Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind only alcohol and tobacco), and has been used by nearly 100 million Americans. According to government surveys, some 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 14 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it.(keith stroepe). Marijuana should be legalized for medical use across the country. Marijuana has been used medically, recreationally and spiritually for about 5,000 years. Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, marijuana was classified as a Schedule I drug because it was considered to have no “accepted medical use in treatment in the United

This paper will look at the benefits and drawbacks to legalizing marijuana by looking in at Colorado.The state made forty million dollars by taxed marijuana in 2014 alone, also Colorado saved countless millions because of the extremely lower amounts of marijuana arrest and court cases. It is not clear how having new recreational marijuana stores opening will affect the cannabis market, or businesses expanding around them. Gov. John Hickenlooper says that the economy is thriving with record setting numbers of tourists (73.1 million). 49 percent of those tourist said that legal marijuana influenced their decisions to vacation in Colorado. The ER’s in Colorado have also seen a rise in numbers of marijuana related cases and those cases in non-residents have almost doubled. An unexpected situation that arose from legal cannabis was the amount of electricity that is being use to grow the drug. Some cannabusinesses have to go green with solar or wind power. There are many varying views on the effects of legal marijuana have developed in Colorado since marijuana became legal in 2014.

Marijuana is amongst one of the most disputable subjects in political issues. It is the most exploited drug in the United States and can even be around the globe. Marijuana is the main source of substance reliance other than alcohol in the United States. Numerous groups in recent years have come forward and claim that marijuana use has been beneficial with numerous medical conditions. In fact, it has helped numerous people with diseases, for example, Glaucoma, Cancer, and any other physical or mental pain. Medicinal cannabis should be legalized in Florida, but should be regulated accordingly. The clear majority trust that marijuana use would be more beneficial if it was not criminalized but most still believe that the government should keep it as a controlled substance. In 2008, 4 million out of the 7 million individuals, ages 12 and older, characterized as having a reliance or abusing marijuana. This implies that two out of every three Americans experiencing any substance abuse have developed marijuana reliance. The legalization of marijuana in the United States such an issue for so many individuals today. Some believe that marijuana should not be legalized in Florida because of physical health, mental health, effects of driving under the influence of marijuana, and increase in use. Others believe that is it marijuana should be legal because of its harmless if used in moderation, limits of personal freedoms, and potential FDA regulations.

Since the first efforts to legalize marijuana in the 1960s, Americans have become progressively more accepting of requests to liberalize laws restricting possession and use of marijuana, but the shift has not been a straight line. After 11 states decriminalized marijuana possession in the 1970s, recoil led by suburban parents led too much harsher implementation of drug laws. But since California legalized medical marijuana in 1996, outlooks toward the drug have relaxed significantly.("A Brief History of Public Opinion on Marijuana Legalization.")

According to Mitch Earley, Ph.D., a psychology professor at the State University of New York at Albany and the editor of “Pot Politics: Marijuana and the Costs of Prohibition”, says, the United States government spent over five-billion-dollars on marijuana prohibition in 2000 (Earley 24). Earley also stated that legalizing marijuana would generate over six-billion-dollars in revenue annually if it were taxed like tobacco and alcohol (Earley 29). The national reporter for The Huffington Post, Matt Ferner wrote "Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized: 'Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.” In this article, Ferner concluded that Colorado will revenue about 60 million-dollars and experience a stimulation in job growth. In the same article, Ferner stated that “marijuana use among high school students in Colorado has decreased significantly since the state began regulating the sale of medical marijuana.” Not only will America have the ability to profit, but simultaneously regulate who purchases

The legalization of marijuana became a heated political subject in the last few years. Twenty-one states in America have legalized medical marijuana. Colorado and Washington are the only states where marijuana can be purchased recreationally. Marijuana is the high THC level part of the cannabis plant, which gives users the “high” feeling. There is ample evidence that supports the argument that marijuana is beneficial. The government should legalize marijuana recreationally for three main reasons. First, I will present two common arguments against the legalization of marijuana and then refute them. Second, I will explain how there is no proof of harmful effects from marijuana and that there are many health benefits prominent. Third, I will describe how legalization would bring in tax revenue for the government. Finally, I will go into detail on how legalization would decrease crime rates.

