Persuasive Essay : The Legalization Of Marijuana

Marijuana use is on the rise, especially among teenagers and young adults. With the recent laws passed in eight states about legalizing medical marijuana , many stand divided when it comes to this never ending debate, but I firmly believe that this miracle working drug should be legalized throughout the United States.

In a country where tobacco products and alcohol are legal, I have always wondered, why not cannabis? Why did this plant still have the stigma of being illegal when it does not cause any deaths, is not nearly as physically addicting, nor as harmful as its legal counterparts? Clearly, the law of marijuana prohibition is one that is up for debate and one that is up for change. Currently, many state laws have been passed that are either decriminalizing marijuana or allowing it for purely medicinal purposes. Although these laws are moving towards legalization, they do not come close to the actual goal. The definition of “legalization” advocates are striving to reach refers to legalized wholesale production, distribution, and sale to all marijuana users even for recreational purposes. Citizens have to realize that legalization is a realistic change that our country might be facing in the near future. Although liberals are leading the fight to end prohibition while conservatives are helping the law stand firm, this fight should not be one divided by political party. Every individual ought to be educated on the issue before saying yes or no to legalization. Before voting on this issue, I ask: What would the country actually be like if marijuana was legal?

To start off, I’m not what you would consider to be a stoner. I’ve smoked only a handful of times so I know the effects of pot, and how it can help quite a lot of people. I personally don’t believe that it should be illegal, so throughout this paper I will provide thorough information to persuade you towards the legalization of Marijuana.

To all the cancer patients or people with AIDS, marijuana has made all the nausea and appetite loss go away. The seed alone is only second to the soybean in nutritional value, with all its source of vitamins. For hundreds of years, the plant was used to produce our paper and clothes, and it is capable of producing four times the fiber than that of trees. I believe that the legalization of marijuana in The United States should happen, mainly for the use of medical usage. Many people will argue that it is only used for recreational use, but its oils have been used to help people with severe seizures or with constant pain. If marijuana was made legal it could be used to save so many lives. My goal with this paper is to reduce the ignorance and prejudice that marijuana gets, and inform the people of all the known and potential uses.

“Over the past year Colorado alone has gained 2.39 billion dollars just from the marijuana industry to be put back into the economy” said, Daniel White a Time journal writer. This is just one of the many different pros of the legalization of marijuana. Many of the states that have legalized marijuana are at the bottom of the poverty list for the country such as New Hampshire, Maryland, Connecticut, and North Dakota which are the in the top five for the lowest poverty rate. Legalizing marijuana nation wide would be a huge economic benefit for a couple reasons one being the medical benefit for people, another being the personal benefit that a person can take out of the experience, and the huge economic boost that the country would hit.

In 1973, marijuana was considered an illegal drug in the Marijuana Tax Act. Nevertheless, legalizing marijuana and its associated plant could benefit America as a country. The medical use of marijuana could comfort people who suffer from side effects from a disease’s treatment and help the treatment’s effectiveness. Hemp, which comes from the same cannabis plant as marijuana, could also help our world’s deforestation and natural gas situations. The legalizing of marijuana could help boost economy. Finally, it’s ironic how alcohol and cigarettes are legal, even though they place a greater impact on an individual’s health than marijuana. Marijuana legalization is a very controversial situation today; but the benefits that it offers and the advancements it has shown in states that have already legalized it, displays how useful this substance is.

Weed, an outbreak that was quick to be accepted into our society today originated back in 2737 B.C. It initially was used as a medical tool for the Chinese, helping with pain and used to help achieve a state of euphoria. 4,700 years later we are using the same drug, well almost. This drug has come back new and improved giving you a “better high”, and a more severe addiction. Although it has been medically proven that being addicted to THC itself is impossible, it’s the euphoric feeling that gets people hooked; the flooding of dopamine in your system is what gets you addicted. Marijuana has made a massive comeback with Washington and Oregon legalizing the use of recreational marijuana. These are not the first states to take this horrid step, Colorado, Alaska, California, Massachusetts, and Nevada have all taken on the dangerous epidemic of legalizing this drug. Trying to be cautious of the side effects legalization has on the economy the state government has set the legal age to smoke, sell, and grow at twenty one in hopes of avoiding marijuana use in teens. Despite these standards being more or less suitable, they are not powerful enough to help evade the usage rate in younger age groups. This rate is known to increase when marijuana is legalized. The Governors seem to think that just because the legal age to smoke is twenty one, that the use of weed in younger age groups of kids will not be evident. This statement has time and time again proven to be wrong on most fronts.

