Growing up, everyone is told that, “Drugs are bad for you,” time and time again. When you are a kid you don’t really understand the reasoning behind it, but you listen to your elders regardless. I remember being told this my entire life and even to this very day. But when I got older I realized that people would still use drugs even though it’s illegal. I could never understand why someone would go against the law and risk there future just to use drugs? The drug that I am talking about is marijuana, and surprisingly it is all around us. Marijuana is even referred to in today’s media Mainstream media sources that people enjoy, like music, movies, and TV shows, do not even bother to leave the drug out of their system. Now being a young adult and having my own personal experience with the drug and knowing its effects on others, I wonder why it’s not legal. Why is it that this drug has become illegal all over the world? The debate to legalize marijuana in the United States of America has been fought over nonstop since the existence of the drug and its effects. Marijuana has been tested and proven to provide a very positive impact on the American society for many reasons. Some of these reasons are for America’s economy, health and even crime. These reasons could very well help America thrive in the future and that is why Marijuana should be legalized in the United States of America.
This naturally found plant known as marijuana is recognized all around the world. This plant is known to be a drug that gives users a “high” and is illegal in almost every location of the world. There are a lot of places are the world today that are very strict when it comes to this drug but there are also a lot of places that take a much more relaxed approach to the drug some of these places are even located in our country today. In todays world a lot more people are becoming open to idea of legalizing the drug and that number continues to grow everyday. People that have been against the drug for all of there lives are even beginning to believe legalization would prove more helpful then harmful for the United States of America. There are a lot reasons why all of these people are for the idea marijuana legalization and one of the main reasons is the benefit of marijuana being a medicinal drug. Some states in America have already legalized the use of marijuana for medical use only, with a lot of other states in the process of legalizing the drug for medicinal purposes. Other countries like Canada have already allowed medical marijuana use. (“17 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC – Medical Marijuana – ProCon.org.” 17 Sept. 2012.) The fact that states and other countries have already allowed the use of marijuana for a use like medicine should make the drug legal. Marijuana as a medicine can help a lot of people with everyday problems, such as relief of migraines, OCD’s, ADHD, ADD, and even prevention of Alzheimer’s. The drug also has no proven or tested medical drawbacks (“10 Major Health Benefits of Marijuana.” COED. 2. Sept. 2010.) Unlike other drugs like sleep aids, painkillers, alcohol and cigarettes, marijuana is not addictive. Of course the argument could be made that it is, and that it is a “gateway drug”? But in reality there is no factual evidence that proves that marijuana is addictive but simply as a way for people to deal with there every day pains and troubles. There are a lot of nay Sayers out there that will say that it is unhealthy and bad for you. But all of these remaarks are made based off of peoples opinions from they grew up to believe is that truth about the drug. Also, people against the legalization of marijuana quickly attack the topic of medical use of marijuana and instead state it is not good for your body. Another remark is the fact that people would abuse the drug and cause harm to the body. Marijuana has never been proven to cause any harm to the body and there is not a one-recorded death of an overdose on marijuana. Just like everything else in today’s world you do it must be done in moderation like sweets, food, alcohol. Medical marijuana has been tested and proven to be an effective choice for people who suffer from a wide range of illnesses.
Another belief that pro marijuana legalization protestors have is the thoughts of economic relief. The reason why the pro supporters bring up the economic relief topic is because is because of how bad our economy has been over the last ten years we need something to happen to spark our economy again. Like the industrial revolution did for our economy years ago. No one expects that America will recover economically by becoming a “pot nation” but it will greatly help our once economic great country out of the hole it is in already an legalizing marijuana would in no way hurt the American economy at all. Regulation of the drug will bring money into the state and ultimately the nation. Right now medical marijuana in California brings in 14 billion dollars a year and with legalization it is expected to rise by 4 Billion dollars and that’s only California! With the rise of income there will also be cuts on government spending. Every single year America spends around 68 Billion dollars on prisoners in jail where 1/6 of the population were incarcerated due to nonviolent drug crimes related with marijuana. That means America could save 11.5 Billion dollars a year on prison spending with your tax money (Wolff, Madeline. “Legalizing Marijuana Can Reduce Crime, Increase Revenue For State.” Daily Sundial.) The topic on prisons will come up again as well but that’s for later. People that support the cause feel that legalizing marijuana would help bring America out of its economic struggle. The government can regulate the drug in the states by taxing the drug and distributing it for consumption. Marijuana if legalized, would become a product for anyone to purchase to the guidelines that the government or state sets and regulates.