Marijuana has been prevalent in the United States of America since its birth in 1776. Currently, there is a prohibition on marijuana, similar to the prohibition of alcohol from 1920 to 1933. Most arrests in the United States are first time nonviolent offenders who are in possession of the illegal substance, due to this prohibition. Despite being illegal at a federal level, Colorado and Washington have passed laws to legalize medicinal and recreational use of the substance. On top of that sixteen other states offer medicinal marijuana, including the nation’s capital, the District of Columbia. Marijuana should be legalized in the United States of America as a whole, because of the amount of revenue that it would generate, the medicinal benefits that it can offer to those who are sick, and the legalization would stop the incarceration of nonviolent offenders who wish to use marijuana.

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First, let’s talk about the funds spent on marijuana. “60,000 individuals are behind bars for marijuana offenses at a cost to taxpayers of $1.2 billion per year. Taxpayers annually spend between $7.5 billion and $10 billion arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations” (Marijuana Decriminalization Talking Points). Legalizing marijuana will allow citizens to walk into a dispensary and pay for it

Marijuana or cannabis is a preparation of the cannabis plant intended for use as a hallucinatory drug and a medicine as well. The principal hallucinatory constituent of marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. Twenty three states and the District of Columbia has legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes in the United States. Legalizing marijuana has many benefits to it. Not only has marijuana been proven to counter act some symptoms of cancer and other diseases, it can also boost the economy and increase tax revenues. Along with all these things legalizing marijuana can also lesson crime rate and allow police and federal agents to focus

In reference to Colorado's one-year mark of legalizing marijuana, Matt Connolly states, “The state brought in $36.5 million in tax revenue through the first 11 months of 2014, all thanks to medical and recreational marijuana.” (Connolly) These new taxes will be allotted to schools, infrastructure, social service programs, and economic development. If people are already using the marijuana, why not legalize the drug, that way states are able to tax and regulate it? In addition to making money, decriminalizing marijuana will save states

Federally legalizing marijuana would bring many new jobs and a very big new source of tax income. "Colorado’s marijuana legalization is quickly turning the state into one of the most prosperous places in the country. Not only has Colorado projected marijuana sales to be a billion dollar industry, but in January of 2014 alone, the state pulled in over $3.5 million in tax revenue from legal pot sales. If that trend continues, the state will enjoy an additional $40 million in tax revenue in the first year of legalization. But that’s not all – you know those dismal unemployment figures plaguing the nation? Not in states where pot is legal. Colorado is reporting 10,000 new jobs, all from the legalization of both recreational and medical marijuana." 10,000 new jobs to each state in the United States would easily improve the market, less unemployment. "The state is now enjoying one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation – 6% – which is the lowest it has been since the recession started. So much for those old sayings about pot-heads being lazy. That’s an additional 10,000 people in a labor force out working, instead of collecting unemployment. That’s good for everyone." Marijuana tax income in Colorado and Washington have exceeded estimates made beforehand. Enforcing thousands of new jobs, making lots of new money, helping the medical world, and reducing crime rate in the United States it sounds as if marijuana should already be legal

The unjust imprisonment of American citizens with over-exaggerated jail sentences (pertaining to marijuana charges) is a very big problem in the US. I chose this topic because I had heard so many horror stories of people being sentenced at least 9-10 years on marijuana possession charges just to fill prisons, and it made me extremely upset. What angered me even more was the proof of racially motivated arrests/sentencing in many instances of unjust marijuana related arrests. While these people were “busted” for carrying marijuana and subsequently jailed for decades, rapists get out in 8-9 years on average (Sex Offender Attorney). Even more outrageous, almost all those charged with marijuana possession are sentenced/punished, while only 3 of

Economic analysts from all over the United States have predicted that we spend $20 billion dollars a year to fight a senseless war on marijuana. According to the United Nation over 94 million people in the United States have admitted to using marijuana at least once. This number is not shocking, because marijuana is a safe and harmless drug. Marijuana is used for several different medical purposes. It is also healthier than already legalized drugs. The prohibition on marijuana is failing, there is no valid evidence that it decreases drug use. People view marijuana in a negative light, because of the propaganda and bias opinions they have heard their whole life. If people would wake up and open their eyes, they will realize the legalization

In October 2015, Bernie Sanders said, “Too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana use. That’s wrong. That has got to change…In my view the time is long overdue for us to remove the federal prohibition on marijuana.” In our everchanging society, there is still a violent stigma surrounding the usage of marijuana, because most people are not properly informed of the facts. Cannabis is the third most widely used recreational drug, after alcohol and tobacco (About Marijuana). Yet, it is the only contender out of those three that is not legal. While marijuana is very addictive, recreational marijuana should be legalized because of the benefits it could provide for our economy and society as a result of the loss of business for drug dealers, less arrests and freeing of space in prisons, and major tax revenue.