Prop 19 Pros and Cons Essay

Legalizing marijuana will lead to many societal benefits that will reduce illegal activity while helping the government control the use of the substance and making a profit that can be used to help taxpayers. Marijuana is not a dangerous drug and should be legalized because it does not cause harm to anyone and by legalizing marijuana the government will take control of marijuana distribution and it can benefit a lot of people in many ways. If the government controls the market for marijuana people would no longer be in danger of trying to acquire it illegally and there would be tax for selling marijuana which will benefit both the government and society. By legalizing marijuana the government can make laws about its use.

The exact definition of a juvenile is a “young person” who has yet to reach their 18th birthday. The average life expectancy of someone living in the U.S. is about 79 years old. Proposition 21 requires juveniles to be viewed and tried as adults, including receiving adult punishment such as a life sentence. If a juvenile receives a life sentence before they reach adulthood, more than three-fourths of their life is gone (“California Proposition 21”). Juveniles don’t even have a fully developed brain and as a result, can’t fully understand the circumstances that they find themselves in. Courts must not be given the power to try and sentence juveniles as adults because the environment in adult prisons are for adults, not juveniles, therefore, Proposition 21 should be repealed.

It is universally known that the legalization of marijuana comes with certain risks. But none of these risks are not already existing, legalizing marijuana would only help with regulating the usage and the sale of the substance. At the same times it would also have positive effects on the environment including the people. Of course the possible money gain to support schools, infrastructure and to fight criminals would be one of the biggest

Socially, legalizing marijuana would create a safer nation and economically, the US has the potential to earn billions of dollars in extra revenue that the economy desperately needs.

The dispute over the legalization of cannabis sativa, more commonly known as marijuana, is one of the most controversial issues ever to take place in the United States. Its use as a medicine has existed for thousands of years in many countries across the globe. Legalization should be considered despite efforts made by groups who say marijuana is a harmful drug that will increase crime rates and lead users to other more dangerous substances. The legalization of marijuana can improve our society by helping with our economy, freeing legal resources, and benefiting the overall health of the nation though medical uses.

Legalization of marijuana is an important issue; most people recognize it as “harmful and addictive,” from the essay “Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized,” while others regard the ban on marijuana as ineffective, expensive, and unjust (1). According to Senator Bernie Sanders, “too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana use. That’s wrong.” The ban is unjust for Americans because it is a complete waste of our tax dollars to continue criminalizing citizens for marijuana use. Legalization of marijuana in every state will be beneficial; for our economy, medical value and breakthroughs, lowering crime rate, aiding people who are victims of drug abuse, and more. The following paragraphs will explain further.

Also, street violence would fall as a result of decriminalizing marijuana. The problem with marijuana being illegal is it causes people to resolve their disputes themselves instead of through law enforcement (Nick). This means that street gangs would have significantly less power than what they have now. A good analogy is how much power prohibition gave to Al Capone and other mob related persons. Americans who want marijuana legal don’t like giving street thugs power and money. Marijuana legalization makes us all safer, especially the kids. This is because of one simple fact, drug dealers don’t ask to see ID. Many teens have an easier time getting marijuana than they do getting alcohol or cigarettes. It may sound counter-intuitive, but legalizing marijuana would put street dealers out of business who don’t care about the people they are selling to.

There have been some pretty apparent pros that have come with the legalization of marijuana. The state has put a hefty tax on the sale of marijuana, which has generated a lot of income. The state has used the profits for all sorts of things that will help to improve the lives of the people living there. “The first 40 million of this tax revenue is earmarked for public schools and infrastructure, as well as for youth educational campaigns about substance use.”(Roberts, Jeff). They have used these profits to improve education, infrastructure, and the local governments. So far it has generated hundreds of millions of dollars that have gone to the groups that were listed and many more. “It’s going so well in Colorado in 2015, that pot shops sold both medical and recreational weed for about $700-million with two months of sales

Having marijuana legalized would bring out a whole new smell to California neighborhoods. Proposition 64 allows the legalization of recreational use of marijuana to adults 21 and over, while changing the criminal penalty with marijuana related crimes. A problem happened before with proposition 19 in 2010 where many opposed the “Regulate, Control & Tax Cannabis Act.” The times have changed with the idea of marijuana being a “gateway drug” and the majority now are supporting for proposition 64 to pass.

