Marijuana Legalization COMP 1500 April 20th, 2009 Word Count: 807 Outline I. Introduction Thesis Statement: Although America is the land of the "free" you do not really have too many "free" choices you can make. Americans should have the right to choose whether or not marijuana should be legal. II. Background III. The tax benefits that can be created A. If legalized they can tax it how ever much they want B. Can be regulated IV. Drug enforcement money can be diverted. A. Can help other needy departments that lack money. B. Keep the court system and jails less full for real criminals V. It’s no more harmful then alcohol or tobacco A. Must use it in moderation. B. If abused it can cause …show more content…
Therefore; giving the government more money to spend on different governmental agencies that are in need of the extra cash flow. Not only would it give us more money for other departments but it would also keep are court systems less crowded and jails freer. “Many consider the War on Drugs an expensive failure. Resources for DEA, FBI, and border security are only the tip of the iceberg. You must add in the cost of police officers, judges, public defenders, prosecutors, juries, court reporters, prison guards, and so on. Legalization of marijuana would free up those people to concentrate on more important things like terrorism, harder drugs, rape, murder, and so on” (Should marijuana be legalized). Marijuana is proven not to be more harmful then tobacco, or alcohol if used with self-control. “Most doctors would agree that it's not very harmful if used in moderation. It's only when you abuse the drug that problems start to occur” (Should marijuana be legalized). But isn’t that true if you abuse anything problems start to occur? For example if alcohol, coffee, or food just to name a few are abused you could develop serious health conditions. But would you want the government to tell you how much food you could eat or how much alcohol you can consume when you go out? People should be able to make their own dictions when it comes to their health. So what makes marijuana any
The topic of marijuana has been a big topic for the past few years. The United States considers marijuana as a drug, in some other countries they say it is a natural herb that is grown from the ground. The issue at hand is “should marijuana be legalized?” the congress of the US stay in a constant debate on this subject. Why is the subject of marijuana such in high demand, if the US already considers it a drug? There are many facts that need to be looked at before a final decision can ever be made. In contrast since the past two weeks the state of Colorado became the second state in the US to legalize marijuana. Obviously it is possible for marijuana to be accepted into society, obviously there are as much pros as
Legalizing Marijuana Abraham Lincoln once stated that, "Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man 's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." In today 's society, this statement still applies in reference to the illegal use of marijuana. Marijuana prohibition causes far more harm than marijuana itself. Keeping marijuana illegal is expensive and causes crime. Out of four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three would not exist if drug prohibition laws were repealed. First, crimes which occur billions of times a year are producing, selling, buying, and
The United States jail more of its citizens than any other country (cato). Most of which are non violent criminals. This could be from the failed war on drugs and mandatory minimum jail sentences. It would be hard to recover from all money that has been lost. So could marijuana help all this? Its certain that it would give law enforcement more time and energy to stop crimes that actually endanger innocent people, and it could keep money locally and generate revenue from the taxing of cannabis, causing the drug cartels to have fewer drugs on the streets. Cannabis could save millions.
Marijuana is the most common drug in America and all over the world. It is legalized in some countries, but most countries prohibit its use. It has proven medical abilities and was used for this purpose for a while before being federally criminalized. The United States has been debating on the legalization of marijuana with some states supporting the move and others against it. ("10 Facts About Marijuana") Despite all these debates, the legalization of marijuana is the better option of the two. Legalizing marijuana will result in medical, economic and social benefits all over America.
