The Issue Of Legalizing Marijuana

Legalizing marijuana is a concept that can potentially benefit the public as well as the local economies. There has been a nationwide debate on whether marijuana should be legalized or not. The major consensus is that marijuana is not only bad for one’s health, but it is also dangerous to the community. These allegations are not true. Marijuana actually has health benefits that most people overlook. The following essay will address these health benefits in an attempt to present this concept in a way that the audience can better understand how legalizing marijuana can beneficial to an individual health, how it can give an increase to the economy.

marijuana at some time in their lives. 18 million have smoked marijuana within the last

First and foremost, majority of society is uneducated and unaware of the many benefits legal marijuana can bring about. These benefits are for us as individuals, for our economy, and for our government as a whole. You can have thoughts and opinions, criticize ones who use marijuana, say that they are a drug attics or bad people, but you would clearly be uneducated having said that. The plant, cannabis, “marijuana”, has a class of

Assuming that we are looking for the benefit of the greater good from a utilitarian standpoint the verdict is increasingly PRO-marijuana. But I aim to focus on three main points: firstly; excessive amount of taxpayer’s money is spent to both police and incarcerate marijuana offender. Secondly; there exists conclusive evidence that many positive environmental impacts to the environment, develops from the legalization of marijuana by way of the hemp industry. Finally, multitudinous medicinal benefits abound, countless more are continually being discovered, the totality of which are backed by scientific research. .

Legalization of marijuana is an important issue; most people recognize it as “harmful and addictive,” from the essay “Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized,” while others regard the ban on marijuana as ineffective, expensive, and unjust (1). According to Senator Bernie Sanders, “too many Americans have seen their lives destroyed because they have criminal records as a result of marijuana use. That’s wrong.” The ban is unjust for Americans because it is a complete waste of our tax dollars to continue criminalizing citizens for marijuana use. Legalization of marijuana in every state will be beneficial; for our economy, medical value and breakthroughs, lowering crime rate, aiding people who are victims of drug abuse, and more. The following paragraphs will explain further.

is wasted on a cause that there seems to be no end to.” In 1989, a

The fight to legalize marijuana has been waged for decades and it’s about time that we find a resolution. I’m not a supporter of marijuana, I detest the culture associated with the drug and have no interest in consumption of the drug. But the effects of enforcing laws outlawing marijuana have done more harm than good in the US. The United States imprisons too many minorities due to minor drug infractions, the costs of enforcing these laws are too high, and the government is missing out on tax opportunities due to the current drug laws.

The General perspective that society throws on marijuana is that equal to any drug; negative. However, many researchers have found that the effects of marijuana for medicinal purposes can be beneficial to the right patients, as well as the United States government. The negative effects from marijuana use in a medicinal environment are far less than that of most over the counter drugs, while the benefits remain the same. There are instances in which marijuana was legalized for people with prescriptions from licensed doctors; however, full legalization is leaps and bounds away from the current status. Another way full legalization could help is money the government uses to try and fight marijuana

On average, Americans spend about 5 billion dollars on marijuana every year. Thats about how much the country contributes to the purchase of alcohol! The only problem is that the money made from people selling marijuana illegally mostly goes into the pockets of mafias because they contain the largest portion of distribution in the marijuana chain. On average each state spends right at about 1 billion dollars to make sure the marijuana laws are enforced. Asa Hutchinson, the former DEA director mentioned in a CNBC interview that "The cost to fight marijuana is worth it and the people should not mind the cost, but instead look into the benefits it would bring to the country." However, its difficult to see what the benefits really are, because the law enforcement says that criminalizing marijuana will reduce the number of accidents associated with people under the influence of marijuana, reduce violence caused by the intoxication of the drug, and reduce the number of drug dependents. But these arguments to criminalize the use of marijuana are completely unproven. Alcohol also intoxicates the drinker, which obviously causes vehicle accidents. Tobacco poses health risk to smokers after years of continuous use, but they are still considered legal? Therefore, the reasons given to criminalize marijuana aren't very accurate and unproven. It is ironic that the given effects of marijuana are almost the same that made it illegal and are the same

