Why We Should Legalize Drugs

Marijuana can help a person in many ways an individual person cannot. There are doctors who recommend marijuana to people with medical disorders. “The National Eating Disorder Association acknowledged marijuana as a viable treatment option.” (Arielle Pardes) One of the many physical effects marijuana has on someone includes a huge increase of appetite. Not only is it a good solution for people with eating disorders, it is also good for people who suffer with insomnia. “Cannabis Sativa L. has been utilized for treatments of pain and sleep disorders since the ancient times.”(Ethan Russo) Therefore, smoking marijuana helps people get the help they need to face the problems that they are suffering with.

The systematic scheduling of drugs in the United States is arbitrary which leads to a discriminative social injustice. Some psychedelic substances such as Psilocybin are schedule 1 drugs, while alcohol and nicotine are legal. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) both alcohol and nicotine are proven to be harmful and addictive (2017). Conversely, Psychedelic substances have not been proven to be addictive. This equates to a social injustice that discriminates over someone who may prefer the effects of psilocybin to nicotine, even under the science that has shown nicotine and alcohol have a higher potential for abuse. Unfortunately, many political factors come into play regarding the legal status of drugs and industries such as the pharmaceutical, tobacco and alcohol industries, who harbor the most money and have an influence in the legality of drugs whether they are safe or not. While legalizing psychedelic substances would most likely cut into profits for these large industries they would bring about economic benefits as well.

We should decriminalize drugs in the U.S. instead of legalizing them. Decriminalization refers to the lessening of criminal penalties of certain acts. According to De Marneffe, “… the legalization of drugs … [is] the removal of criminal penalties for the manufacture, sale, and possession of large quantities of recretational drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine” (346).

Marijuana is one of the most popular drugs in the world. Users most commonly use it by smoking its leaves, stems, buds, or flower to experience some sort of high. Scientists have discovered that not only does marijuana have an intoxication effect, but that it could be used for medical reasons as well. Marijuana has been tested by many scientists who would all agree that it should be legalized

Just Say No.” This phrase was uttered in 1982 by Nancy Reagan, the first lady of the United States, in response to a schoolgirl’s question of what she should do if offered drugs (Weinraub A5). These words became the slogan for a nationwide substance abuse prevention program that followed the then recently enacted drug policies intended to discourage the manufacture, sale, and use of illicit drugs in the United States. These zero tolerance policies carried harsh penalties and strict enforcement for all drug related offenses. Almost four decades later, these policies are still in effect, as is their focus on criminalization as a means to reduce the availability and usage of drugs. Their ineffectiveness is evidenced by the facts that drug use rates have remained steady over the past four decades and incarceration rates have exponentially rose during that same period. I believe that a new course of action should be taken, and a bold new drug policy should be enacted. Decriminalization would result in a substantial decrease of the prison population, relieve the unnecessary burden that has been placed on our criminal justice system, shift the paradigm from drug enforcement to drug treatment, reduce the health risk of HIV, AIDS, and heroin related deaths; and provide unprecedented benefits from the regulation of the manufacturing and sales of substances that are currently illegal.

If the United States were to legalize marijuana, then our country would reap the benefits. “A mature marijuana industry could generate up to $28 billion in tax revenues for federal, state, and local governments, including $7 billion in federal revenue: $5.5 billion from business taxes and $1.5 billion from income and payroll taxes(Marijuana Tax Legalization).” This fact given from TaxFoundation.org shows how if the marijuana industry could help reduce the Tax debt within our country. Many other drugs such as tobacco and alcohol are permitted to be used within our country but do not give us the same opportunity as legalizing marijuana does. “A federal tax of $23 per pound of product, similar to the federal tax on tobacco, could generate $500 million per year. Alternatively, a 10 percent sales surtax could generate $5.3 billion per year, with higher tax rates collecting proportionately more(Marijuana Tax Legalization).” Marijuana can and should be used to this country full potential in eliminating tax

For example In a time of economic recession and government debt of record proportions, it is extremely beneficial to look into the possible advantages of such legislation. By comparing analyzing areas that have already legalized marijuana, such as the Netherlands and some states in the USA, I believe thatS ome areas that would be affected are: employment, the demand for marijuana, taxation rates and potential government revenue, incarceration and enforcement costs, and social issues such as rehabilitation programs. According to my research, the United States government would experience an increase of $25,963,686,520 towards their budget It’s not just the feds, however, who would benefit; legalization would provide top-down economic improvements in local communities, state coffers, and more. In addition to bringing in funds, it would save regional and state governments substantial sums in currently wasted law enforcement dollars. Taxpayers spend billions of dollars a year investigating, arresting, trying, and jailing people for marijuana while failing to decrease its availability or popularity. The cost to communities with heavy arrest rates is staggering in terms of lost wages, job opportunities limited by criminal records, denial of student loans, and strained

Across the world people are looking for ways to either smuggle marijuana into the United States or find a “plug” to sell drugs to them. Constantly people being arrested for the usage of drugs, the most common being marijuana. In 28 states medical marijuana is allowed, but only 9 states are allowed to use it without a prescription. Marijuana should be legal for medical uses, getting high or stressing off, and we would benefit as a country.

