...impose a problem? Marijuana is not as bad, as thought to be. In fact there are many positive things that come from marijuana use, and many negative things that come from it being illegal. Although marijuana is made up of a drug, THC, it should be legalized. Laws on marijuana put a burden on the United States. First, there are many more crimes being committed other than crimes evolving marijuana each year. According to Paul Rushman, more people are arrested for marijuana crimes than all violent crimes each year, imposing a major burden on U.S. law enforcement (2004). Legalizing marijuana would result in the ability of law enforcement to focus on more serious crimes than those of marijuana crimes. Secondly, the U.S. government must send a considerable amount of money to enforce marijuana laws. Since 1997 the government spends $7.5-$10 billion yearly as well as 2.4 million would allow law enforcement’s time to be better spent over all. Third, marijuana legalization would save billions of dollars each year, that could be better spent (Taylor, 2005). With the legalization of marijuana the $7.5 -$10 billion could be put toward education; public health, and other government projects. Legalizing marijuana would lessen the burden of both time and money marijuana has imposed on the U.S. The drug in marijuana, THC, has medicinal purposes. For instance, Victims of cancer and HIV have benefited from the use of marijuana. In cases such as AIDS and cancer the use of marijuana has increased...
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...Marijuana in the U.S.: A Failing Prohibition Recently two of the fifty states passed state laws allowing the recreational use of marijuana. Not only do the new marijuana laws conflict with the national law that marijuana is illegal but the new laws have put in question how states are able to pass laws that directly conflict with national laws. Although each state has the right to govern and create laws never before have any states directly disobeyed national law with the passing of state legislation. Prior to the new laws passed by Colorado and Washington 18 states and the District of Colombia had already passed laws allowing the use of medicinal marijuana. The District of Colombia and the other 18 states have acquired incredible amounts of tax dollars due to the medicinal marijuana causing many people to question whether the national government should continue with the prohibition over marijuana. Not only will the national government receive tremendous amounts of tax dollars, the government spends too much money fighting marijuana use and marijuana is also safer than other legal substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs. Therefore marijuana should not be illegal in the United States. Although government expenses are high, and the predicted tax benefits are tremendous many people are still very strong supporters of the prohibition of marijuana. Even with government regulated substances such as tobacco and alcohol killing large amounts of people each year the...
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...Vincent Piccoli Professor Melville EN 112 25 November 2014 The Legalization of Marijuana The legalization of Marijuana has gradually become one of the most talked about topics in the world today. It has been a fight between the government, the states, and the citizens of any country/countries around the world. From 12 percent in 1969, to 25 percent in 1995, to 36 percent by 2005 and hitting 48 percent in 2012, the demographic shift on this issue has been stunning. (Heuvel, Kartina Vanden) There are 23 states in the United States with some form of marijuana legalization. Whether it be the legalization of marijuana medically or recreationally, or some both. Legalizing marijuana has some very big advantages along with the pros and cons already. For most states, legalizing marijuana will benefit the economy greatly, marijuana is more harmless than many other drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, cocaine. There always is that chance it does not benefit the economy but the percentage of marijuana users throughout the world is increasing every year. (Heuval, Kartina Vanden) With all of this comes responsibility and with the right determination and structure, Marijuana should be legalized but with regulations. One positive effect the legalization of marijuana will have on society is the medical aspect of marijuana. So many people need and use medical marijuana to help treat themselves and take care of themselves. For some it is their only cure and for some it is more like...
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...Organization. (Medical Marijuana Mall USA, 2013). Medical marijuana is safer than prescription drugs, alcohol, and spice. Marijuana is more beneficial to use than prescription drugs because of the lack of serious side effects. The most common side effects of marijuana are coughing, wheezing, and bronchitis. These side effects are easily taken care of by using a vaporizer or preparing foods with marijuana. Marijuana is less dependable than prescription medication such as pain killers. Prescription medications are now killing more people in the United States than illegal street drugs. Even more importantly the consumption of marijuana cannot result in a fatal overdose. (Medical Marijuana Mall USA, 2013). Someone can’t even take a Tylenol or Aspirin without there being serious side effects to the liver and other organs in the body. Medical marijuana is not lethal, prescription and even non-prescription pills, powders, liquids, and injections are. (Medical Marijuana Project, 2012). A CBS news editorial by Dr. Mitch Earleywine mentions that medical marijuana can be marked cheaper to use than certain prescription drugs. This is especially relevant to patients in chronic pain who do not have medical insurance and need to pay out of pocket to see a doctor for a basic pain killer prescription. While THC, an active ingredient of marijuana, is available and viewed as legal, the FDA approved prescription drug Marinol, medical marijuana is substantially cheaper than Marinol. (Medical...
