The word marijuana has been drug through the dirt in recent years. The “War on Drugs” campaign has falsely made marijuana a villain. Sixty years ago marijuana had many different uses, and today marijuana has many more pros than it does cons. Marijuana should be legalized because positive results of criminalization of it are nonexistent, the medical effects are legitimate, and marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. The benefits of criminalization of marijuana are nonexistent. Marijuana arrests are actually the majority of all drug arrests: “in 2011 pot possession represented 54 percent of every drug crime that police managed to uncover” (MacQueen). The U.S. alone has 45 million documented drug arrests since 1971. More than half …show more content…
Argentina and Mexico have already taken steps to ease their drug laws. The Argentine Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption, and the government of Mexico made it legal to possess up to five grams of marijuana. Many people think that criminalization actually helps drug cartels: “reformers have long argued criminalization enriched drug cartels, fueled savage turf wars, corrupted state institutions, and filled prisons with people who present no real threat to society” (Carroll, Tuckman, and Phillips). Criminalization also allows drug cartels to turn harmless users into savage members of their cartels in prison. Violence due to drugs would go down with less members in drug cartels. Legalizing marijuana would resolve this issue, but this is not the only reason to legalize marijuana. The benefits of legalizing marijuana are countless. First, marijuana has legitimate medical effects. Many patients with either serious or terminal illnesses use marijuana for many different reasons. They are either in extreme pain and need something to ease it, or they can’t keep food down and need something to help them. Marijuana is that something for a good number of patients. In one patient’s case, she was addicted to pain pills. The pain from her illness was so intense that she took pill after pill, but nothing could ease her pain. She went to the doctor and got a prescription for
Marijuana legalization will help reduce illegal activity surrounding the plant too, again, reducing the need to pay for those people to go to jail. This includes, but is not limited to, people who, after its legalization, still want to grow and sell their own marijuana.
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.
Ending the drug war may not seem to be the best answer at first, but
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.
In 2013 simple pot possession accounted for 67% of every drug crime that police managed to uncover. It’s just common sense that legalizing marijuana would lower the crime rate because there would not be people illegally, growing, selling and most importantly, smoking since 67% of all drug crimes were simply minor possession with intent to use.
Another benefit accrued through legalizing marijuana would be a significant reduction in crime rates. Since Marijuana is currently illegal, it is sold on the streets country wide. Thousands purchase the drug from dealers, putting their lives and reputations at risk, simply because it is the only method to attain it. Both drug dealers and gangs fight to sell the drug in the street, causing their deaths and the deaths of innocent people. Legalizing the drug help decrease the street wars and gang violence by taking the “right” to sell out of the hands of dealers, and into the hands of the government. Since the drug will be legalized, it will be available in the same locations as cigarettes and alcohol, decreasing crime
The article "Common Sense Is Needed in Marijuana Policy." By Cathy Young talks about how Marijuana should be legalized to reduce crime rates because experts believe that if marijuana were to become legalized it will reduce the amount of drug dealers, which would then get rid of many crimes revolving around narcotics. The legalization of marijuana would lead to less possession charges if it were legal to carry and it would reduce the smuggling process if marijuana were legal to grow in the United
Some medical reasons that marijuana shouldn’t be decriminalized are that it has long and short terms effects. Examples of the short term outcomes include memory loss, difficulty with thinking, loss of motor skills and increased heart rate. According to the National Institutes of Health show that someone smoking about five joints per week is taking in as many cancer causing chemicals as someone smoking a pack of cigarettes every day. There is no science proof that smoked marijuana can be used for medication. Since cannabis plants are polluted with a range of fungal spores, smoking marijuana may increase the risk of infectious organisms. Taradiff, J. "Marijuana and the War on Drugs. “Marijuana. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Thomas Gale, 2008. 157. Print.
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.
A very well-known topic in today 's society is marijuana also known as cannabis or weed. As a matter of fact, the big question today that many people tend to disagree on is whether or not marijuana should be legalized? Recently, all eyes have been focused on Colorado due to the fact that they became the first state in the U.S to officially pass an amendment legalizing the consumption and use of marijuana.
Marijuana (also called pot, weed, or Mary Jane) is the name used to describe the seeds, flowers, and leaves in the hemp plant of the genus Cannabis. There are three main species of Cannabis, Cannabis Indica, Cannabis Sativa, and Cannabis Ruderalis. The main type of marijuana that has been used throughout history has been Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana is typically found as a shredded, green-brown mixture of the flowers, leaves, and stems from Cannabis Sativa. Most people smoke marijuana by rolling it like a cigarette, called joints. People also put it in hollow cigars, called blunts, and some people even mix it into food such as brownies and tea.
The Drug Policy Alliance wrote, “By no longer arresting and prosecuting possession and other low-level marijuana offenses, states are saving hundreds of millions of dollars.” That is beneficial to both the economy and society. It is also said that the use of marijuana decreases the abuses of opioids. Fewer opioids means fewer cases of addiction, over doses and deaths. Society benefits from the legalization as a whole but also as individuals.
It will result in less gang violence, fewer drug crimes, and fewer deaths. First, the gang violence that is happening nowadays is ridiculous. The reason the gangs are at conflict is because their goal is to be the top drug suppliers in the area. In order to do that they are fighting in order to knock out the competition. Therefore, if marijuana is legalized the gangs will no longer have demand from customers, meaning they will no longer have a reason to get into gang wars. Second, the amount of drug crimes that occur will drop quite a bit. This also relates closely to the first point. If marijuana is legalized people who at the moment use it illegally, will no longer be using it illegally. Therefore, fewer crimes will occur in order to get to the product. It will also be easier for the government to keep track of who uses the drug and the amount of doses that people intake. Last but not least, fewer deaths will occur in a year. This applies to both users and the innocent citizens who get hurt because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. If marijuana is legalized people will use this instead of going on to deadlier drugs. They will see that it is less risky for them if they use marijuana instead of something like cocaine. So there is a high probability that they will choose a drug that gives them the same "high" feeling, but with fewer consequences. Since it is legal they will
Each state has their own regulations and laws about the usage of marijuana. In recent years, many states have passed laws to legalize the usage, purchase, and sale of marijuana. The District of Columbia passed a law to legalize the growth and possession of the drug, but not the sale. Currently, nearly half of the states have legalized the use of medicinal marijuana for patients that qualify for it. However, there is still a federal law prohibiting this drug. These people who have medical reasons and qualify through doctor evaluations, can still face federal offenses even though it is legal in the state. If there is a drug out there to aid people dealing with a disease that could be cured by using this drug why are there so many people against it?
The first benefit to the legalization of marijuana would be the decreased spending on law enforcement. Many of America’s jails are filled to the brim with people who got long and unfair sentences for possession of the drug. Part of the