The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. Substances in this schedule have no currently accepted medical use in the United States, a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision, and a high potential for abuse. Despite this classification, there is a rising concern on the use of marijuana for various purposes all over the world. Since marijuana was among the known illegal drugs in almost all states of the world, there have been many mixed reactions on the proposed legalization of the use of marijuana. According to scientists, marijuana can be used for the therapeutic purpose for various ailments (Morgan, 2011). The issue of marijuana is that not all states have legalized the use of this drug for whatever purpose. After putting some facts into considerations, the federal government should legalize marijuana as a solution to treat serious ailments, enhance livelihood, and as an alternative to various pharmaceutical drugs.

3.6 billion is how many tax payer dollars are spent each year enforcing marijuana prohibition laws in the United States, according to an article published by the Washington Post in 2016. This is a substantial amount of money being spent on a substance that has never killed anyone. Not only has no one ever fatally overdosed on marijuana but it also has many medicinal uses. In the past few years we have seen economies thrive in states that have legalized recreational marijuana, bringing in millions of dollars in tax revenue. But for the people who are not fortunate enough to live in a state that has legalized recreational marijuana, getting caught with the substance can potentially ruin your life and even put you in prison or jail. In the United States we allow easy access to a substance that can cause multiple types of cancer but make it difficult and illegal to obtain a substance that can fight and kill cancer cells, with that being said I believe the time has come to end the federal prohibition of marijuana.

A class I drug, Marijuana sees itself on top of the popularity chart as America’s most used illegal drug. The serve popularity of this drugs brings about the question of whether the United States should make it a legal drug. This question develops as states adopt laws which legalizes this drug. Currently eight states have or are currently in the process of completely legalizing marijuana for recreational use and an additional twenty-one states have legalized this drug for medical use. With Marijuana rising popularity, the federal government should legalize the drug for recreational use as it will help keep people out of the jail system and bring profit into the American economy.

Legalizing the street drug marijuana is just one of those topics that most people have pitched into and has something to say about it. Marijuana refers to the dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica plant. The plant contains the mind-altering chemical THC and other similar compounds. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Its use is widespread among young people; and in 2015, more than 11 million young adults ages 18 to 25 used marijuana in the past year. In the United States of America, twenty-nine states have marijuana legalized in some way or form. From those twenty-nine states, there are eight states that have it legalized for recreational usage, but out of those states all of them prohibit the usage of the drug on public properties. For any and every person in the United States to be able buy the cannabis plant out of a dispensary in one of the legal states, you have to be 21 years of age or older.

When the term marijuana comes to mind, most people think of drug addiction, because that is all they know about the drug. In reality, marijuana has a substantial amount of health benefits, including stimulating an appetite, pain management, and benefits to chemotherapy. The legalization of marijuana would also be a boost for the economy of America, which is in dire need of help. Defenders of marijuana not being legalized believe all the drug does is impede judgment and impair speech, as well as a few other effects. The overall health of Americans has decreased substantially in cases of mental illnesses, cancer, etc. The use of cannabis oil (derived from marijuana) has proven to be effective in treating these illnesses. In order to please both sides, a 28th amendment should be added to legalize marijuana in a fixed amount prescribed by a certified doctor, for medicinal use only.

Carl Sagan once said in an anonymous essay, “The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world” (Ingraham). For decades, the prohibition of marijuana has negatively affected residents in the United States, from long prison sentences to missed tax income opportunities. The legalization of recreational marijuana would benefit both users and non-users of the drug in the United States.

The legalization of cannabis has been a very popular topic lately. A large majority of Americans feel that cannabis products should be legal in the United States. With new research we have found that cannabis is basically harmless, and is safer then legal products such as alcohol and tobacco. Most states have already legalized medical usage, and more states are following the trend of Colorado to legalize recreationally.

"…. legalization still resonates with people beyond the stoner crowd who see marijuana as a largely harmless substance.... (Brannon, page 1) The legalization of marijuana is an ongoing debate between the stoner crowd and the upright higher-ups, in society. According to Trends eMagazine, weed sales in the U.S will exceed in $7 billion in 2016. " Which will boost our American economy tremendously, through overall sales and takes. These government officials should be leaping towards the opportunities for more money for their careless spending, instead of investing in trying to enforce this marijuana prohibition.