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.

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The legalization of marijuana has been a debate that has been going on for the past decade. Many Americans (about 80 percent surveyed) do believe in the legalization while others disagree. With the correct facts in place, it is easy to prove that the legalization of marijuana is a huge benefit to the American people and those who disagree are disagreeing for the wrong reasons. One reason it should be legalized is marijuana can be used for medical purposes, others say it can help lower the debt in America by taxing marijuana. Many of these arguments favoring marijuana are outlined in this paper.

In the recent years, there has been a push, nationwide, to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. In most states, medical marijuana is legal and in some states, so is recreational. But the legalization of recreational marijuana may have detrimental effects. In the recent election, Arizona had a ballot measure (prop 205) which called for the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. Prop 205 lost and recreational marijuana is not currently legal. However, it is likely that the advocates for this campaign will work to get their issue on the next ballot. If Recreational Marijuana is legalized in Arizona the number of deaths per year will rise because it is likely there will be an increase in the use of other addictive substances, there will be an increase in traffic violations and accidents, and the number of people effected by lung cancer and other medical issues will increase.

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.

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

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

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.

Cannabis can be used to help treat many symptoms and diseases, such as neuropathic pain, which is present in 3% of the population (Lake, Kerr & Montaner, 2015). Although many users of cannabis use it recreationally, many others use it to help treat health problems, such as pain, psychiatric disorders, troubles sleeping, gastrointestinal issues, multiple sclerosis (MS), arthritis, HIV/ AIDS, and neurological disorders (Fischer, Murphy, Kurdyak, Goldner & Rehm, 2015). Cannabinoids can also stimulate one’s appetite, treat nausea, act as a sedative, and reduce anxiety (Ault, 1999). Many of these users report improved health outcomes from using cannabis, which can as a whole result in lower strain put on the Canadian health care system, should the incoming Liberal Government legalize marijuana in Canada (Fischer et al., 2015).

Accepting an assessment of $.50 or $1 for every joint, we can wonder an unpleasant appraisal of the incomes that could be raised from authorized cannabis (working to reform laws 1). For a country that is mainly capitalism and likes to spend but doesn’t have enough money, legalizing marijuana would be best. Over the last few years marijuana has been the most common drug and trafficked drug in the US that people are going to prison for. Some say legalizing tis will cause prices to drop, but with so much volume and so many people wanting It to be legalize the prices will have to go up immediately. Instead of spending so much money on devices to track

Marijuana consumption has become a very prominent sub-culture within the United States with users including virtually everyone from teenagers to the elderly people. Some individuals use it because they enjoy the feeling they get from smoking or eating it, whereas others use it for medical reasons. Marijuana is starting to become decriminalized in most states, with Colorado and Washington having already made it legal for recreational use. Moreover, a handful of states throughout the country have already implemented a medical marijuana policy into their state healthcare system. Having potential to provide so many social, economic and medicinal benefits throughout the many facets of society, the federal government should

The NIH (National Institute of Health) is one of the many advocates for medicinal marijuana. They claim that marijuana may be helpful in the alleviation of chemotherapy, to reduce nausea and enable the patients to eat. The drug also helps in the stimulation of appetite and reduction of the loss of lean muscle mass in AIDS patients. These AIDS victims also find that the drug also helps with the “wasting syndrome” that often characterizes the terminal illness. It has also been proven it can prevent epileptic seizures.(Potter, 1998) In addition, marijuana aids in the reduction of interlobular fluid pressure in the eyes caused by glaucoma, which can causes serious damage to vision, and in some cases can lead to blindness. Migraine sufferers have found relief form their headaches, and victims of spinal injuries and multiple sclerosis reported that marijuana controlled their spasms.(Randall, 1998)

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.

Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).