Essay about Pro Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana is a misunderstood drug. Many assume that the usage of marijuana, or cannabis, is dangerous, but it can be the exact opposite. So why is the legalization of marijuana in the United States such a problem for many people today? Considered to be a gateway drug and the reason for the downfall of our youth nowadays, marijuana has developed a negative reputation. Lester Grinspoon, a professor at Harvard University, states, “Few drugs in the United States have produced as much affective heat as marijuana, particularly during the last decade. The controversy essentially revolves around the question of how dangerous or safe the drug is." However, many people are persistent users and believe that this drug is no more harmful than

The use of marijuana for medicinal purposes is a long-standing controversy. For centuries marijuana was prescribed to alleviate symptoms associated with a variety of illnesses. Anti-medical marijuana sentiments began with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. In 1970, the Controlled Substances Act banned the use of marijuana completely, categorizing it as a drug with no medicinal value, high abuse rates, and detrimental health effects (http://www.farmacy.org/prop215/apha.html). Since 1996, numerous states including California, Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have passed medical marijuana initiatives supporting the right to prescribe marijuana for seriously or terminally ill patients (http://www.marihemp.com/marimed.html). The American Public Health Association and the Institute of Medicine represent two organizations that have recently researched and endorsed advancements in the study of medical marijuana. Both groups support the use of marijuana for specific treatments, such as reducing nausea in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy, stimulating the appetites of AIDS victims, and limiting spasticity in MS patients.

During the same period, FBI resources devoted to drug enforcement increased from $8 million a year to over $100 million; U.S. Marshals resources from $26 million to about $80 million; U.S. Attorney resources from $20 million to about $100 million; U.S. Customs resources from $180 million to about $400 million; and Bureau of Prison resources from $77 million to about $300 million. Expenditures on drug control by the military and the intelligence agents are more difficult to calculate, although by all amounts they have increased by at least the same magnitude and total hundreds of millions of dollars per year (8-9). Federal, state, and local government spend about $75 billion a year on law enforcement and criminal justice programs. About $20 billion of that is directly related to drug law enforcement. Roughly another $15 billion is related to crimes committed to obtain drug money or is systematically related in some way to drug commerce. This means about $35 billion per year is spent on drug law enforcement and lost by crimes committed to obtain drug money. The $35 billion along with money squandered on the ineffective drug suppression activities of the government, and the money lost as a result of the unnaturally high price of drugs, creates a $100 billion total (Duke 354-355). Benson Roe believes, "It is time to recognize that the problem is

For the sake of building off the previous entry, I would like to incorporate a couple of marijuana related legal statistics from Steven Nelson’s article Police Made One Marijuana Arrest Every 42 Seconds in 2012. The Federal Bureau of Investigation released data on the crime figures for drug-related crimes in 2012 and it showed that a staggering 749,825 people were arrested for marijuana related offenses; that is one arrest every 42 seconds. It also accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests. Even with the recent upsurge in public support for the liberation of the drug policy, police arrested the same number of people in 2012 on pot-related charges as they did in 2011. These numbers have led many people to begin forming advocacy groups geared to decriminalize the drug. Dan Riffle, the director of

Moreover, the US government spends upwards of a billion dollars of public money mostly taxes collected

Marijuana has been prohibited since 1968. You would think that because it is illegal, most would stop using the substance. But in fact, in the past 30 years, 10 million people have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the U.S. (Glasser, 2000) With so many people getting in trouble for this

Both of these statements directly deviate each other in regards to the drug or treatment of medical marijuana for a patient in need of intermediate care. If a patient walks into a clinic and one of the only liable drugs that can help their illness, such as chronic migraines, neuropathic pain, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, HIV, nerve pain, or seizures, is medical marijuana, it puts the doctors in an very limited direction on how to help treat the patient. If a physician were to prescribe medical marijuana to a deserving patient, they could have their license stripped and would not be able to continue a job they have studied and trained to work in. Doctors, according to a nationwide poll provided from WebMD Health-News, are currently pushing for the legalization of medical marijuana use, saying it should be an option for patients. A sum, sixty

Americans nationwide have been using marijuana for decades due to a variety of reasons. Talks of marijuana legalization and marijuana use across the country has rapidly grown and America is getting one step closer to becoming a “weed nation”. Many Americans disagree with the legalization of marijuana, but a majority of voters believe recreational marijuana should be legal nationwide. Last year alone, nearly twenty tons of marijuana was sold to recreational and medical users, which resulted in $63 million in tax revenue and an additional $13 million in licenses and fees. Legalizing and regulating marijuana will bring the nation's largest cash crop under the rule of law, creating jobs and economic opportunities in the formal

Marijuana prohibition stands as one of the most unwarranted policies of the United States. Every year we are spending billions of dollars on the War on Drugs with little benefit. Data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show there were an estimated 1,552,432 arrests for drug-related crimes in 2014 – a slight uptick from the 1,531,251 drug arrests in 2013. Marijuana offenses accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests. Most marijuana-related arrests were for possession of the drug. By mere possession, there was one marijuana arrest every 48 seconds in 2014. Including arrests for distribution, there was a pot-related arrest every 42 seconds. This prohibition makes no sense, especially in a country where alcohol use is

“In the past year, the population in America’s jails and prisons has grown to 6.9 million, including those on probation and parole. A 1999 study showed that 60,000 individuals were behind bars for marijuana use. This cost taxpayers $1.2 billion.” (Stevens) There are more arrests made on marijuana charges than violent crimes combined. These violent crimes include assault, rape, robbery and murder.

Marijuana became big in the united state around the time of the prohibition. The use of the drug went from there, and started to become a large problem. The United States can greatly benefit from the legalization of Marijuana use. In the States, Marijuana

There has been a controversial issue sweeping the globe over the past few years and an abundance of areas of the world are divided on it, and it’s name is marijuana. From 2001 to 2010 in the United States alone, over seven million people (closer to 8.2 million) were arrested for marijuana related crimes and in 88% of these cases the crime was for simply having marijuana, not even for growing, selling, or just simply being intoxicated from the use of marijuana (ACLU). Having been a witness to marijuana related arrests before, just possessing this naturally occurring plant on your person can be detrimental to one’s social life. Just a single arrest for marijuana on someone’s record can completely debilitate the market for future occupations,

Today, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state, and Washington, D.C. have all legalized medical and recreational marijuana. Additionally, there are also twenty other states that have made medical marijuana legal. Furthermore. about fifteen states are trying to pass laws in which marijuana would be decriminalized (DeMaria, M.). In our opinion, another aspect we would also like to point out is the concept of lessening the overcrowded prison system. Just think how many first time offenders could be exonerated if marijuana was deemed

The effects the laws have on America’s economy and prisons are other detrimental aspects of the laws prohibiting marijuana possession and use. Not only does enforcing marijuana prohibition cost taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually, it also results in the arrest of more than 734,000 individuals every year. This figure is much greater than the total number arrested for all violent crimes combined, including: murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault. This

A number of movements to legalize marijuana have been gaining attention lately. Currently there are 14 states where marijuana is legal for medical use (medicalmarijuana). 41% of U.S. citizens believe marijuana should be legalized (drugpolicy) but others are still concerned about health damage. American society has lost the war against marijuana, and that's okay. We should stop wasting time and money trying to reverse history and instead legalize both medical and recreational use of this mild narcotic widely seen as no more harmful than alcohol.