Should Marijuana Be Legalized?

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.

The major debate in America today, is whether Marijuana should be legalized or kept illegal. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in America, of the nearly twenty million current drug users, 14.6 million are using marijuana (National 73) . Therefore, if marijuana is legalized in America, the number of users will skyrocket. Hence, marijuana should stay illegal in America for the reason that if it is legalized, more adolescents would acquire the drug easier, roads will become more dangerous and finally, more marijuana means higher chances of addictions and use of other harmful drugs.

In 2012, marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Colorado. Now it is legal in Washington D.C., Oregon and Alaska, only fully legal for recreational use in Washington D.C. and Colorado. Legalization is not necessarily the issue any more. Child psychiatrist Mitchell S. Rosenthal stated, “At this point in the country’s history, whether pot is legal or not is no longer the main issue. The issue is the danger that marijuana poses to kids, how parents can protect their children from that danger, and what the rest of society—absent the criminal justice system--can do to support them.” Although legalization is rapidly spreading, it needs to come to a halt. Marijuana should not be legalized due to the dangers it poses

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.

The Jamestown Settlers where the ones who first brought the Marijuana plant over to North America in 1611. The plant is also commonly known as Hemp to people when it was first introduced. Through the Colonial period in North America hemp fiber was a very important export to this country. In 1762 Virginia would award rewards for those who would cultivate and manufacture the hemp plant. For those who would refuse to produce the hemp plant, faced consequences and penalties. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew the hemp on their plantation farms for recreational and medical uses (Medical Marijuana). The current drug laws are doing more harm than actual good. Decriminalizing Marijuana would have a positive effect on the country and even put a dent in drug cartels operations.

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.

In addition, another benefit in which legalizing drugs can provide would it’s health benefits. This argument is more applicable for the drug, marijuana, as there are many uses for this drug for medicinal purposes. Massachusetts, California and New Jersey are some states that legalize marijuana and use of the drug under certain conditions. A medical condition that marijuana has proven to have shown a positive effect on is cancer. Many patients diagnosed with cancer who experience and have to go under chemotherapy find that marijuana helps in aspects of mood, nausea and vomiting and

Many different web pages and read over the information that they provided and this is what is found. The debit for this topic is all over the place some say we should some say we should not legalize marijuana. The three main topics that will going to go more into depth with are the medical benefits, monetary benefits and the renewable benefits. But first, let a bit about marijuana, so other names for it is weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane to name a few. Marijuana can be used in many forms; it can be smoked in a pipe or like cigarettes, brewed into to a tea, or bake into foods. The main psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical in marijuana, responsible for most of the intoxicating effects sought by

November 2000 Colorado resident voters passed Amendment 44 into law the legalization of the use of medical marijuana. Furthermore in November 2012, recreational marijuana use was legalized when Colorado resident voters passed Amendment 64 into law. Although these laws were passed in Colorado legalizing marijuana, it does not protect an employee’s job from a company zero-tolerance drug policy. Many companies such as Breeze view the use of marijuana as a violation of their policy and cause for termination, especially since marijuana is still illegal on the federal level.

There was a time when talks of legalizing marijuana went largely untouched by statesmen and policymakers. It seemed that considering legalization was unpopular and that the demand for it existed only in the minds of few. In this ever-changing world, we now see the rhetoric of the matter gradually fade away. That old approach of conservatism seems to be marginalized regarding this groundbreaking social topic. With 75% of the nation expecting that marijuana will find a federal path to legality, the ability to buy, possess, and consume recreational cannabis is perfectly legal in four states. Furthermore, economists have begun to study this subject in great depth. By and large, their analysis has concluded that the nationalized legalization of cannabis would stimulate the American economy. Additionally, black-market criminals would no longer profit from the vast exploitations of the marijuana plant, while licensed growers, retailers, and consumers would all reap the positive ends. In summation, revenue from the federally-mandated legalization of marijuana would prove economically beneficial to both the federal government and domestic businesses. Legalization would, in turn, affect a number of different economic systems, but it might pose some ethical questions for the Catholic Church and other religious institutions.

With progressive advances in technology, advances in medicine and an understanding of the human body have also consistently increased. New drugs are available for safe consumption to combat a plethora of illnesses and disorders ranging from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to chronic depression. As a result of the growing options for prescribed remedies to health complications, there has been a blur on the line distinguishing beneficial medicine to recreational drug use. The growing call in the United States for a legalization of recreational marijuana has led to much criticism of apparent double standards between medications and marijuana. Critics of the current ban in most U.S. states claim that there is no substantial difference to medical pills and smoking marijuana for some sort of health benefit, but the primary use of marijuana is for leisure only and has copious negative health effects as a result. Medications legal in the U.S. all have a medical purpose that recreational weed falls short on in addition to chances of addiction without proper guidance from medical professionals that often come with many legalized pills; over the counter, or prescribed. The satirical cartoon does not effective describe any contradiction in the thinking of those that do not support marijuana.

According to information collected by the drug policy alliance organization, it shows heavy financial spending “amount spent annually in the U.S. on the war on drugs: more than $51,000,000,000”. ? Have you ever been in trouble for smoking marijuana? Do you know someone that is in jail for possession of marijuana? This is an issue that has become prevalent in recent years. The whole country along with its citizen is divided on legalization of marijuana. ? How marijuana became illegal is by a tax act. The citizens that desired to consume marijuana had to pay a marijuana tax act. Most people didn’t pay the tax act and that led to prison time and hefty fines. A drug prohibition was initiated and targeting marijuana. Anslinger who is the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotic had tried to eradicate marijuana with great prejudice. In 1952 nearly all states had established their own anti-narcotic laws. The legalization of Marijuana would yield revenue, make jails less crowed and slow cartel activity.

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

There are many places where we can find marijuana successfully legalized, both by individual states here in the United States and by Federal governments abroad. I’ll start by introducing an example here in the U.S.: Colorado. On November 6, 2012, the citizens of Colorado voted in favor of Amendment 64 which allowed for the personal use and regulation of Marijuana (Ferner, 2014). Through this legislation came the Colorado Revised Statutes which regulates the medical and retail marijuana industry (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2015). These statutes outline everything from how much an entity can produce legally to the penalties involved if they don’t follow the rules. Colorado has seen great financial success from this, as it has taken in $53 million dollars in tax revenue in 2014 (Colorado Department of Revenue, 2015).

Marijuana is a highly debatable topic that is rapidly gaining attention in society today.  Legalizing marijuana can benefit the economy of this nation through the creation of jobs, increased tax revenue, and a decrease in taxpayer money spent on law enforcement.   Many people would outlaw alcohol, cigarettes, fast food, gambling, and tanning beds because of the harmful effects they have on members of a society, but this is the United States of America; the land of the free and we should give people in our nation the choice to use marijuana without the fear of prosecution.  Allowing it to remain illegal has no effect on usage, but it inflicts several unnecessary problems on society.  If marijuana were to be legalized in the United States it would put our country on the path to success and help our nation thrive.  Although marijuana is illegal, people are still going to find ways to use it.