Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

The tug-of-war between good and bad rages on in the marijuana debate.

Is it possible that our forefathers didn’t know marijuana could be smoked? Historically cannabis was seen as one of the most versatile plants. It was used for paper documents, sail making, rope, fibers for clothing, and even Ford motor company began testing it as an alternate fuel source. It was a valuable agricultural commodity even though it was labour intensive to refine. Once cotton became a better resource with less labour intensity, cannabis fell out of favour as a cash crop. This had much to do with the timing of bad media and fear that was generated at the start of the 1900's. At one time, farmers in Virginia state were required by law to grow it because it was such a critical crop. It is a fast growing plant, sometimes growing 2 inches per day and can grow in a variety of regions. It was used in Russia, Asia, South America, Europe, India, the Middle East; almost the entire world, as a medicinal source for a myriad of ailments. It was a drug before humans had drug addictions and could be found in

Law enforcement has failed at regulating pot without discriminating against a race. This discrimination is partially due to the history of the drug coming into America. Because marijuana smoking was introduced to the American population by immigrants, Hispanic people, along with black people, are stereotyped as marijuana users and drug dealers. If pot were to be decriminalized and legalized this uncalled for stereotyping based on race wouldn’t happen as often. Additionally, we would have far fewer people going through the justice system. This not only would reduce our court costs, but first time pot offenders, who have no criminal history, would be kept away from all the negative influences jails have to offer. We would be putting a halt to the formation of new offenders by not having them in the jail system to begin