behind the doctors back and consume cannabis or give it to a loved one to relieve their pain. Only twenty-nine states have allowed the use of medical marijuana. Furthermore, that means that twenty-two states do not allow the usage of any form of Cannabis. Marijuana should be an all-around legal

Marijuana has been used in religious ceremonies or for medical purposes for thousands of years. I have always been against the use of Marijuana up until four years ago when my husband at the age of twenty seven underwent invasive surgery on his knee and has never been the same since. Colorado took a huge step several years ago legalizing marijuana for medical use and in recent years took the plunge to legalize it for recreational use. Marijuana is not always a bad thing nor is it always a good thing. A lot of people will compare it to any other mind altering substance and have very valid points. I would rather have a loved one or myself smoke marijuana or ingest it, instead of popping pain pills or other harmful substances put on the market by the pharmaceutical industry; Recreational use can be safe and accepting if it is regulated correctly and used responsibly.

With the future legalization of marijuana, it would boost the economy. It is estimated that Washington’s legalization of marijuana could bring in $500 million dollars in tax revenue per year, Nationwide. The inmates that are incarcerated on marijuana related charges cost the U.S 1 Billion dollars annually according to a 2007 study. In the state of Colorado, it raked in 53 million in tax revenues. Colorado enacted a Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR), which provides that if state and local tax revenue grows at a rate that exceeds the combined growth of the inflation rate and the population, the excess must be refunded back to the

Recreational marijuana is legal in Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Washington D.C. Many bills have been brought forth in other states to legalize the substance. In October, 2017, 64% of Americans believed recreational marijuana should be legalized. The debate about legalizing recreational marijuana is argued from moral and economic standpoints. From a purely economic standpoint, the US should legalize recreational marijuana, because it would create many jobs, bring in more tax revenue, and would save tax dollars by keeping many out from being arrested.

In America’s present-day society, it’s people are faced with the question of whether marijuana should be legalized or not. The issue brought with the legalization of cannabis is the fear that it is a gateway drug that will lead users to try other, harder drugs. More states have decided to legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use but not all agree with the decisions. There has been much research done to show the positive and negative effects of marijuana, itself, and the legalization of it; some concerns dealing with health, economic, and societal issues. Marijuana is a mixture of dried flowers of the Cannabis Sativa and may be consumed in many different forms. In a video made by ASAPScience called “ Your Brain on Drugs; Marijuana”, the speaker explains how the THC in marijuana is what creates the mind-altering effects on the brain, which considers it a “drug”, although it comes from a natural source. Some people are against the legalization of cannabis simply because it is considered a drug, which they may tend to stay away from in general. It is clear that both sides discussing the issue of whether marijuana should be legalized or not contain valid arguments, but there must also be a clear solution to what must happen.

The subject of marijuana legalization has been an exceedingly popular discussion topic in recent years and, as time goes on, only seems to grow more popular. This discussion has resulted in many arguments that support marijuana’s legalization. One popular argument says that since alcohol is worse for you, and alcohol is legal, marijuana should be legalized. However, this argument that marijuana should be legalized because marijuana’s effects when consumed or smoked are better than those of alcohol is a purposeless argument. This argument fails to consider the many negative effects marijuana would have on the individual, environment, and, society.

If marijuana is legalized it should be regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol and tobacco. As of now, marijuana is fully legal in Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, Washington State, and Washington D.C. According to a 2010 survey from Cato, “Legalizing marijuana would generate eight billion, eight billion, seven hundred million, dollars in federal and state revenue annually.” (Huffpost,2013). In 2014, Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use, as of now Colorado marijuana industry is worth one billion dollars. Legalizing marijuana would benefit states by providing them with much-needed tax revenue. According to Colorado Department of Revenue, in the first two months, the state collected six million dollars in tax revenue. (CDOR,2015) According to Colorado Department of Revenue, in 2015, the state saw nine billion, nine hundred sixty-two million, dollars in sales of marijuana. Colorado collected more than one hundred thirty-five million, dollars in taxes from the marijuana sales in 2015. (CDOR,2016) Washington State plans to raise nearly two hundred million dollars in marijuana tax revenue and fees in the next four years. Colorado uses a portion of their marijuana tax revenue to fund their

Marijuana is a well known drug that a lot of people have used either by smoking, or remedial way. There are many names use for it, such as weed, mary-jane and grass. Marijuana is one of the most debate and controversial issue; it has been an extensive debate with a valid argument in the United State today. Arguments for legalizing marijuana are not just an easy pros and cons argument in both national and local media. There have been growth rates of marijuana use among adults and youth in the United States, and this have made the headlines. There are different approaches and opinion to each arguments. There are three main arguments, the medicinal use, recreational, and the government enforcement. However, there are many positive points to support

Marijuana usage is a topic that has been discussed for some time now but the recent medical and recreational legalization of this drug has brought about a new area of unchartered territory. The business industry will have to revise many of their employment and safety requirements. After viewing some current policies many businesses are likely to be forced to established new protocols for intra and inner state practices. There are many types of complications as to why the marijuana usage laws should stay at the federal level and not within the state.

The question that is plaguing the nation is whether Marijuana or “Weed” should be legalized for recreational and medicinal use. There’s many benefits to legalizing Marijuana especially economically, because it creates a new market for states. Marijuana has already been legalized for recreational use in two states, Colorado and Washington and most recently at the election has been made legal in the states Maine, California, Massachusetts, and Nevada. According to DISCUS.org, alcohol alone generated $400 billion dollars in revenue and created nearly $90 billion in wages and over 3.9 million jobs for U.S. workers. Tobacco also generated a large portion of state's economy alone too, in 2010 cigarettes and other tobacco products produced $15.5 billion in revenue.

Legalization of medical use began in 1996 with California, and legalization for recreational use began in Colorado and Washington in 2012. Although marijuana use is still technically illegal under the federal government, there are twenty-six states, plus Washington DC, that allow some form of use. Of these, twenty-one have legalized medical use, eight have legalized both medical and recreational use, and five will no longer sentence jail time for possessing small amounts. All of these legalizations have happened in the last twenty years, showing just how much support has grown recently. In 2006 and again in 2016, Pew Research Center took a poll in which they asked people of all ages about legalization. In the ten years, the support for legalizing went up by thirty-two percent. (6.) It is very obvious from this data that support for this movement is growing, and it will continue to grow.

In a study for the Cato Institute, Jeffrey A. Miron, senior lecturer on economics at Harvard University, estimate that legalizing drugs would save the government approximately $41.3 billion annually on expenditures related to the enforcement of prohibition (Ghosh 2010). Marijuana is believed to be the nation's number one cash crop, exceeding the combined value of wheat and corn. This leading cash crop is legal in nine states now allowing adult-users recreational marijuana and 29 states have approved medical marijuana programs. However, many anti-legalization advocates say that the use of marijuana often leads young people to experiment with harder drugs such as, heroin, crack, etc. Marijuana legalization could reduce government costs, raise