Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

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.")

To legalize or to not legalize drugs, that is the popular question lately. The current repeat visitor to each states legislative sessions is making marijuana legal. Currently in the United States there are twenty states with legal medical marijuana and the District of Columbia. Out of those twenty only Colorado and Washington have also legalized marijuana for recreational use. When it comes to legalizing drugs marijuana appears to be the most popular one being advocated for. However, does that leave the door open for other drugs to be advocated for as well? Should they all be legalized or just a select few?

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.

Decriminalization provides a solution the problems related to drugs. Decriminalization is not making drugs legal, it is treating the drug addicts as a patient instead of making them feel like they are criminals and putting them into a jail although selling drugs is still illegal. Drugs must be decriminalized because decriminalization has proven that the death rates and crime rates have decreased and the use of drugs have decreased in decriminalized countries such as Portugal, Uruguay and drugs have decriminalized in some of the states in Unites States of America.

Marijuana usage has been on the rise for the past decade. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, over 94 million Americans have admitted to using marijuana at least once (2015). This can be said to be a pandemic, which is continuing to increase. Even though the recreational usage of marijuana is illegal within most of the United States, it continues to be used and is widely sold in the black market. States have started to realize that taxing the recreational use of marijuana can bring in more revenues for the state. Currently, four states and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana by taxing it (CNN, 2015). Taxing the recreational use of marijuana can be beneficial to states, but it will be competing with the tax of medical marijuana, which will be less and the illegal sales from the black market. States have to provide a reasonable tax with incentives, so that people would want to purchase recreational marijuana instead of purchasing it illegally.

Colorado schools have earned $13.6 million of funding in the first five months of 2015 from the recently legalized sale of recreational marijuana. This is a major increase from 2014 with a total of $13.3 million being paid for the entire year. All of this rapidly growing revenue is being generated through the taxes paid by the marijuana sales industry. This substantial sum is a part of an approved excise tax of 15% on wholesale marijuana sales which orders that 15% of the taxes be used strictly for the construction of new schools. This, of course, comes from the total marijuana tax revenue which has already reached over $60 million in 2015 alone as of August. This unprecedented increase in state revenue and school funding is one of the most obvious benefits to the legalization of recreational marijuana.

The legalization of Marijuana in the United States has been a hot controversial topic in the past few years. Marijuana is classified by the Controlled Substance Act as a schedule 1 drug, meaning there are no medicinal benefits and has a high risk of being abused. Marijuana has been illegal since the 1930s, after newspapers falsely exaggerating violence committed by immigrants intoxicated by marijuana. Along with the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics caused marijuana to become illegal based on propaganda.( http://norml.org/component/zoo/category/norml-report-on-sixty-years-of-marijuana-prohibition-in-the-us) Many people still are still unsure if legalizing marijuana is a good idea. Despite this, many states are seeing positive effects since the legalization of marijuana on a state level.

Today, more than 20 states are currently approving the use of Medical Marijuana. Gathering statistical data from Gallup Politics in 2013, 58% of Americans say the drug Marijuana should be legalized, for the first time ever recorded. Gallup had first asked the question of legalization in 1969, when only 12% favored legalization. Had I been included in the study, I likely would have been for the legalization. Medical Marijuana had been used for centuries prior to it becoming illegal, and it is important to know what decided the illegalization of medical marijuana, whether there is currently a benefit of treatment with medical marijuana, and the regulation of Marijuana.

Cannabis also known as Marijuana has become a widely known and controversial topic in the United Sates. It is currently legal for recreational use in Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. Medicinal Marijuana has also been legalized in 11 other states. Many people are against the idea of legalizing marijuana for medical use in all states for reasons such as impaired driving, addiction, and a gate way to other drugs. Others say the pros outweigh the cons in this situation . I believe that marijuana is an effective and safe alternative than most legal drugs that are currently being used in our country and should be legalized in all states for medicinal use.

Although other physician recommended drugs can relieve various illnesses, for some patients these drugs do not relieve their symptoms, as they should (Joy 117). For this type of patient, medical marijuana is an obvious alternative, if only it were legal. The legalization of marijuana is becoming a more polemic debate as several states are, at the very least, decriminalizing it. The decision for legalization is conflicted between whether the drug can provide benefits towards certain medical conditions and also be safe to consume. Marijuana should be legalized for medical uses because it has a broad set of therapeutic effects that are beneficial to certain patients. Two FDA-approved drugs contain a chemical that resides in marijuana, which shows that the side effects of prescription drugs are similar to marijuana. The legalization does not have a negative influence on society, especially teenagers, according to research done with eight states.

Marijuana, also known as, cannabis, pot, weed, or hemp, has been a topic of intense debates for many years, but today, it is in the spotlight more than ever. The issue about the use of this drug is becoming more and more topical because people are debating whether or not to legalize it. Marijuana, is the most commonly used drug in the world. In fact, around 3.8 percent of the world’s population or 158.8 million people around the world use marijuana, according to United Nations. And the number is continuously rising. As of June 2014, 23 U.S. states and Washington D.C. have passed laws legalizing marijuana in some form with three more states considering it. As what Major Neil Franklin (Ret.), a former police officer and current head of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), said, “The legalization of marijuana is good for law enforcement, good for families, and good for our communities” (Washington Post). The benefits and reasons to legalize marijuana are many, and overbearingly outweigh the arguments against legalization.

Historically, marijuana has been an illegal substance in Canada since 1923, mainly because of the perspective that the harmful consequences of its abuse and its addictive nature outweigh the significant benefits of making it a legal drug. Although laws have evolved as culture and society has evolved, Canada continues to struggle with the decriminalization of marijuana, despite its numerous benefits, it continues to form an archaic boundary line. This essay will discuss: 1) how laws regarding the possession of marijuana have evolved; 2) how public attitudes have changed; and 3) the reasons why current laws should be changed to legalize marijuana.

Making marijuana legal in all fifty states is one of the biggest debates going on right now. Well, that is, if it isn 't already legal in your hometown. There are twenty-five states that has it legalized. Alaska, New York, Oregon, and Maryland are just a few. There are possession limits that each state has issued, though. For example, Alaska is only allowed to have one ounce usable, which is six plants and Oregon is allowed to have up to twenty-four ounces useable, which equals to twenty-four plants. So, of course, other states are now hoping for their chance, but these states have legalized marijuana because it has improved conditions such as cancer, HIV, AIDS, epilepsy, and other disorders characterized by seizures. For decades and generations Americans only knew of marijuana as a powerful and dangerous drug. One that could rise the number of deaths and criminal behavior if it was allowed in their community. This fear came about in the United States in the early 1900’s just after the Mexican Revolution, As stated on www.drugpolicy.org. At this particular time there was an influx of immigration from Mexico into states such as Texas and Louisiana. These new Americans brought their native language, culture, and customs. Of course, one of those customs were the use of cannabis as a medicine and relaxant. The Mexican immigrants referred to the plant as “marihuana.” Which is a foreign term. This issue is so important for the present because everyone needs to understand

With recreational drugs becoming more common in our society, the public is growing more concerned with the negative effects of these substances, especially the effects of marijuana. Those who do not know enough about drugs generally think that “marijuana is bad for you” or “marijuana can kill people”. Although these preconceived notions do not often have scientific data as backup, there have also been multiple studies supporting the claims that marijuana is detrimental to people´s health. Even though today many people, especially teenagers, do support the legalization of marijuana, this recreational drug is detrimental to health because it affects motor skills, mental abilities, and suppresses motivation, and therefore should not be

One of the most controversial civil arguments in politics in the past decade would have to