Legalizing Marijuana Currently, a little less than half of the United States has legalized the use of marijuana for either medical or recreational purposes. (“Working to Reform Marijuana Laws." About Marijuana). Contradicting that movement is a federal law against the possession, use, or distribution of marijuana. If one is tried by the government for any of those reasons he/she can be sentenced anything from $1,000 fine to the death penalty, depending on the degree of the crime. As the United States sinks deeper into debt, it is time they look towards a new market. A market from the legalization of marijuana. There are few people who believe that marijuana should not be legalized because it can cause an individual health on stake, and can …show more content…
This would result in billions of dollars in revenue for the United States. In turn, that money could go towards children’s education, national debt, recreation, and more. Also, the legalization of growing marijuana would lower unemployment rates as marijuana plantations would be created. Growing and harvesting the plant could become a profession. Overall the legalization of marijuana would help the United States’ economy greatly. Not only would it help America’s economy in the short run, it would also help the United States in the long run. On the other side some people think that a reason why marijuana should not be legalized is that billions of dollars by the government are misused. They believe that people who possess marijuana illegally are eventually caught by the cops. Criminals are then arrested and sent behind bars. People against the legalization of marijuana think that as the amount of marijuana users increases, so will the number of people arrested. Finance is required to construct new prisons and also to maintain them. Nicholas D. Kristof explains in his article “End the War on Pot” how more money is being spent by California on prisons than on education which shows that more money is dedicated to prisoners than the education of children. The government spends $216,000 annually on young people held in custody, and only $8,000 is spent towards the troubled Oakland public school system. …show more content…
Marijuana has been used for thousands of years and has only resulted in 2 deaths since. The annual death rates related to marijuana use is 0. Let us look take an overview, and let’s compare it to deaths related to a machine that dispenses small articles such as food, drinks, or cigarettes when a coin, bill, or token is inserted. Annually, thirteen vending machine related deaths take place. That is a much larger number compared to the annual deaths by marijuana use. Another argument that can be easily settled, is whether or not marijuana is a gateway drug. When we look at simply the facts, we would discover that only 9 percent of marijuana users continue on to become addicted ("Marijuana." Is Marijuana Addictive?”). In other words, marijuana is far less addictive than caffeine. Rather than the drug leading people take other drugs, it is the dealers. The dealers would convince those who purchase marijuana to try other drugs in hopes that they would become addicted. So the dealer would directly benefit if his or her customer were addicted to one of his or her
There have been 20 million arrests since 1965 for the possession of marijuana, also known as cannabis. The amount of crime and arrests for possessions of the illicit drug has increased due to the prohibition. Cannabis was a major cash crop for the industrial production prior to its illegalization. It has been estimated that the United States spends approximately $7.7 billion each year to prohibit the use of marijuana alone. Currently the number of people incarcerated is six to ten times higher than European countries (NORML). Today the United States wastes billions of dollars to fight against the war on drugs, for the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of people, and etc. It’s also brought a raise of violence and crime relating to the dealing and production of the drug. Marijuana should be legalized because its ban has been futile in preventing illicit production, regulating it would allow new development in medical treatments, and would give a boost to the economy. The illegalization of the drug has a much more negative impact then it does well, in fact it’s pushed drug cartels to produce more of the drug because of the high demand and the millions of dollars they’ll make from profits.
Marijuana has been used by people over many centuries for medical uses. It is a natural pain killer used today as a recreational drug by people all over the world. According to Noel Merino in, “Introduction to Gateway Drugs: Opposing Viewpoints”, “a drug is something other than food intended to affect the structure or function of the body”. Marijuana is a very controversial drug and has been outlawed in many countries for its affect on the function of the body. “Effects may involve hallucinations, impaired judgment, and mood swings.” Describes the effects of marijuana in “Marijuana” Current Issues Macmillian social science library. During the past century Marijuana has been legal, made illegal, strictly enforced, decriminalized, protested, used illegally by millions of people, protested for both views, legalized for medical uses, and the debate continues. People claim that marijuana is not harmful and should be made legal; others protest that it is a dangerous drug that leads to other serious problems personally, socially, and politically. Marijuana has been to cause physical effects such as breathing problems due to the inhalation of smoke if that is the method being used to take the drug. In “Marijuana is Dangerous for Teens”, by Joseph Califano he states that, “nine percent of those who use marijuana become dependent on it”, although it is not a big number it is because that is not the biggest problem with marijuana. Along with all of the health problems that marijuana use causes it also opens up the debate over the gateway theory.
The word Marijuana also known as cannabis, pot, weed, herb and green stuff has been universally criticized since the beginning of the century. According to (Fitzgerald, K. T., Bronstein, A. C., & Newquist, K. L. 2013) “the term "marijuana” typically refers to tobacco-like preparations of the leaves and flowers” (Fitzgerald et al., (2013). (McGuinness, Teena M, PhD,P.M.H.-N.P., B.C. (2009) stated that “Cannabis cigarettes are also called joints, nails, and reefers; pipes for smoking are also known as bongs and bowls” (McGuinness et al., 2009) The truth is that the legalization of Marijuana has positive effects on both society and the wellbeing of individuals and should be legalized. The government can monitor and tax Marijuana thus helping the economy. Secondly Marijuana can be used as medical therapy; thirdly there would be less youth and adults in jails and prisons. Conversely the use of Marijuana can be proven highly addictive among individuals in our society; Marijuana is more harmful that cigarettes and Marijuana is known as the (Gate Way) drug to harsher drugs. The benefits of legalization Marijuana outweigh the cons.
