Should The Federal Government Legalize Marijuana

Thesis Statement: Marijuana should be fully legalized in the United States because it is significantly less harmful to human beings than cigarettes and alcohol, offers many health benefits, and its legalization could lead to a significant boost in government revenue if a tax was imposed on sales of the product.

Recreational marijuana legalization in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have, technically, broken federal law. As long as the federal government does not do anything about the state’s blatant disregard for higher law they can do what they want. I think that because state and federal law contradict at the moment there should be clarification. States should only be able to pass a law such as this if it is also legal on a federal level, but if there are no repercussions for violating federal law where does it end? Recreational marijuana is a state issue, in my opinion. If it is to be legalized in America at a federal level then each state should be allowed to choose their side. At this point, federal government is showing its cracks. 4 of our states are currently not obeying the Constitution; federal law trumps state law. Our government needs to pull itself together and start paying attention to what the states are doing.

For many years, there has been a war against society and the federal government on whether or not marijuana should be legal in the U.S., for medicinal and recreational purposes. There are so many positive aspects as to why it would be a highly viable asset to communities all over the U.S. Though there are some aspects to be looked at and taken into consideration when it comes to legalizing this drug, it still stands as an important fact that marijuana should be in fact legalized by the federal government, so that the development of hemp crops can be used as a valuable agricultural crop in the U.S., creating a new bio-fuel to reduce carbon emissions we consume every day, so that we can expose majority of the prohibitions on the dangers of marijuana are solely based on disinformation and lies, and so that dollars collected in tax revenue from marijuana sales can be used for bettering our communities instead of spending our earned taxed dollars on criminalization costs keeping it illegal.

With 520 physicians from Colorado taking the survey, 46% said they would not recommend prescribing the plant to patients, while only 19% said they would recommend it. When asked about continuing research, “Nearly all agreed on the need for further medical education about medical marijuana.” With 91% agreeing that it should be explored deeper, it shows that many people don’t actually know the truth of how helpful or harmful marijuana can be.

As an American citizen, I believe if it is “right” or “legal” in one state it should remain as it is on the other states. Therefore, since it is legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington, it should be available to all of the states in America, including the states with legal medical use. I believe it definitely needs to be a federal issue; it isn’t fair for the drug to be handed in some states and prohibited in others. American citizens should have the right to obtain marijuana regardless of what state they live in, it should be legal for all states!

In its early days cannabis or “marijuana” as it’s mostly known was first established in 8000 B.C. Later becoming more and more popular cannabis was incorporated in many things such as weave to fine hemp cloths, medicine, and as a fiber for the Chinese and later all across the world. Nowadays marijuana is illegal and has been so since 1970 after the Federal Controlled Substances Act was passed. Now there’s an ongoing controversy about cannabis being legalized or decriminalized for medical or even recreational uses. Marijuana laws are getting looser and looser and states around the world and starting to be more accepted but the drug is still not legalized completely and there’s no concrete reason why.

The United States of America is losing a major war: the war on drugs. And it is time for us, as a nation, to admit our country’s drug laws are doing more harm than good. The fight against drugs is not as effective as it was originally envisioned. Both the federal government and states have taken extreme measures and enforced strict laws to keep our cities and neighborhoods free of drugs. However, it is time for a change. And I believe this change should start by settling the conflict between federal and state drug laws. The federal government should decide all drug laws nationwide and give less say to the individual states. With that being said, I think the federal government should legalize recreational marijuana use nationwide and lessen the harsh policies enforced and severe punishment for recreational use of other drugs.

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.")

I believe that the time has come to end the prohibition of marijuana in the United States of America. If marijuana were a legal substance and taxed like alcohol and tobacco, billions of dollars in revenue would be generated that could be put towards paying down our national debt. Further stimulation of our economy would result from the thousands of jobs that would be created in order to grow, manufacture, process, market and distribute the product. Overcrowding in our prisons would be reduced, creating much-needed room for violent and aggressive criminals. Finally, there is evidence that the legalization of marijuana will yield certain health and environmental benefits to American society.

Legalizing marijuana is one of the biggest controversial debates in America today. Although legalizing marijuana would be beneficial to America, the government will not allow it. Marijuana should be legalized because it can help in medical areas, help the economy, and lower crime rates

Legalization keeps progressing in advance, but because of many years of government obstructions on research, there is nearly not enough known about the dangers of marijuana, or the benefits. Marijuana in the United States is classified as a Schedule 1 substance, which is defined for substances that have significant risks, such as addiction, but, in theory, have no medical benefits, making it difficult to obtain medical marijuana to do clinical trials (Doctor's Case for Medical Marijuana 14). With four states permitting its use for both medicinal and recreational purposes and 24 states only for pharmaceutical, there has been many thoughts whether this plant should be kept unlawful in the United States or not (Ingraham 2). Activists believe that the legalization will provide many benefits to the citizens as well as the economy, but antagonists think it will just make it easier for people to obtain it for recreational purposes. Although this may seem true, study proves that there was a significant decrease in the underground market after legalizing marijuana in Colorado, which meant less people were consuming it recreationally. Enforcing laws against something that is naturally grown is unnatural; therefore, marijuana usage for recreational and medicinal purposes should

Legalizing recreational marijuana is a problem, partly because of the impact that it has on each state and reinforcing federal guidelines is a logical way to address it. The Federal Government could take the states that have enacted the law allowing recreational marijuana and presents it to the Supreme Courts, and have the United States Supreme Court make a decision that would be binding in all states.

Marijuana has become a more and more acceptable drug over the past few years despite its many side effects, not only on the user, but also on society as a whole. Due to these side effects on society and the marijuana user, it would be in the best interest of everyone that marijuana remains an illegal substance. On one side of the issue you have marijuana users saying that it is their choice on whether or not they should be allowed to smoke marijuana. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are individual freedoms so important that we are willing to allow these individual freedoms to continue without consequence, even if their actions are harmful. The purpose of this essay will be to put

Many scientists, doctors, and patients recognize the medicinal utility of marijuana. However, the federal government opposes passing legislation that would legalize medical marijuana because of its potential to be abused or unregulated. The states are continuously challenging the federal government causing complications in legislation in regards to medical marijuana. Because of its history of medicinal properties and accumulating amounts of state and local legislation, the federal government should decriminalize medical marijuana and legalize its use.

Marijuana is a drug that is illegal in forty-eight of the fifty states in America, including Texas. Some people argue for the benefits that come from Marijuana such as, medical factors which include Diabetes and Obesity. It would also allow the State and National government control over the drug production, sale, and price. There is also opposing views that legalizing of Marijuana would be a bad thing. They say there are several negative consequences if the state of Texas were to legalize the drug. The opposing side argues that marijuana has more harmful medical factors than helpful, has no financial benefit, and it would also create more discourse between citizens and drug cartels in bordering countries.