Why Not Legalize Marijuana? Essay

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The truths about marijuana are slowly starting to resurface, the government keeps ignoring that cannabis could one day be as powerful for the U.S. Unfortunately, these truths about marijuana are under a lot of criticism because of the stereotype of what people see as a "marijuana or cannabis smoker." There is a great difficulty in this law because marijuana is still recognized as a harmful and dangerous substance in some states. This can cause problems because each state has their different views and opinions on the matter, and have their own rules and how the rules apply towards it. The twenty-six states and the District of Columbia currently have laws legalizing marijuana in some form, but California, Massachusetts, and Nevada just passed the law for recreational use. The states that have medical marijuana and recreational legalization are Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Alaska. The states that only have medical marijuana legal are Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, Hawaii (Ingraham). However, legalizing marijuana could have some benefits instead of being a drug with some bad reputations. Marijuana should be legalized because of medical reasons, safety reasons, and have some benefits to society.

Ever since marijuana’s introduction to the United States of America in 1611, controversy of the use and legalization of the claimed-to-be Schedule I drug spread around the nation. While few selective states currently allow marijuana’s production and distribution, the remaining states still skepticize the harmlessness and usefulness of this particular drug; therefore, it remains illegal in the majority of the nation. The government officials and citizens of the opposing states believe the drug creates a threat to citizens due to its “overly-harmful” effects mentally and physically and offers no alternate purposes but creating troublesome addicts hazardous to society; however, they are rather misinformed about marijuana’s abilities. While

Socially, legalizing marijuana would create a safer nation and economically, the US has the potential to earn billions of dollars in extra revenue that the economy desperately needs.

Marijuana was treated as drug and was forbade to use in the past. However, people’s mind has changed. They believe that legalization of marijuana can bring many benefits. Therefore, recreational marijuana was legalized in four states including Washington, Colorado, Oregon and Alaska in the US. In fact, legalization of marijuana will brings many problems. In my essay, firstly I will talk about the health, usage, suicide problems brought by the legalization, secondly I will mention the counter-arguments of economic interest and black market. My thesis is that marijuana should not be legalized in the US.

Only last month the Encyclopedia of Astrobiology reported that 6.6% of the general public claimed to have consumed marihuana. There are many reasons floating around on why marijuana should not be a legal substance and it has become a very controversial topic. Marijuana alters the crime rates in the U.S since it is illegal to own or consume. Therefore, enforcing the law on marihuana gets expensive for the state due to the fact that there are many people incarcerated creating a cost of over 44 billion dollars a year (mic.com). So with the legalization of marijuana those costs would disappear and the tax imposed on to the drug would drive the economy up. Society would be ecstatic that the economy would begin to recover but there is still speculation that the drug would be abused. Since the drug would be such widely available that the prices for the drug would decrease there forth making it prone to abuse. Yet, all the benefits it will provide for our society would outweigh the few negative impacts weed legalization would provide.

Weed, bud, ganja, chronic, dro, herbs, grass, trees, pot, reefer; these are all names of the one drug that causes so much dispute, marijuana. Loved by so many, and hated by the law. It’s a two sided argument which everyone has their own opinion on. Is there any specific reason why weed should be illegal, or is the government just making money from catching people with it? Is there any real medical purpose for marijuana, or is it just a gateway drug for kids? These are the questions everyone should know the answers to. Whose side are you on?

Legalizing marijuana will lead to many societal benefits that will reduce illegal activity while helping the government control the use of the substance and making a profit that can be used to help taxpayers. Marijuana is not a dangerous drug and should be legalized because it does not cause harm to anyone and by legalizing marijuana the government will take control of marijuana distribution and it can benefit a lot of people in many ways. If the government controls the market for marijuana people would no longer be in danger of trying to acquire it illegally and there would be tax for selling marijuana which will benefit both the government and society. By legalizing marijuana the government can make laws about its use.

The Topic of Legalizing Marijuana has been a very conversational argumentative issue in the American society; moreover in the American politics today. There are many good arguments on why Marijuana should be Legalize and my argument is based on facts and supporting details to prove why Marijuana should be legalize. The Legalization of Marijuana would be profitable to our government and economy, according to Evan Wood who is the founder of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy; The U.S taxpayers have spent an estimated $2.5 trillion on the war on drugs. The Legalization of Marijuana would have a medical use, and also useful in some religions; after all Legalizing Marijuana would eliminate the cost of keeping Marijuana illegal

My best friend used to smoke marijuana on a regular basis. Over time, he developed many obvious bad habits and changed his life style tremendously. He started getting lazy with schoolwork, and did not show much interest in anything at all. His parents noticed all these side effects that had been occurring but were unaware that their son smoked marijuana. After the grades fell so much, they decided to take him to get checked out because they were afraid he had developed some sort of ADD. They come to find out that because of him smoking so much marijuana it had led to brain problems, memory problems and affected his thinking skills. He was unable to stay concentrated on something and constantly was out of breath when any physical activity

The use of marijuana for medical purposes and personal use can be recorded as far as 12,000 years ago. Marijuana is classified as a schedule 1 drug. Schedule 1 drugs are drugs are drugs that have the potential for abuse (Drug Scheduling,2016). The government contains the high-level drugs, this is the reason we have pharmacies. Pharmacies are regulated so that people can not get medicine that can be easily abused. Pharmacies require a medical prescription from a certified doctor for any drug that could be used improperly. Marijuana should be in the same category as prescription drugs because, like any medicine/drug it can be easily abused. Decriminalizing marijuana is not helping millions of people that could benefit from its medical benefits from legalizing it. Even though legalized marijuana may result in an increase in black-market drug trade, marijuana should be legalized because its sale could benefit the economy and can also be used for medical purposes.

Willie Nelson once said, “I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is an herb and a flower. God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow, what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?”

It is heavily debated as to whether or not marijuana should be legalized. There are numerous reasons for and against legalizing marijuana, some say that the government can tax it, some say that it helps with certain medical conditions. People also say that it is not a gateway drug and does not lead to drug abuse. Then there is the question of should we legalize it now even though there is no way to test the levels in your blood at a routine police stop. There are some really good points as to why marijuana should be legalized and some good reasons as to why it should not be legalized, the truth is that people are going to smoke marijuana whether it is legal or not.

On August 11, 2016 the DEA reported that marijuana would stay a schedule 1 drug. The DEA (2016) stated through they’re report in the federal register, “the known risks of marijuana use have not been shown to be outweighed by specific benefits in well-controlled clinical trials that scientifically evaluate safety and efficacy". This decision was one that took many people by surprise, especially with the growing number of states deciding to legalize the use of the plant. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (2015), in 2013, there were 19.8 million current users, up from 14.5 million (5.8 percent) in 2007. This shows a steady grow in the use of marijuana. Acknowledging the steady grow of marijuana users, the federal government should take steps to begin federal legalization across the United States. The report published by the DEA focused solely on weighing the medical benefits of the plant; however, the positive effects on the economy and the nation’s crime rate should also be taken into consideration when providing legalization of marijuana.

Legalization or decriminalization of marijuana is opposed by a vast majority of American’s and people around the world. Leaders in Marijuana prevention, education, treatment, and law enforcement adamantly oppose the substance, as do many political leaders. However, pro-drug advocacy groups, who support the use of illegal drugs, are making headlines. They are influencing decision making thru legislation and having a significant impact on the national policy debate here in the United States and in other countries. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is the oldest drug user lobby in the U.S. It has strong ties to the Libertarian party, the Drug Policy Foundation, and the American Civil Liberties Union.