Marijuana has been widely mis-viewed as a bad thing; society classifies marijuana as a drug, parents warn their children to stay away from marijuana because it is bad; but those are all misconceptions. But in reality, it is actually a very beneficial drug to many degrees. Marijuana actually has numerous favorable effects, such as helping people escape the cruel reality for a moment, helping patients who are almost at the end of their lives feel better, and helping the economy recover. In addition, marijuana’s side effects are all due to human abusing it, like the old saying goes, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Although marijuana users have a history of not doing so well in life, marijuana should still be made available to anyone above the legal drinking age and be regulated like tobacco and alcohol; due to its assuaging effects to the economy and human’s mental health.
At the end of the day, the pros weigh out the cons; therefore legalizing marijuana is the way to go. Why not make something useful out of a small leafy plant, that can help out the sick or create money to help pave the roads towards better education. The drug smuggling rate in other states can also decrease, with the legalization of marijuana. Most importantly marijuana can help improve the economy in the United States. With the help of legalizing marijuana people who are sick can have more comfort, schools can have a better budget and the drug smuggling rate can
First of all, illegal sales of marijuana are booming. According to an article on Cedro-uva.org, people often pay over eight dollars a gram for the drug, spending approximately nine billion dollars each year (Harrison)! Most of these costs are solely due to dealer inflation. Drugs are often purchased and resold multiple times, their prices increasing with each sale. Dealers sell their product for hundreds of times the production costs, making huge personal profits with each sale. This money then leaves the economic system and ends up instead in the dealers’ pockets. Having less money circulating in the economy places strain on the system. In this way, illegal sales of marijuana are directly contributing to the economic deficit in which our country is currently finding itself.
Marijuana is the cause of much commotion and debating, as the question of legalization becomes more of an issue. Drugs are a major influential force in countries all over the world today. Legalization is an option that has not had a chance, but really should be given one. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of drug use, legalization would benefit for the following reasons: 1)reduction of money spent on law enforcement 2)increase in the countries revenue 3)lessen crime 4)useful in treating certain medical conditions.
With the growing number of people supporting the legalization of marijuana is it time to pass laws and make recreational use legal, or do all faults outweigh the good? The debate on whether marijuana should be legalized is currently a controversial topic. Many people have expressed their views on the topic, supporting their reasons for whether they think marijuana should be legalized. For some states it was easier to decide if the pros of legalizing marijuana outweighed the cons; such as Colorado and Washington. These states have already legalized the recreational use of marijuana.
In the last fiscal year alone, marijuana brought 70 million dollars in tax revenue in the state of Colorado. Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana recreationally in the fall of 2012, and since then three other states and the District of Columbia have legalized the plant. Based off of sales in states that have legalized marijuana recreationally, if all fifty states legalized marijuana, they would bring in a combined 3 billion dollars in tax revenue yearly. That much money from sales of the plant alone could help to stabilize the suffering economy. Moreover, the American Government would be able to control the plant and distribute it how ever they see fit. The economic growth marijuana legalization could bring to the United States outweighs any argument against
A recurring question in the United States, should marijuana be legalized for recreational use? Although it once was seen as a gateway drug that would lead to a life spiraling out of control. Today, that is not the case in most Americans minds. The support for legalization of marijuana has continued to grow throughout the years and it shows with many Americans now flying in the clouds. Bill Hicks once said, “ Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn’t the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”. Legalizing recreational use of marijuana will impact economy with tax revenue, marijuana decriminalization would free up law enforcement resources and positively take place of addictive prescription drugs. Colorado for example, in the first six months marijuana was legal a huge sector of jobs became available. Job opportunities within the community balances the economy and lowers the unemployment rate. In an article written by Jeff Roberts he declares that, “The
First, the legalization of marijuana would have a tremendous economic impact. Since “marijuana is thought to be the second most profitable cash crop in the United States,” (Erb __) the government could control and then tax the drug if it is legal. This would mean that an enormous amount of money could be raised through the taxing of the drug. A recent study at Harvard estimated that “marijuana legalization would yield tax revenue of $2.4 billion dollars annually if marijuana were taxed like all other goods and $6.2 billion annually if marijuana were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol or tobacco” (Miron ____). The money raised from this tax could be used to improve schools, roads, and public parks. In the end, legalizing marijuana would be a great benefit to the economy.
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...
Marijuana prohibition stands as one of the most unwarranted policies of the United States. Every year we are spending billions of dollars on the War on Drugs with little benefit. Data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show there were an estimated 1,552,432 arrests for drug-related crimes in 2014 – a slight uptick from the 1,531,251 drug arrests in 2013. Marijuana offenses accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests. Most marijuana-related arrests were for possession of the drug. By mere possession, there was one marijuana arrest every 48 seconds in 2014. Including arrests for distribution, there was a pot-related arrest every 42 seconds. This prohibition makes no sense, especially in a country where alcohol use is completely acceptable. Many argue that marijuana use is much more safe than either alcohol or cigarettes, yet it has been illegal for almost 70 years (NORML).
For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of their lives. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from the pain they feel on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The THC in marijuana causes its users to experience a mild-huluciginic or high. The effect that marijuana has on a person has prevented the product from being legalized. Many other details about the plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, have put another blockage on its legalization. Even though there are speculations about the plant, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. Marijuana can also alleviate several symptoms associated with cancer and Aids treatments and disorders. While Marijuana is effective as a medicine, it is also extremely lucrative. The economic benefits that Marijuana brings to the table are endless. Upon marijuana’s legalization, the economy would experience an immediate influx. Legalization of Marijuana would also drastically reduce crime in our cities and form a more productive society through its positive uses. The benefits that marijuana brings medically and economically are considerable enough to legalize its use medically or recreational.
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...