Legalizing marijuana is also believed to reduce the crime rate in America and free up resources. Think about what I said above. About 1/6 of the population in prisons were incarcerated due directly to marijuana charges. You take away the federal law that states marijuana is illegal and you have less crime. Instead of having many crimes due to drug possession and smuggling people will be able to simply purchase it legally. This would keep more space in prisons for real crimes and prisoners and going back to the economy, it would save the taxpayers money. That is the direct effect of legalization but there’s much more. It would also relieve stress on the police and courts that deal with marijuana cases. Going to the police, if officers won’t have to worry about marijuana possession then it would give more time and focus to cops to enforce other and more serious laws. A con statement would argue that marijuana would bring in another problem where marijuana legalization would increase the crime rate of use of much more serious drugs (“Legalization Will Reduce Crime, Free Up Police Resources.” 20. Apr. 2010.) Marijuana has been nailed with the “gateway drug” label for a long time now. It is true that many people start off using marijuana but what makes it irrelevant is that the other factors aren’t observed. Marijuana is an easily accessed drug thus being more abundant and commonly used first. By legalizing marijuana it would not change that fact and people that want to go to that next step and use much more serious drugs can but it will still be illegal so nothing has really changed. There are marijuana possession arrests every single day in abundance all across the nation and without that you relieve the police department. All the suspects of marijuana possession all end up in court and again without it you have freed up the courts where it can trial other suspects. Again people against marijuana legalization will say court resources will drop due to crime rates rising is completely false and has no evidence to even support that. If you have been paying attention to this debate for sometime or just heard of it you would know that marijuana has been decriminalized for recreational use in Colorado and Washington. On November 7, 2012 Amendment 64 was passed making it legal for the people of Washington and Colorado to smoke marijuana for recreational use. (Ferner, Matt. “Amendment 64 Passes: Colorado Legalizes Marijuana For Recreational Use.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Nov. 2012.) This also allows people to carry marijuana on them within the borders of Colorado and Washington (Washington, New York (CNNMoney) — Voters in, and Colorado Passed Ballot Initiatives Tuesday to Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use. “Colorado, Washington Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use.” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 07 Nov. 2012.) This ultimately affects many people in the United States even if they do not live in those states. People that live in neighboring states could simply hop the border and smoke marijuana and it would be completely legal. This potentially brings in tourism to these two states or the “New Amsterdam” just because they allow marijuana use. That means that legalizing marijuana nation wide would bring tourism to all of America and again help the economy. The fact that two states in America have legalized the use of marijuana when it is still against Federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act should put an end to this old law (Curry, Colleen. “Will Pot Laws in Colorado and Washington Make Them a New Amsterdam?” ABC News. ABC News Network, 14 Nov. 2012.) The reason I say this is because when people go back to their own state they can arrested, fired from their job etc. for marijuana use if found in their system. Why allow two states in America go against the federal law and have the other 48 stuck in that system. This clearly goes against the con side, as it is a slight victory in the push for marijuana legalization. It is not nationwide but very well should be since it has been legalized in two states. There is noting anyone can say against the fact that the idea
It is time to put the Federal Uniform Controlled Substances Act to rest. There are numerous clear points that prove legalizing marijuana would only help the United States of America. I say this with confidence because of the medical capabilities, economic relief, crime reduction, free resources and the fact that it has been decriminalized in a couple states already. All of these points are related with each other and directly impact the United States in a positive way. The pro marijuana legalization is backed with many facts that make it the better option while the “nay-Sayers” are driven by a false assumption that marijuana is a terrible drug that only causes problems. People need to open their eyes and stop being ignorant about the fact that marijuana being legal would help the United States in dire need of help. Too many people still look down on the drug simply due to its false reputation. Most of the people against it have never once looked into the benefits it holds and may never will. No one is telling you to use marijuana as well, but the choice should be free for anyone to choose. We all seek pleasure in our life everyday and everyone has his or her own way to achieve that. For some, that source of pleasure is marijuana and all they want is to gain that pleasure like others do. I say let the potheads smoke their weed in peace because all they want to do is enjoy life and it hurts no one. The only problem I have herd from people who use the herb are problems dealing with the law. The push for marijuana use is simply a chain of dominos about to be hit. In the near future America will legalize marijuana use for its people and America will be put right back on their high horse (pun intended) once again.
