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Legalization of Marijuana

Decent Essays

Zach Cuffman
Professor Wolf
Final Paper
December 14, 2009
Cannabis: The Billion Dollar Crop

When most people are asked about their opinion of marijuana, not very many actually have a problem with the drug itself. The driving force behind their decision to be against marijuana is based mostly on the fact that it is illegal. TIME magazine held a poll on their website in which they asked their readers if marijuana should be legalized. Given that TIME’s website is not likely to be a full representation of ALL their readers, nor the rest of the people in the United States, an astonishing 80% of the poll agreed that the legalization of marijuana should be put into effect (St. Pierre 1). One philosopher who would probably side with this 80% …show more content…

In 1937, there were estimated to be 55,000 marijuana users. Now, estimates show possibly more than 55,000,000 users. This is a 100,000% increase (Armentano 1). But why, when at 18 years of age, can a person join the military, buy pornography and lottery tickets, use tobacco, and vote, but not use marijuana if they choose to? If philosopher John Rawls was able to see the effects of marijuana, along with some of the dangers of other legal products many of us use today, he would most likely be for the idea of the legalization of marijuana. Rawls, whose idea says that one should show ignorance when decision making, would be able to see such proven facts such as: marijuana does not cause cancer, in specific lung cancer, and there is not one single case against this. The only danger of marijuana that has actually been proven is that the smoke created from smoking the plant hurts your lungs (St. Pierre 1). This is the same danger that is associated with cigarettes, a legal product. The only difference is that marijuana does not cause cancer, nicotine does. Rawls would have to take this into consideration, seeing that cigarettes kill more people than AIDS, heroin, crack, cocaine, alcohol, car accidents, fire, and murder COMBINED in a year, yet remain legal and even receive government subsidies. What is number two, you might ask? Alcohol, another legal product. Another common fact associated with

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