Legalization of marijuana has been an extremely controversial topic in the united states, as well as many other countries, for years. There is evidence that marijuana has been consumed since around 2700 B.C. It often served as a substitute for alcohol in the middle east, as the Quran banned followers of Islam from drinking alcohol. Marijuana was first introduced to America in 1545 by the Spanish. The colony of Jamestown used hemp, a variety of marijuana, as a means of creating paper, clothes, and many fibrous materials, creating a fair amount of jobs and income. The production of cotton took over as a cheaper and faster means of making those goods, replacing marijuana. Marijuana was then mostly used for recreational use, sparking clubs called “tea pads” to pop up. The increase in popularity of reefer in the 1920s is often argued to be the spark that birthed jazz music. In the 1930s, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics (now the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs) intended to give marijuana a bad reputation, stating that it is highly addictive, and would lead users into doing other narcotics. It was made illegal in the 1930s to give the alcohol market much more room to grow. Marijuana is now considered a schedule 1 substance, meaning it is very easy to abuse and has no medical value, despite the evidence that it has many potential uses in medicine. It is considered as dangerous as heroin, despite

Abraham Lincoln once said "Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man 's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes.” The prohibition of marijuana has proven to be a failure and a waste of resources. In addition, prohibition has hurt society more than it has helped. Also, marijuana can be used as a medicine to treat many life threatening illnesses. The legalization of marijuana will generate enormous tax revenue, reduce crime, and give sick patients a new effective medicine.

Marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government but the states claim it is, in fact, legal for the states to openly practice recreational and medicinal usage of the drug. Now with many people sick the only other option after numerous prescriptions that make the people sicker marijuana given its pain releasing properties seems to be the only thing we can count on.

What are the prevailing issues for and against legalization of marijuana? Just because something is labelled as “illegal” does not mean it is bad. Likewise, when something is labelled as “legal” does not mean it is not bad. Throughout the progression of time, the Western outlook on Marijuana has changed drastically. A few decades ago, the idea of smoking Marijuana was perceived as a menace to the public and the discussion of legalizing Marijuana was greatly frowned upon. Particularly during the early 1970’s when President Nixon proposed the ‘war on drugs’ policy, where he proclaimed, “The public enemy number one in the United States is drug abuse (Sharp, 1994, p.1).” Despite the ‘war on drugs’ policy, several decades later, America began legalizing the recreational use of Marijuana in four different States including; Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington. Similarly, with the United States’ impact, Canada is in the midst of legalizing Marijuana with the new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau in power. Throughout Canadian history, the United States has greatly influenced Canada’s policies and regulations. For instance, the issues of Doctor-assisted suicide and Abortion were first legalized in the United States and not too long after, Canada followed. In spite of the U.S influence, the discussion of Marijuana is a very prominent and controversial topic among Canadians. In fact, Marijuana can be both beneficial and harmful to all users.

     Since 1937, the US government has been waging war against marijuana users. So much time has been spent on mere drug offenders while rapists and murderers walk the streets raping and murdering. According to the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 70-plus million Americans have admitted to smoking marijuana at least once in their lifetime. It is a harmless source of recreation for millions of people around the world. It has also been proven that marijuana helps to relieve stress. Furthermore, there is absolutely no proof that smoking marijuana can make a person stupid or numb or affect a child’s score on a test. Some believe that the legalization of marijuana would result in increased usage or act as a gateway to harder drugs. Marijuana is legal for

Do you know what marijuana is? “Marijuana is a drug that is always being talked about all over the media. There is constant debate on whether it should be legalized or not. Also, debate on if it were to be legalized, how would they make it work. All these questions are things the government takes into account every day. There is a big divide between people’s beliefs on this matter. Some people think it should be, others think it shouldn’t, and some think it should be with some modifications on the usage. When you look at the benefits, there is no question that marijuana should be legal throughout the entire country. There are way more positive things that could come out of it being legal. The first reason weed should be legalized is because how many other drugs are legal. Weed is one of a few not too harmful drugs that are illegal.”