Marijuana has long been the subject of many heated debates and political platforms. With lack of un-biased materials on marijuana, it quickly became victim to publications and political propaganda in the early 1900s. Richard Isralowits writes, “Publications from the period had such titles as Marijuana-Sex Crazy Drug Menace, Marijuana-The Weed of Madness, and Marijuana: Assassin of Youth”(Use of Marijuana,105). Surely in this modern age and heightened public awareness our marijuana laws, drafted in a time of extreme bias, have got to be obsolete. Although many people still have strong opinions against the legalisation of marijuana, after review of current un-biased studies and reports they will find that this is not the case. Marijuana should be legalised in Canada because of the cost, the justice system, and the health concerns.
The cost of marijuana prohibition is gigantic. Including policing, court appearances, and incarceration, the bill on taxpayers is endless and a large amount of this money is for cases of simple marijuana possession. Daniel Egan and Jeffrey A. Miron estimate that, “[L]egalizing marijuana would save...$8 billion per year in prohibition enforcement costs”(Budgetary,17). This is a huge amount of money that could make its way elsewhere into the infrastructure like drug awareness and prevention. Not to mention the priceless amount of time given back to the police forces to peruse more harmful crimes. In their report the Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs finds “[A]pproximately 50,000 drug-related charges in 1999.... Overall, 54%... were for possession [of cannabis]”(Cannabis,130). As far as budget costs for any part of the judicial system go, a 54% reduction in anything would go along way. The legalisat...
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Earleywine, Mitch, ed. Pot Politics. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.
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Egan, Daniel, and Jeffrey A. Miron. “The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition.” Pot Politics Ed. Mitch Earleywine. 16.
Gore, Robert, and Mitch Earleywine. “Marijuana’s Perceived Addictiveness: A Survey of Clinicians and Researchers.” Pot Politics Ed. Mitch Earleywine. 176.
Isralowitz, Richard. “The Use of Marijuana in the United States: Reflections.” Journal of Social
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Mulgrew, Ian. Bud Inc. Inside Canada’s Marijuana Industry. Toronto: Random House Canada, 2005. Print.
People often associate Mexico and Southeast Asia with the main source of drugs because a significant number of drug activities in these two regions are often globally reported on televisions. Nevertheless, Canada also has a problem of drugs, especially regarding the issue of marijuana. In the journal article “Canadian Cannabis: Marijuana as an Irritant/Problem in Canada-US Relations”, Paul Gecelovsky claims that Canada-US relations may be strained because a large amount of marijuana has been illegally exported to America continuously, and American wonder that Canadian policy base on marijuana problem is too light. By reflecting the marijuana issue on the relationship between Canada and the United States, the author presents a strong and reliable argument by appealing to logos through using statistical evidence, appealing to ethos through citing scholarly articles, and using the claims of cause and effect.
A big step in lowering incarceration rates is federally regulating marijuana. About 64% of inmates convicted of drug offenses have no history of violent crimes. These inmates need rehabilitation not incarceration. Possession of marijuana should be treated more like a traffic violation rather than a reason to send people to jail. The government would still collect their money and in turn not have to pay the costs of housing a prisoner.
Should marijuana be sold at corner stores to anyone? Recently, some of Canada¡'s politicians have claimed to introduce the legislation of legalizing marijuana. According to the policy, the possession of marijuana will not be considered as a criminal sanction. Indeed, marijuana will become a legal substance. People who are over 16 can buy it over the counter just as alcohol or tobacco. Although legalizing marijuana may be beneficial to those people with medical purposes, it will create more problems and dangers to the society. The problems that associated with legalizing marijuana are causing negative impacts on public health and increasing marijuana consumption among youths. Also, the misuse of marijuana may cause people to drive under the influence of the drug, and hence, more accidents may occur, causing more expenses on public health care. Clearly, the downsides of legalizing marijuana outweigh its benefits.
Today, many people around the world smoke marijuana for therapy or recreation, which is grown from nature, but in some countries, nature is illegal, except a substance which is legal: alcohol. In fact, Marijuana or Marihuana from Spanish language also can be known as cannabis, hemp, weed, and pot. Marijuana is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of leaves, flowers, stem, and seeds from the hemp plant, whose scientific name is Cannabis sativa (National Institute Drug Abuse, 2012). Marijuana has a long history of use as a medicinal herb, and the use has been expended around the world from China to India and the North Africa and leaded to Europe for thousands of years. They also have several different cultures in various ways. For example, it was recorded as medication to treat many kinds of health problems by the Chinese, and the earliest fabric and rope were believed that it has been woven from dried hemp, and around 6000 B.C., marijuana seeds were used as food in China (Canadian medicinal Marijuan, 2010). The Persian prophet Zoroaster also wrote a sacred text on “the Zend-Avesta”, which listed that marijuana was at the top from 10000 medicinal plants in 550 B.C. (Canadian, medicinal Marijuana, 2010). The marijuana has been adapted in people’ lifestyles and social environment over thousand years.
charges could lead to more time in jail and more cost to the government.This makesthe prison system less efficient than it already is. There are organizations that think that the legalization of marijuana would help both the economy and th...
What is Marijuana? According to, “What is Marijuana?” (2005), it explains marijuana is the commonest drug in the world, which is often called weed and pot. Also, people will get excitement when they smoke marijuana, but it is a dangerous drug because there has a chemical in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that can change people’s feeling and see something in different ways. Many think that marijuana should be legalized; however, should marijuana become legitimate in Canada? This topic has been argued for a long time because marijuana is an illegal drug, and smoking marijuana will bother other people who are not smoking it. Therefore, marijuana should not be legalized because it can cause a few negative effects such as problems on health, social and society.
