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.")

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.

Beyond the economic growth through new jobs, taxes on marijuana will also provide the government tremendous revenue. With the legalization comes an increased demand for marijuana, which will allow the government to raise taxes. According to Jason Shubnell, “Colorado recently reported $2 million in tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales for the month of January.” Such a large sum of money collected in only a month of sale shows how profitable the legalization of marijuana in U.S. states would be. The possible heavy taxation, in combination with the economic gains from new jobs, is an adequate reason alone to legalize marijuana. Not only that, but the government will save a large amount of money because the amount of funding needed to hire police to enforce drug-related laws will no longer be as big of an expense. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, Washington state “is now

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.

The proposition known as Prop 64 is the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative. This proposition was on the ballot November 8th, 2016 and supporters have also referred this initiative as the Adult Use of Marijuana Act. In which has been approved. Those who have voted yes supported legalizing marijuana usage for recreational purposes for those who are aged 21 years or older. This measure has created two taxes, one for cultivation and the other on retail prices. The money from the taxes will go to drug research, enforcements, youth programs, health and safety grants addressing marijuana, and preventing damage to the environment resulting from illegal marijuana production. Proposition 64 legalized permitting smoking marijuana in a private home, or at a business that has been licensed for on-site marijuana consumption. Although smoking while driving, in all public places, and anywhere smoking tobacco is, has remained illegal. Along with, possession on school grounds, daycare center, or youth center where children are present. For businesses to sell marijuana for recreational use, they need to have a state license and are not authorized to sell within 600 feet of a school, daycare, or youth center. In order to regulate this, the Bureau of Marijuana Control (BMC) are responsible to regulate and licensing marijuana businesses. ("California Proposition 64, Marijuana Legalization (2016) - Ballotpedia." Ballotpedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2016.)

In 1920 when alcohol prohibition began the war against cannabis had been going strong for a decade. In 1910 the Mexican Revolution created a surplus of Mexican immigrants in the United States; American citizens were frightened by the Mexican culture, including their recreational use of cannabis (Marijuana Legalization, 2015, para 7). Politicians continued to use fear and racism to grow disapproval and hatred of cannabis. Beginning in 1915 twenty-nine states passed the anti-marijuana law, which was first created and passed by the state of Utah when a group of Mormons who were visiting Mexico returned home with cannabis (Marijuana Legalization, 2015, para 9). The prohibition of cannabis

The American coalition- an anti-immigrant group in 1980 had this to say about the drug, “Marihuana, perhaps now the most insidious of narcotics, is a direct byproduct of unrestricted Mexican immigration.” It is through seclusion, Nixon’s outright war on drugs, and society’s fervent dislike for marijuana user that the subculture grew. It came to a point where one could not discern fact from myth about marijuana in the 60s/70s war on drugs, mainly because no research was allowed.

Cannabis, otherwise known as Marijuana, is illegal in most parts of the world including the United States. However, the drug is now gaining acceptance worldwide as evidenced by the number of countries that are reducing or lifting penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. In the United States, there are a growing number of Americans demanding that marijuana be legalized medically. Although the federal government is presently opposed to legalizing marijuana, its legal status is changing on a state level.

Marijuana legalization would allow for legal distribution and taxation of cannabis as well as decrease expensive enforcement and incarceration costs. Political authorities debate whether legalization or decriminalization is necessary. Derived from the hemp plant called Cannabis sativa, marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States (Glauser). Usually smoked in a blunt, joint, or pipe, the dry, shredded brownish-green mix of stems and leaves can be mixed in food, or brewed into a tea. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) is the main active chemical that rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream when someone inhales marijuana. Once the THC reaches the brain, the chemical reactions lead to the “high” that users experience when they use marijuana. Only lasting a few hours, these effects are short term. More realistic concerns question whether or not users will become addicted to cannabis. “Compared to other substances, marijuana is especially un-addictive; it’s often paired with drugs like alcohol, cocaine, and heroin, but when discussing addiction, a much more appropriate comparison would be to caffeine” (Glauser). As a non-addictive substance that can be therapeutic, reduce arrests, and boost the economy, marijuana should be legalized.

Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana is a dried flower cluster and leaves of this female plant. This plant can be smoked or ingested as an illicit drug to induce euphoria or treating illness and diseases. In America today, the word marijuana has risen a concerned eyebrow. The economic woes that plague this country will become abundance through the legalization of marijuana. Legalizing marijuana would benefit the country in many ways; therefore, embracing it for medical, economical, industrial, and recreational use would encourage economic growth. There are various methods of consumption or medical and personal use.

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

In this paper I will discuss the history of marijuana, the industrial uses of hemp, the prohibition of marijuana, the economical impact prohibition has on America, the effects of marijuana use on the mind and the body, marijuana for medical use, and how legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. Although I support the legalization of marijuana I do not support the legalization of other Schedule I drugs,FN1 therefore this paper is not about the legalization of all drugs.

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.

Presently, Marijuana is illegal in the United States due to the racially motivated Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. This law was proposed by Harry J. Anslinger the acting commissioner of Federal Bureau of Narcotics. In his testimony to Congress he stated, "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others" (ukcia.org, (n.d), para. 1). Since this time, the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 has spawned more strict laws that have many unintended side effects. After many decades, effective federal propaganda has won public support for these laws. Only recently, U.S. citizens have started to question why marijuana is illegal. I feel that it would be beneficial to discard these laws and beliefs of the past. We need to analyze how the legalization of marijuana would positively affect the United States and its citizens in the following fields: medical, criminology, and financial.