Persuasive Essay On Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

While marijuana is illegal today, it was not always a bad thing in the US. American production of hemp, where marijuana comes from, was actually encouraged by the US government for farmers to grow. In 1619 the Virginia Assembly actually passed a law requiring all farmers to grow hemp. Recreational use was not thought of until the 1920s. Recreational use of marijuana was introduced by Mexican immigrants. Marijuana use became associated with the immigrants, and fear of Spanish speaking people. During the Great depression, the towering amount of unemployment increased the fear of the immigrants, and led to higher concerns of marijuana. Then by 1931 29 states had made the use of marijuana illegal. Despite how many helpful qualities it has. Marijuana should be legal because keeping marijuana illegal is expensive. The “War on Drugs” costs our government billions of dollars every year to send people to jail. When a court system sends someone to jail for smoking a small joint, who pays for that person to go to jail? Everyone in the US who pays taxes. A US taxpayer would pay for food, housing health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses to send someone to

There is strong evidence marijuana can reduce nausea and pain in cancer chemotherapy, anorexia, and AIDs/HIV patients. In several studies marijuana has been found to reduce anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and many more psychiatric disorders. Some medicine people take for these problems can create worse symptoms. On some anti-depression or anxiety medications it says a possible side effect is increased suicidal, and homicidal thoughts. One should expect when they are taking medications to help their symptoms, they should not be prescribed something that has a possibility of making it worse. Marijuana may not be able to help everything, but it should be there as an option when someone feels they have tried