Cannabis, chronic, bud, weed, pot, grass, the list is endless. Harboring several names, marijuana use, is illegal in most of United States. In California, marijuana can be prescribed to cancer patients, aids patients and people who suffer from glaucoma. But the recreational use is strictly prohibited in most of the 50 United States. Considering the liable revenue, the social and health related factors of marijuana as opposed to legal substances like alcohol and cigarettes; the recreational use of marijuana should be legal for social and economic reasons.
Marijuana has been proven to induce less side effects, or negative factors than either alcohol or cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes causes cancer, in several different forms, is physically addicting, and has enough other chemicals in it to kill small animals. Along with the extremely addicting nicotine, and tar-filled tobacco, cigarettes contain other chemical s such as rodenticide, formaldehyde, and sometimes even ammonia. Still, it is legal to buy, and smoke. Alcohol, another prevalent “evil” in society, too can cause severe internal problems (liver disease), is psychologically addicting, and in large quantities can in fact be fatal (alcohol poisoning). Both these legal substances have proven more dangerous than marijuana. Marijuana is not physically addicting. In most cases, especially if cultivated and smoked appropriately, it contains no other chemicals. One cannot “overdose” on marijuana or get “pot poisoning”. However, the government manages to ignore such proven facts, and maintains the legal sale and use of alcohol and tobacco products.
Approximately $5.00 a day, $35.00 a week, $140.00 a month, and $7280.00 a year; smoking a pack of cigarettes a day is costly habit. But theoretically, it is not that expensive to grow. So, where do the disparities in prices come from? The federal government has an extensive list of taxes, and tariffs put on tobacco. The taxes on a pack of cigarettes make up for more than 50% of the price. The tobacco industry is viewed as this inherent “evil”, and the government does all it can to thwart the industry, including the taxation of all tobacco products. If the government were to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, the same taxes, and tariffs could be applied to the sales of marijuana cigarettes. The revenue collected from this would be astounding. With this revenue, more regulation could be enforced and it would soon be harder for kids and teenagers to acquire. And just like alcohol and cigarettes, a state license could be issued for the distribution, and a legal “pot smoking” age could be enforced.
For many years now marijuana has built up its reputations as the gateway drug which destroys youths lives. Not saying this is false “...the majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, "harder" substances” (Is Marijuana a gateway drug?). But what does it do to the body. “How marijuana affects health is determined by how it's consumed. Marijuana is most commonly smoked, such as from pipes, bongs, paper-wrapped joints, blunts and other items including devices that heat or vaporize marijuana...” (Marijuana and Lung Health). Any kind of smoke in general is dangerous to humans so it does not matter if it is firewood smoke or tobacco smoke it is not healthy for the lungs. It is already know that smoke from tobacco is harmful and kills 480,000 people annually. “There are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 7,000 chemicals. At least 69 of these chemicals are known to cause cancer, and many are poisonous” (What is a Cigarette).While marijuana does have some of the same chemicals in tobacco it does not have as much. So why is something that is recorded to kill 480,000 people annually legal but something that is not as harmful illegal.
Marijuana is commonly referred to as a drug, which associates it with substances such as ecstasy, cocaine, meth, etc. The fact is that Marijuana does not have a lethal effect on the body, where as drugs like cocain and meth can be lethal even on first use. Even drugs that aren't illegal are more dangerous than marijuana. Alcohol and cigar...
Have you ever thought about what marijuana actually does to you? Most people hear the word marijuana and see the picture perfect scenario. They picture goofy stoners smoking a joint, and laughing until there stomachs hurt. This would be the situation in a perfect world. Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world. There are always setbacks to every thing we do. As humans evolve we believe more and more that we are all invincible. We do not think about the major affects of the different things we do recreationally. This includes marijuana. One of the biggest debates in the United States is the debate about legalizing marijuana. Many people believe that marijuana should be legalized because why not? They think that it would be beneficial
Alcohol and marijuana are two drugs commonly used and abused in the United States. Alcohol is the number one abused drug, while marijuana is number one among illegal drugs. While alcohol remains legal, and marijuana illegal, this does not necessarily mean that alcohol is better for you. There have been many arguments where people suggest that marijuana should be legal because alcohol is more deadly. On the other hand, there are alcoholics who would tell a pothead that smoking weed is bad for you. Both substances are very bad for your health and should not be heavily used by anyone.
Marijuana has a greater beneficial impact on society then many people realize. Marijuana should be legalized for medical as well as recreational purposes. This is a highly controversial issue that is being debated throughout the country. In essence marijuana is evaluated by the effectiveness of the drug. It is defined as the dried flowered clusters and leaves of a hemp plant smoked for the intoxicating effect. Whether it should be legalized or not is the real question.
When many people think of using marijuana, the image of Woodstock, “Cheech and Chong” or Willy Nelson immediately pops into their heads, but marijuana isn’t just used to have a good time. Marijuana has generally been used recreationally. In recent years, however, research has found new ways to implement its effects. Marijuana has the ability to help bring comfort to patiens who have nausea and appetite loss, chronic pain, and mental disorders. I believe that marijuana should be legalized, not for recreation, but for the betterment of the lives of people suffering from illnesses throughout the United States.
Cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana, is a plant that people have been using recreationally for years. In fact, people have consumed marijuana since ancient times. Until 1906, the year the United States Congress passed the Pure Food and Drug Act. The debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the United States has really blown up within the last decade. And finally, in 2012, Colorado became the first state to officially legalize marijuana for medicinal and recreational uses. The prohibition of marijuana has gone on for far too long, and it is time for America to change its views.
With an estimated twenty-five million active marijuana smokers in America that consume nearly thirty-one million pounds of marijuana each year, we are missing out on extreme revenue that this country cannot afford to go without for much longer (Krulick). Specialized government funded programs such as Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) cost around $7 billion and are in danger of being defunded to save money (Whitehouse). Marijuana tax revenues exceed $6 billion and would help less fortunate women in need of assistance when they are raising a child. On the state level, Alabama has a projected profit of $8.9 million in tax revenues alone from marijuana sales (Miron). States could increase pay or set up better retirement for police, firefighters, teachers, or any other underpaid public service.
Let’s begin with US revenue gain that would occur from legalizing marijuana. Marijuana Offers Extreme US revenue boost in several different ways. Shouldn’t we want to collect revenue due to taxation other then criminalization? Marijuana is too expensive for our justice system and should inst...
Cannabis is a natural plant that has been made illegal by the United States, and has been a controversial topic ever since the 1920’s. Marijuana is a substance that has been used hundreds of years ago as an herbal medicine and also can be used for textile products from hemp, which is from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Because of marijuana being categorized as a schedule one substance, it has no medical value and cannot be researched in the United States. Marijuana is said to be a gateway drug and is very unhealthy for adolescents with premature brains. The marijuana prohibition should finally come to a close because there are many benefits from cannabis and it is less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco.
Marijuana is the third most common leisure drug in the United States after alcohol and tobacco. Millions of Americans smoke marijuana despite the strict laws against its use. Marijuana is less dangerous compared to tobacco or alcohol. Smoking marijuana can cause breathing problems and coughing just like cigarettes and some people get addicted after using for a while. Regulating and legalizing marijuana will bring Americas greatest cash crop under law, create economic opportunities and jobs in the formal economy as opposed to the underground market. Adopting a legally controlled market for marijuana will ensure that consumers buy the products from a safe and legal source. Marijuana has been approved in some states for medical uses to ease the effects of different health challenges. Colorado and Washington legalized m...
The legalization of marijuana will have a huge impact on the economics of the United States to the point that I feel that government will assist in the continuation of these companies. If it is passed in the government the selling of marijuana could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. Colorado is the latest state that has approved the selling of marijuana for recreational use. This topic has been tossed around by the officials for years now. Legislators in Colorado have “consider excise and sales taxes on marijuana of up to 30 percent combined” (Frosch, 2013). With the rapidly growing market and marijuana industry rules and regulations had to be put into place. Even this tax charge needs to be implemented and enforced. “These taxes are set high enough to finance the administration of new laws, but not so high that customers are driven back to the black market” (Frosch, 2013). There are many financial benefits as a state can help pay for the enforcement and other fundamental issues. One bad thing about taxing so high is that you can simply crowd out the regulated market. It is important to find the right balan...
Before deciding whether marijuana should be legal or illegal, one needs to know some basic facts. Lester Grinspoon, M.D. and James B. Bakalar note "most botanists agree that there are three species of marijuana; Cannabis sativa, the most widespread of the three, is tall, gangly, and loosely branched, growing as high as twenty feet; Cannabis indica is shorter, about three or four feet in height, pyramidal in shape and densely bran...
Marijuana continues to be one of the most used illegal drugs in the United States. Marijuana has been used for many years and at one time was legal to consume. Throughout the years, marijuana has been used for treatment of different medical conditions and has been used recreationally by people of all ages. While the use of medicinal marijuana has proven to be effective in treating medically ill patients, society continues to question its recreational use and the long term effects it will have on its users. Some feel that legalizing marijuana will only open up avenues for the use of more potent drugs, causing an increase in criminal activity. However, a number of people question why it is considered illegal being it is a naturally growing
Recreational marijuana should not be legalized because of the many negative health effects it has on a person. Marijuana has a big effect on the lungs and when marijuana is smoked it can cause harm to the lungs. The smoke from marijuana has cancer causing substances in it. “Smoking marijuana can cause large air sacs, called bullae, to form. Bullae normally form in young marijuana smokers (less than 45 years old.)” (Drake and Slatore). Marijuana smoke has the same harmful chemicals that tobacco products contain, and marijuana smokers develop lung damage because of this. The fact that marijuana smokers hold the smoke in their lungs longer than tobacco smokers and there is no filters in bongs, bowls, blunts, or joints, there is no safe way to smoke marijuana. Blunts are the wrapping of a cigar filled with marijuana, a...