The history of marijuana in North America is integral in understanding the reasons it is now illegal and how to...
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 marijuana has a small amount of negligible effects to its users, the herbal drug more importantly has remarkable health benefits, and legalizing one of the oldest and most commonly known drugs would redirect America’s future with the advantages outweighing the disadvantages.
“Marijuana should be removed from the criminal justice system and regulated in a manner similar to alcohol and tobacco. Legalizing and regulating marijuana will bring the nation's largest cash crop under the rule of law, creating jobs and economic opportunities in the formal economy instead of the illicit market. Scarce law enforcement resources that could be better used to protect public safety would be preserved while reducing corrections and court costs. State and local governments would acquire significant new sources of tax revenue from regulating marijuana sales.” (Drug Policy Alliance)
Deliberation on the legalization and regulation of marijuana is divisive where one side argues for its economic contribution through taxes while the other argues against it because of the health concerns associated with prolonged marijuana use. On one hand, there are social and health issues that arise at the expense of marijuana legalization, which is bound to encourage prolonged use among youth who are then vulnerable to addiction and mental health problems. On the other hand, the economic and tax benefits that comes from legalizing marijuana are undoubtedly important because the money from the taxes can help regulate the consumption and prevent youth be affected by this drug as it’s has been done with tobacco and alcohol. Therefore, marijuana in British Columbia should be legalized and regulated owing to its economic advantages; also the reduction of organized crimes will benefit society greatly, since the income generated would be used to mitigate marijuana perceived health risks, which have not been verified as opposed to alcohol and tobacco.
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.
The legalization of marijuana is considered a controversial issue, something that can benefit people for medical purposes, but what about recreationally? Marijuana has been illegal since 1937, but there’s never been a bigger push for legalization. There are several reasons why it is illegal, because of government propaganda and big industry not wanting to lose money, but this will be discussed later. The purpose of this paper is to educate, theorize, and discuss various aspects of marijuana, such as its history, development, and the advantages and disadvantages of marijuana legalization. Finally, my personal reflection on legalization and marijuana in general will be discussed.
In recent years, there has been a strong push towards decriminalizing marijuana in Canada. Decriminalization refers to the act of removing criminal sanctions, such that possession of marijuana as well as consumption of it would not result in a criminal prosecution. Currently, under Canada’s Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, possession of marijuana (up to 30 grams) carries a penalty of 6 months in jail as well as a $1000 fine for first offences with the penalty increasing for subsequent offences. (canadian criminal code) Advocates of marijuana decriminalization argue however that this puts a huge burden towards the legal system. More specifically, expenditures are being wasted towards the enforcement of the controlled drugs and substances act, which can be reallocated and distributed elsewhere. Additionally, since possession of marijuana involves criminal prosecution, law-abiding Canadian citizens who have no prior record but have been prosecuted for simple possession would have a difficult time applying jobs among many other problems, which can impact society as a whole. This paper will look into these arguments in detail and conclude that while decriminalization can lead to some economic benefits, the economic costs have been understated. By decriminalizing the drug, the public will be encouraged to use it leading to increase in both supply as well as demand, with none of the profits going to the government.
With America’s war on drugs being highly focused on the increased use of marijuana, there is not much time for officers to focus on crimes of greater importance. Crimes related to illegal marijuana use are becoming more problematic due to drug deals that go bad, occasionally ending with murder. It has been estimated that one marijuana-related arrest is made every 42 seconds. With marijuana being illegal, keeping crime related activities under control cost the United States approximately twenty billion dollars per year (Sledge). According to Brian Bremner and Vincent Del Giudice, “A 2010 study by the libertarian Cato Institute, forecasted that states could save $17.4 billion annually from reduced drug enforcement costs and increased tax revenue, assuming marijuana production and sales were legal nationwide” (11). Several law enforcement hours are exhausted with pursing, questioning, and arresting citizens that are in possession of or consuming marijuana. There would be a decrease in the number of misdemeanor possession cases that are pending hearing. These cases would be dismissed, decreasing costs affiliated with each case. There are excessive numbers of people who remain incarcerated for nonviolent crimes related to illegal marijuana use. Legalizing marijuana would allow these people to be released, opening jail space for the true criminals. Legalizing marijuana would free up law enforcement officers from focusing on illegal marijuana use and allow focus to be put on more serious
First of all, marijuana can have many positive effects on crime. Legalizing marijuana can actually decrease crime rates in the U.S. This past year, it was counted that 6.9 million people are inside the American’s jails and prisons. 60,000 of these individuals were there for marijuana according to one study. With the legalization of marijuana, it would cut the amount of tax we pay for these jails and prisons, costing us a total of 1.2 billion. Last year a total of 7 to 10 billion dollars was used towards arresting and processing against marijuana. The big picture here is that 90% of those arrests were just for possession. It is crazy that as a country we spend most of our time trying to stop the biggest drug in America when it is just wasting our money. There are less arrests on violent crimes than marijuana charges combined. These “violent crimes” consist of assault, rape, robbery, and murder. How awful is it that we waste our time on this drug when there are so many other bigger problems we could be solving or people to be saved. Cocaine and heroin arrests have actually decreased by 1/3 from 1991 to 2000. While marijuana has more than 700,000 people are ar...