To begin with, marijuana isn’t as harmful as once thought. According to Welch and Loria, in the article “23 Health Benefits of Marijuana,” there are many more benefits to consuming marijuana that science has tested and proven. One benefit of marijuana is for individuals that have the eye disease Glaucoma. This disease increases pressure inside the eye that causes fluid buildup in the trabecular meshwork. The pressure causes damage to the ocular nerve that can lead to blindness. THC, the active chemical in marijuana, lowers intraocular pressure in the eye that slows the progression of Glaucoma and prevents blindness in the individual. Marijuana also stops the spread of cancer. Cannabidiol, CBD for short, is a chemical in marijuana that binds to a gene called Id-1 and shuts it off. The Id-1 cells are breast cancer cells that replicate and spread cancer throughout the body. Within an effective amount of time, these cells spread throughout the body and replicates, causing other cells to mutated as cancer cells. So by effectively stopping the replication of Id-1, marijuana stops the spread of cancer.

America is a free country, let’s keep it that way. Legalization of marijuana will only impact the United States in a positive way. These positive effects has already been made evident in states such as California and Colorado. Marijuana has the capability of saving lives from a medical and economical standpoint. Americas expenditure on criminal justice would decrease, and the price of the tax on marijuana could help reduce America’s debt. Once marijuana is legalized the crime rate will decrease which is also helping our economy.

In the US thousands of people are jailed for having possession of marijuana and who pays for the inmates to be in jail we do and if its legalized then those thousands of people wouldn’t be in jail and will save millions of hard earned tax payer dollars. With the extra money the states are earning then they’ll be able to put the money to better use like roads, and better public facilities. Even though the unemployment ratehas been dropping in recent years marijuana will create thousands of jobs and dispensaries and things like that. With all the new jobs coming in the number will drop even more.

Legalizing marijuana is a heavy conflicting topic; some people believe it should be legal for recreational and medical use and others think it should be completely illegal. The benefits of marijuana mentally and physically are extraordinary and could affect America in a positive way. Legalizing marijuana would be beneficial to the United States and our citizen’s lives.

There is no denying that there are problems with the marijuana laws currently in place in the United States. Left and right, there are people using marijuana with blatant disregard to the fact that it is, in fact, prohibited. The black market for marijuana is surging out of control. As a result of this, drug-related street crimes have become more prevalent, which, in turn, has increased the number of offenders in prison for those crimes. This is very costly to the United States government. Also, there are personal dangers involved with buying drugs on the black market. By legalizing marijuana, the government could help solve the problems caused by the laws that are currently in place.

Besides marijuana being harmless and having copious medical benefits, legalization of it will also lower crime rates dramatically. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s annual Uniform Crime Report, in 2012, there were 1,552,432 arrests for drug violations, and of those arrests, nearly half (48.3%) of the arrests were for marijuana. This number is only rising and legalizing marijuana will eliminate that number entirely. The United States has the largest jail population in the entire world. Fifty percent of the offenses are drug related, and of that 50%, 27.6% are marijuana related. Legalizing marijuana will reduce the prison population tremendously. Even President Barack Obama supports legalization stating “It’s important for it to go forward.” There is a marijuana arrest every 42 seconds, and there are more marijuana possession arrests every year, than all the violent criminal offenses combined. The polices are too focused on fighting marijuana, when they should be diverting all their efforts into catching murderers, robbers, and rapists; the

Today in our modern society, many people believe that teen’s develop a mindset of having a clean system and to stay drug free. However, people are not able to foresee that the drug use in America has rising up tremendously. Studies have shown that drugs can not only have impact on your life, but also have impact on those who surround you and also can led to the absence of adolescence. It leads to bad habits and only brings evil deeds. The possession of drugs and the conspiracy sell is illegal in the Unites States. If arrest and put on trial due to drugs can mean serious jail time. According to the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, people are considered to have a substance use disorder. (Live Science) The Live Science states “... people have strong urges to use a substance or can't control their use of it, or if their use impairs them in social situations or leads to risky behavior.” Members of society have needs when a drug is being in place into there normal day routine. The report also states that an estimated 27.1 million people in the U.S. used an illegal drug in the past month. (Live Science) The mass-production, sale and possession of illegal drugs should be banned in the United States.