Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

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.

For marijuana supporters, the last 12 months have been a period of unparalleled success, as Washington and Colorado become the first states to legalize recreational use of marijuana. And now for the first time, a clear majority of Americans say the drug should be legalized. This is a sharp contrast from a Gallup poll asked in 1969, when only 12% favored legalization.( "For First Time, Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana.")

The legalization of marijuana is, and has been a heavily disputed issue for decades. On one hand, marijuana could lead to a medical breakthrough, or at least provide relief to cancer and AIDS patients. On the other hand, legalizing a drug could expose it to too broad an audience. As a drug, marijuana has never proven to be anywhere near as harmful as cigarettes or alcohol. Each year in the United States, 400,000 people die from tobacco, 50,000 from alcohol, and from marijuana, zero. Regardless of what side one may take to this argument, there are some causes to this marijuana debate that everyone should know. Marijuana was not always illegal, and the reasons behind the history of narcotic regulation are interesting when viewed from

Should marijuana be legalized? Many Americans have been asked this question or have heard some type of news about the issue. Marijuana is commonly known as cannabis which refers to the dried up hemp plant cannabis sativa, even though marijuana is a plant and has no chemical additives it has been a tropic of controversy for many years but nowadays it is in the spotlight more than ever. For centuries, marijuana has been used by people throughout the world for religious, recreational and medical use. A few countries like the Netherlands and Uruguay have already legalized marijuana for recreational use and many other countries are taking a step towards doing so. Is it finally time for the United States to take a closer look into possibly legalizing marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized for medical and recreational purposes because it would aid in the War on drugs, it would become an important source of revenue for the government and reduce overpopulation of American jails.

And the drug companies want control, rather than just a ban, for they know the medicinal benefits of marijuana (Rosenthal 9). Therefore the major reason marijuana still remains illegal is that special interest groups are blocking legislation by extensive lobbying. Clearly it is seen that manypeople support its use, at least for medical reasons. It is obvious that the current policy for marijuana is not working very efficiently. The government spends billions of dollars every year to stop its use. This leads to the opening of a very extensive black market for marijuana, because the drug is still in high demand. With the black market comes all the crime and violent acts that create a new problem of overcrowding prison populations.

The word "marijuana" has been a concerned topic in almost every American home today. Marijuana, whose botanical name is cannabis, has been used by humans for thousands of years. It was classified as an illegal drug by many countries in the 20th century. Over the past two decades, there has been a growing movement to legalize marijuana, primarily for medical purposes. Opposing views on the subject of decriminalizing the plant has caused much controversy over the past twenty years and still remains an important issue. The legalization of marijuana in the United States would drastically reduce crime in our cities and help reduce some of the national debt through its

Cannabis has been used for over 6000 years without its legality being questioned until the 1930's when the United States Government criminalized its possession. Now seventy years later, its prohibition is being reconsiderat both State and Federal levels of the government. The push for legality has never had as much support as it does now, with the legalization of medical marijuana in 20states, decimalization in 16 states, and 2 states that allow commercial cultivation, manufacture, and sale of cannabis. An overwhelming majority of the United States population,including me, see the legalization of cannabis as a profitable and harmless idea.

In recent years the legalization of marijuana has been broadcasted numerous times. There is much debate on whether or not it should be legalized or used precisely for medical purposes. Legalization of marijuana or cannabis has already occurred in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Should the United States legalize it all together? Marijuana itself is the dried up hemp or cannabis plants which contain THC which is a mind altering chemical. A lot of research has been conducted on the benefits and disadvantages of marijuana in both medical and recreational use. Medical marijuana should be legal in the United States in order to provide relief for suffering patients, however it should not be legal for recreational use because it will

Views on marijuana use and its legal status are slowly shifting across America. What was once viewed as a dangerous gateway drug is slowly being legalized across the nation for medicinal and recreational purposes. Alcohol is often used as a comparator to marijuana for good reason. Banning alcohol was attempted before and it was not successful. Marijuana is currently progressing through a similar phase alcohol went through during the Prohibition Era. Four states, including Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska, now allow the use of recreational marijuana. Ironically, despite marijuana use still being illegal under federal law, Washington D.C., the nation’s capital, allows it as well. Marijuana should be legalized, both medically and recreationally, across the nation because it is less deadly than alcohol, stimulates the economy and generates tax revenue, and provides medical relief for serious ailments.

Support for marijuana legalization is rapidly increasing throughout the United States. “A slim majority, 53% of Americans, say the drug should be made legal, compared with 44% who want it to be illegal” (Motel). What would change if marijuana was legalized federally in the United States? Would everyone be sane? A lot of things in the United States could happen by legalizing marijuana. There would be less marijuana related crimes. With all the laws that are being passed, would it be harder to tax? Would it benefit the economy? marijuana should be legalized, federally.

Over the past twenty years we have made a tremendous amount of changes in terms of what should be considered legal and illegal substances. For example, we can focus in on one specific drug that has become popular in controversial debates recently, marijuana. Until this point, marijuana was considered illegal. Recently, a handful of states have made the decision to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. To date there has been 23 states that have legalized the use of marijuana in some form. In November of 2012 Colorado and Washington states legalized the use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes. In a survey conducted in 2013, a Gallup pole showed that

While growing up, everyone is told that drugs are bad for you, time and time again. As a kid people don’t really understand why, but they listen anyways. Do you remember being told this your whole life? As we got older we realized that many people would use drugs even though it is illegal. Some people never understood why somebody would break the law and risk their life just to use drugs. That drug would be marijuana, and it is all around us even if we don’t know it. Now being a young adult and knowing its effects on other people, people wonder why marijuana is not legal. Why is it that this marijuana has become illegal all over the world? Marijuana has been tested and was proven to support a very positive impact on the American

Many of you have your own opinion on whether marijuana should be legalized or not, for recreational or medical use. Marijuana has been looked down on by federal governments since before 1915, when Utah passed the first anti-marijuana law. Since then, the black market (illegal trade) has become extremely violent causing the crime rate to skyrocket over the years. The black market is based off of a variety of illegal, dangerous drugs. Marijuana differs from other drugs because of its medical advantage. Pulling marijuana out of the black market trade and selling it through dispensaries has the potential to change our society for the better, having marijuana being sold and taxed safely in a retail store. It will also help the people who use marijuana as their medicine over other prescription drugs that have harmful side effects and killer withdrawal symptoms. My point is to inform you of the medical advantages of legalizing marijuana. There are many questions relating to marijuana since most of the time people only hear the negative aspects of the schedule I substance. This paper will begin with some history on the controversial event of legalizing marijuana, then go into how exactly the herb helps people, an inside look at dispensaries, and a comparison of marijuana to prescription drugs.

Centuries ago, marijuana, a drug cultivated from the flowers of the cannabis sativa plant, has been used for both folk medicine and also recreational use for centuries. The oldest known cache of marijuana was found in a grave that’s over 2,500 years old. Today, there are federal laws enacted prohibiting the possession, distribution, and cultivation of marijuana. However, states are beginning to challenge marijuana prohibition by legalizing and regulating the sale of this widely used substance medically and recreationally. This legalization movement will greatly benefit the United State’s economy and provide a medicine that is available for those in need.