Essay On Decriminalization Of Marijuana

      In the article “Drug Policy and the Intellectuals,” William J. Bennentt, chides intellectuals who believe drugs should be legalize. Bennett challenges his audience , by attacking intellectuals. However Bennett tries to win over his audience of intellectuals in two ways: by calling upon their talents and by attacking on the arguments of intellectuals who favor legalizing drugs. .He shows an understanding of others’ viewpoints by addressing points of opposition several times during the article. Bennett demonstrates knowledge of the subject by supporting

The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans

We should decriminalize drugs in the U.S. instead of legalizing them. Decriminalization refers to the lessening of criminal penalties of certain acts. According to De Marneffe, “… the legalization of drugs … [is] the removal of criminal penalties for the manufacture, sale, and possession of large quantities of recretational drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine” (346).

Just Say No.” This phrase was uttered in 1982 by Nancy Reagan, the first lady of the United States, in response to a schoolgirl’s question of what she should do if offered drugs (Weinraub A5). These words became the slogan for a nationwide substance abuse prevention program that followed the then recently enacted drug policies intended to discourage the manufacture, sale, and use of illicit drugs in the United States. These zero tolerance policies carried harsh penalties and strict enforcement for all drug related offenses. Almost four decades later, these policies are still in effect, as is their focus on criminalization as a means to reduce the availability and usage of drugs. Their ineffectiveness is evidenced by the facts that drug use rates have remained steady over the past four decades and incarceration rates have exponentially rose during that same period. I believe that a new course of action should be taken, and a bold new drug policy should be enacted. Decriminalization would result in a substantial decrease of the prison population, relieve the unnecessary burden that has been placed on our criminal justice system, shift the paradigm from drug enforcement to drug treatment, reduce the health risk of HIV, AIDS, and heroin related deaths; and provide unprecedented benefits from the regulation of the manufacturing and sales of substances that are currently illegal.

Drug abuse has progressively, over the last thirty years, become a tool for crime organizations and bureaucracies, independent and under the control of the federal government, used to transform drug addiction into a profit through the passage of countless laws against drug abuse. Gore Vidal's assertive essay communicated his belief that drug addiction should be legalized in order to ensure the eventual well-being and individual freedom guaranteed to Americans by the constitution. When drugs were made illegal, freedom of choice for Americans was chiseled away by the hard-hammering central government. Many agree with Vidal in that drugs that are now illegal would be just as dangerous and addictive if they were

For many years, a real push has been looming on the idea of legalizing now illegal drugs. This has become a hot debate throughout nations all over the world, from all walks of life. The dispute over the idea of decriminalizing illegal drugs is and will continue on as an ongoing conflict. In 2001, Drug decriminalization in all drugs, including cocaine and heroin, became a nationwide law in Portugal (Greenwald). Ethan Nadelman, essayist of “Think again: Drugs,” states his side of the story on the continuing criminalization of hard drugs, in which he stand to oppose. Whether it is for the good of human rights or not, decriminalizing drugs may be a good head start for a new beginning.

Just close your eyes for a minute and picture what the world would be like if

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), “Marijuana also called weed, herb, pot, grass, bud, ganja, Mary Jane, and a vast number of other slang terms is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves and flowers of Cannabis sativa the hemp plant.” For centuries this plant has been used by men and women worldwide for a wide array of medical ailments. Its medical benefits forms the premise on which many countries have had and continue to have the discussion for the plant’s decriminalization and to a larger extent the legalization of the plant. Countries such as Amsterdam, Belgium, Australia, Canada, some U.S. States, some central and South American countries, and Jamaica have all decriminalized marijuana for either medical or recreational use or both (The Cheat Sheet, 2015). Uruguay is the only country to take that big leap in fully legalizing the plant (The Cheat Sheet, 2015).

Marijuana can be widely found and be easily grown in the United States. The easy accessibility of drugs poses a serious threat to law enforcement around the country that have and has tried to enforce the law to eradicate the use of drugs according to laws put into place by the legislature and supposedly most of the people in that state. Marijuana is still illegal in some states and as time progresses the number of states which can still uphold that marijuana is illegal has changed. Today, Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing marijuana in some form or way out of the fifty two states of the Union. The increase in marijuana and other drugs being used in that state has its ties to narcotic crime which could be linked to the cartel for other drugs that are out there. Thus, it increases narcotic crime in those states that choose to legalize it. Another con of marijuana and of other dangerous drug use is the most obvious. It’s the health of the individual who consumes it by smoking it. Your lungs are inhaling substances such as tar and it is among other things that can affect your breathing. According to the American Lung Association, “Smoking marijuana clearly damages the human lung, and regular use leads to chronic bronchitis and can cause an immune-compromised person to be more susceptible to lung infections. No one should be exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke.” It can affect not only the

“I 've never had a problem with drugs. I 've had problems with the police.” This quote, told by Keith Richards, represents a major problem affecting the rights of the American people. Contrary to what former presidents Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and much of the American population believed, the effects of illegalizing drugs and declaring the “War on Drugs” have been far more detrimental to the wellbeing of the nation than if all of the drugs on the Controlled Substance Act (CSA) were made legal or even decriminalized. Although many people believe drug legalization may eventually lead to an increased crime rate, each and every drug on the Controlled Substance Act deserves to be legalized

Hi I’m Dominick and I’m going to persuade you to agree with me to legalize recreational marijuana use can benefit the U.S. Even though the drug is consider dangerous, it has many pros and cons.

were to become legal then that number would raise and so would the number of

Legalization of Drugs The drug connection is one that continues to resist analysis, both because cause and effect are so difficult to distinguish and because the role of the drug- prohibition laws in causing and labeling "drug-related crime" is so often ignored. There are four possible connections between drugs and crime, at least three of which would be much diminished if the drug-prohibition laws were repealed. "First, producing, selling, buying, and consuming strictly controlled and banned substances is itself a crime that occurs billions of times each year in the United States alone" (Lindsmith Center). In the absence of drug- prohibition laws, these activities would obviously stop being crimes. "Selling

less dangerous than tobacco and people smoke less of it at a time. Or you can

Since it’s discovery, marijuana has been used as a recreational drug by many individuals. Marijuana has been always seen as a “safe” drug to use with no serious complications or side effects. Many marijuana users believe that it does not have serious side effects like cocaine, crack, and heroin. Many “pot-heads” believe that smoking marijuana is okay and it stimulates brain activity. Since the 20th Century, marijuana has been prescribed by doctors for use to deal with the bad effects of having glaucoma and cancer. Marijuana is currently okay to use for medical reasons on a state government level, but is still illegal to use on a federal government level. However, the debate over marijuana usage has gained momentum in recent years, and there are about ten states that have now legalized the use of marijuana. About eighteen states, have lowered the punishment for using marijuana and have “decriminalized” the usage of the marijuana. Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the United States; it has the potential to boost the economy, solve countless health issues, and cut millions of dollars spent on drug enforcement issues.