If pot was made a legal drug it would also greatly affect the crime rates in the U.S. Legal prohibition does not stop consumers from purchasing or using illegal drugs. By instituting a system of regulations on the drug, as with alcohol or prescription drugs, illegal drug prices would fall, leading to lower prices of the drug, therefore related crimes such as theft would be reduced. Illegal drugs are higher in price because of the inherent risk involved in production and distribution of them, which gives them a “black market status”. When people develop drug addictions (although pot has not been shown to be addictive) or habits they will do anything to get money to support their lifestyles. Many times people will resort to robbery or theft to account for money to gain access to the drug. By legalizing pot, it in turn reduces the risks associated with an illegal drug and therefore can lower the prices, which helps cut down on the secondary crimes. Drug dealers are also affected by legalizing pot. Most marijuana dealers would go out of business because of a loss in profits. By making the drug illegal, the
By legalizing marijuana less harm will be caused. This creates high levels of crime; addicts are forced to commit crimes to pay for a habit that would be easily affordable if it were legal. Police sources have estimated that as much as half the property crime in some major cities is committed by drug users. More drastically, because drugs are illegal, participants in the drug trade cannot go to court to settle disputes, whether between buyer and seller or between
Since drug use is decriminalized, “Police arrest more Americans per year on marijuana charges than the total number of arrest for all violent crimes combines, including murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault (Marijuana Decriminalization Talking Points). People are more likely to go to jail for the use of marijuana than murder. Marijuana is not harmless to the world and less discrimination will decrease the amount of patrol stops, and having a criminal record for a crime that brings no harm to Americans. The funds Americans spend on drug stops can be for more severe crimes. Such as, rape and murder. Traffic stops take more paper work, scheduling court dates, and you may go to jail depending on how much you carry, it is really worth the time? The money? Citizens that are find and arrested for the use of marijuana, are more likely get the product from a family or friend. However, marijuana is less harm than
Legalizing Cannabis sativa will also play an instrumental role in the reduction of crime rates in all states in the US, in turn, freeing up resources (Wolff 1). It is estimated that a sixth of the entire prison population is mainly made up of individuals that are directly charged with marijuana. Thus, making the drug legal will significantly reduce
In Philadelphia marijuana, also known as pot, has recently become decriminalized within the city limits. This is due to the increasing popularity of the drug and the effects it will have on the public. Pot is still illegal under federal law even though more states are starting to adapt to the medical aspect of it. The possibility of gentrification if marijuana becomes a legal and recreational drug is limitless. With the legalization of marijuana, crime rates not just in the city but all over the united states will plummet. With crime rates dropping our police forces will have time to pursue other, more criminal acts. What also to look for will be a financial boom for our government as marijuana will be as taxable as cigarettes to help cut our
“Marijuana—also called weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane, and a vast number of other slang terms—is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves and flowers of Cannabis sativa—the hemp plant. Some users smoke marijuana in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints; Marijuana can also be used to brew tea and, particularly when it is sold or consumed for medicinal purposes, “(drug abuse).
Unstable seed varieties – These plants can be produced quickly and do not require breeding over multiple generations. Seed banks with a good name will typically not sell these kinds of seeds.
The legality of cannabis varies from country to country. Possession of cannabis is illegal in most countries and has been since the beginning of widespread cannabis prohibition in the late 1930s. However, possession of the drug in small quantities had been decriminalized in many countries and sub-national entities in several parts of the world. Furthermore, possession is legal or effectively legal in the Netherlands, Uruguay, and in the US states of Colorado, Oregon, Alaska and Washington as the federal government has indicated that it will not attempt to block enactment of legalization in those states. The federal district of Washington D.C. legalized cannabis for possession and use in 2015 but was blocked by a Congressional rider from instituting commercial sales and taxation. Cannabis is also legal in some U.S cities such as Portland and South Portland, both of which are in Mane. And the United States Department of Justice is allowing all recognized Indian Reservations to regulate the legalization of cannabis, and the laws are allowed to be different from Federal and state law. On 10 December 2013, Uruguay became the first nation in the world to legalize the sale, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis.
"In any civilized society, it is every citizen 's responsibility to obey just laws. But at the same time, it is every citizen 's responsibility to disobey unjust laws." Martin Luther King Jr. Many people ask “why should marijuana be legalized”? when the real question that we should be asking is “why shouldn’t marijuana be legalized”?. Marijuana also known as hemp is a naturally grown plant that has been around for decades dating back to around 2697 B.C., when the Egyptians would use it to cure many common ailments, and the Chinese would use it for therapeutics. Using marijuana not only to cure common illnesses but for your pleasure as well should be up to you the free citizens of California and not to the government. The first major reason
Despite, decriminalization of marijuana is causing much of a debate and commotion as the question becomes more of an issue. Marijuana is a major significant force in countries all over the world today. For the past years in Belize, many people were going to jail for small quantity of marijuana. The Government of Belize wanted to change that issued by decriminalizing small quantities of marijuana no more than 10 grams. The former police minister Douglas Singh who is also a member of the decriminalization committee, explained that when the committee did a statistical review for the period from January to September 2012, they found that 210 persons had received convictions for the possession of small amounts of marijuana, and there were fines
Marijuana is a controversial topic all across the United States. Recently marijuana has been voted on, legalized, and denied legalization in multiple states. There are still more states trying to fight the green fight for marijuana. The fight for legalization hasn’t been an easy one for cannabis supporters; they have been fighting tooth and nail to make it happen. One of the main concerns in the marijuana debates are whether or not marijuana is a gateway drug, one of the main reasons it was first made illegal (Narconon). What the long term effects of marijuana use are is another key question that must be posed before legalization can be determined. The economic effects have been, using Colorado as an example, increasingly positive. All of these factors must be taken into account in order to create an educated opinion on the topic of marijuana legalization.