The benefits for legalizing Marijuana in Arizona would give schools $40 million a year. The money would go to k-12 school operations, maintenance, and all day kindergartens. The new bill that might be passed takes away about $3 million from Glendale Union High School Districts. This not only affects students in high school and in lower levels, but also future college students as the budget cuts would cause new “College and Career Ready Standards”. This can not continue as more money should be going into the Arizona education funding, instead of more money being taken

Abraham Lincoln once said "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.” The prohibition of marijuana has proven to be a failure and a waste of resources. In addition, prohibition has hurt society more than it has helped. Also, marijuana can be used as a medicine to treat many life threatening illnesses. The legalization of marijuana will generate enormous tax revenue, reduce crime, and give sick patients a new effective medicine.

Marijuana is a drug that is spreading all around the world and is now proven to be the most beneficial drug out there. More than 25 million Americans annually use it each year. If the country legalized it then everyone would have more jobs available to go around such as harvesters, dispensary clerks, distributors, or croppers. Thus, the unemployment rate is lowered and America could make more money if they taxed it (Jack). Not only could they tax it but also save more money because they would not have to lock up those people getting arrested every year. That way America could lower the country’s debt and then there is a lot less people in prisons. It would save the country billions of dollars each

The cons and pros of the legalization is taken into consideration of this major decision. The major negative side effects is that people that use marijuana have lower IQs. The IQ drop is mainly found in developing brains of teenagers, so the next problem is the buying age and minor usage. Additionally studies show people that use marijuana are more likely to pick up a disorders and diseases if not otherwise (O'neil, 2016). The increase of people who are dependent of social security because of marijuana use can negatively affect the economy. One of the pros is that tax revenue will increase with marijuana huge popularity. Taxes of this huge demand can be placed on many groups such as farmers, distributors, and buyers. The taxes as stated can be placed on the federal, state, and county levels in which each can use the revenue in their own ways to further the communities projects. An example of a state's increase of power is our neighbor state of Colorado; with the sales of marijuana they were able to build, reconstruct, and create new schools across the state (O'conell, 2016.). This a huge benefits for our children, to get better education. Another advantage is cleaning the crime in the streets, and making this "drug dealer" get real jobs. A real world example is the Netherlands, in which the Dutch have coffee shops to sell the substance (Government of Netherlands, 2016). Our government can improve on that system, by selling certain amount of marijuana, during a given time. Another improvement is to create a certain database to control the amount sold. Another rule that the Dutch have implemented is the sale to residents of the country. The outcome of this happening has a lot of better outcomes for benefits, then failures, and that why it should be

Marijuana is the cause of much commotion and debating, as the question of legalization becomes more of an issue. Drugs are a major influential force in countries all over the world today. Legalization is an option that has not had a chance, but really should be given one. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of drug use, legalization would benefit for the following reasons: 1)reduction of money spent on law enforcement 2)increase in the countries revenue 3)lessen crime 4)useful in treating certain medical conditions.

If marijuana were legal, it would also bring a significant source of revenue to the United States. A lot of money currently is spent on drugs, and most of it goes to illegal operators outside of the country. If legalized, the pot revenue would go to Americans. In the current economic climate, this would definitely be welcome. A tax could also be put on the drug, and the companies that grew and possessed the plants would have to pay income taxes to the government. It is possible for marijuana to become one of the number one cash crops in though whole country. And with all the people who would smoke it, or use it in other ways, it could quickly become one of the main stimulators in our economy.