Discuss The Benefits Of Legalizing Marijuana

The question of whether or not marijuana should be legalized for recreational and medicinal use has been a three decade long conversation. There are many pros and cons to legalizing marijuana. There are many different ideas about the effects of marijuana, but as with any drug answers are going to vary depending on the person you survey. Age, health, and mental stability are all factors to consider how a drug can positively or negatively affect you, and marijuana is no different. To be legal or not to be legal is the million dollar question up for debate.

Before 1937, marijuana was freely bought, sold, grown, and smoked in the United States. Since that time, all of these activities have been illegal, but many groups and individuals have fought to decriminalize marijuana. The congressional decision to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug in 1970 has made the legalization campaign more difficult, since it officially established marijuana as a dangerous, addictive drug with no medicinal benefits.

Marijuana is a naturally grown plant that has beneficial properties and the ability to create textiles, paper products, and other goods. Marijuana is currently illegal in many states in the United States. The legalization of Marijuana will produce enormous tax revenue, reduce crime, give us a renewable resource, and give sick and suffering patients a new effective medicine. The legalization of Marijuana in the United States would both benefit the well-being of its citizens as well the economy.

With all of the complex issues facing the nation today, it seems as if the legalization of marijuana is being set on the back burner of legislation. There are so many opinions, sides, and overall arguments for and against it that many vote seeking politicians and policy makers have put up a strong resistance to this issue. In this paper I will illustrate the reasons why I think marijuana should indeed be legalized and also the arguments from people who disagree and feel that it should stay an illegal drug.

According to a report put out by the British Police Foundation in March 2000, cannabis has been shown to produce less harmful effects than its other legal counterparts such as alcohol and tobacco. This kind of information calls into sharper focus the question on the minds of many as to why such a plant that is not only less harmful than legal drugs but has significant health benefits has remained illegal.

Every year, 400,000 Americans die of complications caused by tobacco products. Smoking kills more Americans each year than alcohol, crack, heroin, murder, suicide, car accidents, fires, and AIDS all put together. Every week, eight children under the age of eighteen die from alcohol related crashes. Alcohol abuse contributes to almost 50% of all traffic accidents, suicides, and homicides. However, despite the proven dangers of these "socially acceptable" drugs, they are still legal. Marijuana, a much less acceptable drug, is not legal however, despite the fact that research has yet to pin any specific dangers to this drug.

There has been major news forming around the legalization of marijuana in Colorado. Medical marijuana has been effective in Colorado since 2000. Now marijuana is legal for recreational use for people 21 and up. Many rules and regulations follow the legalization of marijuana. Many people of Colorado fear this legalization, where others are totally for it and think it will help boost Colorado’s economy. I have found many positives and negatives regarding the legalization of marijuana.

Experts say sales could reach $35 billion by 2020 if all 50 states and the District of Columbia legalize the drug...The ArcView Group, a network of cannabis-industry investors that includes venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, estimated the industry 's combined 2014 retail and wholesale sales (including medical marijuana) at $2.7 billion, a 74 percent increase over 2013, making marijuana the “fastest-growing industry in America,” according to the group”(Wanlund). This is one reason why marijuana should once again be legalized, it is one of the fastests growing industries in the nation. Why wouldn’t somebody want to legalize the plant. Marijuana doesn’t just affect the economy it affects the person using it.

Another Economic gain that results from the legalization of marijuana is that the demand for legal marijuana creates an untapped market that can help out small business to grow and create young, successful business leaders for example “Sally Vander-veer, president of one of the state’s largest dispensaries and cultivation of marijuana, which has over 70 employees and a payroll of about 3.8million a year, is bullish on her rapidly expanding

      There are many ways that marijuana would benefit the economy if legalized. An economy benefits when there is a healthy flow of monies within. This means internal spending by citizens on items of their choice. Citizen spending is what keeps the economy going. The use of citizen?s tax money would also be greatly affected. Tax money would be allocated more properly and used in more strategic ways. The taxation of items such as legalized marijuana brings a flow of money into the economy that would otherwise not be there. This increase of government funds would allocate more money to federal programs that are in financial need. Federal programs include public education, health education, treatment programs, etc. When the public?s way of

Marijuana will increase Americans profits greatly. About half of all U.S legalized marijuana giving us true answers how it has benefitted. Legalizing marijuana gives us a big profit and giving people better jobs, Denver is a good test case. An article the Freedom Beat cited, “In February, 1938, Popular Mechanics called Hemp a 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a money crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars if not more.” Legalize marijuana has and will boost the economy more and

Medical marijuana would have been helpful to my family-if it had been legalized in the state of Nebraska. Why is marijuana not legal in the state of Nebraska if it has been proven to help others in other states? The benefits of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes outweigh the cons. Many other states have recognised the benefits of legalizing medicinal marijuana. Marijuana has been proven to help conditions such as cancer, seizures and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (A.D.H.D). Medical Marijuana is also proven to be safer than the use of prescription drugs.

More than one in three people have experimented with marijuana in their lifetime. Meaning that if you’re living, breathing, and socializing chances are you’ve met thousands of people who have either tried or is currently dependent on marijuana. Whether it’s referred to it as cannabis, hemp, weed, pot, reefer, grass, or mary-jane, it’s gone global and has proven significantly difficult to control. There is no substantial research stating whether weed is clear cut good or bad for people to consume, but most doctors and counselors will tell you it's a no-go. Pot is detrimental to mental and physical health, your personality, and society as a whole and should only be legal in instances where death is inevitable. The negative side effects of this

There is many evidence which prove that many ancient civilizations had incorporated marijuana in their medical practices way back to 8500 B.C. Nowadays, marijuana is one of the most commonly used drug in the world. According to data collected by United Nation, approximatively 158.8 million people around the world consume marijuana. In United States over 94 million people have admitted to have use it at least once. But it is important to make the distinction between its illegal consumption just for recreational purposes and its legal consumption for medical purposes. It is not a secret anymore that it has been scientifically proven that marijuana reduces pains for patients suffering for severe diseases. In another hands, a lot of people misused it and it can be harmful so their long term health. Therefore, it becomes understandable why the legalization of

The "War on Drugs" has been fighting a tough opponent over the past few decades. Aimed at cutting down on drug use and sales, this "war" has brought many negative side effects along with it. Aside from limiting the freedoms of millions of Americans, The War on Drugs has caused many more problems while also managing to fail at drug deterrence and distribution. Since many citizens already back the legalization of marijuana, as demonstrated by Oakland's passing of Measure Z, which makes marijuana related offenses the "lowest priority" to Oakland law enforcement officials (Hill 2004), marijuana should be legalized.