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Speech on Marijuana Legalization

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A well-known issue, right now, in the USA is that of the legalization of marijuana. This controversial topic is on the minds of our entire country. Whether or not to legalize marijuana has been a nation wide debate for years. In this informative speech I will be discussing only facts and opinions. Opinions and facts will come from organizations such as The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization Organization and the Drug Policy Alliance. Marijuana Legalization is an issue because there are so many individuals using the substance illegally. These individuals feel that Marijuana is not a harmful substance and can serve to profit states that legalize it. The biggest concern on everyone’s mind is that …show more content…

Because they are illegal, marijuana and other drugs are only available on the black market, and anyone who enters the drug market is likely to be exposed to more than one drug. The solution is simple: by legalizing and regulating marijuana sales, we will eliminate the connection to hard drugs.” (MLO) They use Holland as an example. “In Holland, where politicians decided over 25 years ago to separate marijuana from the illicit drug market by permitting coffee shops all over the country to sell small amounts of marijuana to adults, individuals use marijuana and other drugs at rates less than half of their American counterparts.” (norml.org) The argument is that, if marijuana were not illegal it would not be a problem. The DPA website states that the majority of the individuals that use marijuana never even use any other illicit drugs. This statement disproves that common misconception about marijuana being a gateway drug. Finally my sources argue that keeping marijuana illegal it is costing more than necessary. MLO claims that “Cost of keeping marijuana illegal = cost of active law enforcement + cost of prosecution (and defense!) of accused offenders + cost of incarceration of convicted offenders + hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue that would be generated if drugs were legal and taxed + cost of foster care and social services for children of incarcerated offenders.” “Washington state would save about $105 million a year if

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