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...Phil Murphy, New Jersey’s Governor, campaigned with a promise to legalize marijuana within his first 100 days in office. He stated in his inaugural address “a stronger and fairer New Jersey embraces comprehensive criminal justice reform — including a process to legalize marijuana”. There is currently legislation to legalize recreational marijuana being debated in the state senate. This bill would permit people that are over 21 to have possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for personal use. It would be regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol. Recreational marijuana has already been legalized in 10 states, and has been legalized for medical use in 39 states. This was initiated by the debate about whether marijuana should be legal....
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...Marijuana vs. Alcohol “In fact, someone fifth to one third of Americans assumes that pot is more dangerous than booze. Another one third of Americans consider marijuana to be just as dangerous as alcohol.” It is my contention that these misconceptions about marijuana alleged dangers are the primary obstacle to changing the laws when it comes to marijuana in our country. Therefore, my goal is to show to you, the reader, that marijuana is not only less harmful than alcohol but that the difference is really quite significant. With science and society forever changing, the subject of marijuana is changing as well. Over the tears science has proven that marijuana is safer that alcohol. There have been myths that marijuana damages brain cells, when in actuality studies have proven that marijuana has neuroprotective properties. One major study done by researchers at the University of California San Diego has proven this fact. Subjects aged sixteen to nineteen years old were used for this study. The study showed the people that binge drink showed more evidence of white brain matter damages in eight regions of the brain that were examined. While on the other hand, the people that smoked marijuana actually had little or no damage to their brain than those who drank. There have been many people who have succumb to the over usage of alcohol and tragically lost their life to an overdose. For a person to overdose on alcohol they need to have a blood alcohol...
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...Imagine having a stressful day at school or work. When you go home you have a ton of homework to do and your home is a mess! All you want to do is lay down, relax, and take your mind off of things for a couple of minutes. You hear that smoking marijuana reduces headaches and stress and you decide to take a hit, then you get this amazing feeling. You stop worrying about the bad things in your life, then for a few minutes you start to enjoy those moments of you forgetting about all your worries and stress You even laugh relieving all the weight you carry from the most stressful moments of your day. Marijuana should be legal in the United States. Prohibiting marijuana has enormous costs to regulate the use of it. Police devote thousands of hours...
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...It was a dark raining night and Gerald just got home from a stressful day at work. So Gerald went outside and rolled a joint up to relive some stress. The next day Gerald walking into work and takes a drug test Gerald had forgot that he had marijuana in his system from the night before.Out of nowhere his boss calls Gerald into his office and Gerald saids I know what this is about and his boss gives him a warning and sends him on his way. Gerald goes to his office and starts to research the danger of marijuana Gerald finds a interesting article about how alcohol is 10x worse than marijuana.”proponents of legalization argue that is much safer use than alcohol, pointing out that it is virtually impossible to overdose on marijuana”(paragraph...
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...Legalize Marijuana Shannon Bunting November 12, 2011 Elizabeth Hermans ITT Technical Institution The legalization of marijuana would benefit the United States for several reasons, which is why the government needs to seriously consider legalizing it. There are many advantages medically that help many patients who have terminal illnesses. The money from legalizing marijuana could also generate several billions in new revenue a year. Marijuana is also safer for people than alcohol, cigarettes and many of the prescription drugs that are available. Despite the many arguments as to why marijuana shouldn’t be legalized there are many benefits as to why it should be and the government needs to take a look into the issue. Medical marijuana has been known to help patients with terminal illnesses be able to handle the pain and nausea. Studies have shown that it makes patients be able to eat and keep their food down which enables them to maintain their weight. The active chemical in marijuana is THC and is what allows the patients be able to manage the pain for many illnesses. Studies have also shown that when patients use medical marijuana it causes the sells to undergo a process called autophagy. What this does is it makes the cancerous cells feed on each other leaving the healthy cells alone. It has also been known to help keep Alzheimer’s patients from getting worse. The THC in marijuana has the ability to...
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...Last Teacher Composition 1 16 November 2014 Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana is a very well-known drug that has been around for thousands of years. This drug is one of the most popular drugs in the world. Some of the most wealthy and prosperous people in the world use marijuana. There are reasons these people use marijuana but they still have to use it on the down low because it is still illegal in most states in the United States. Why is it still illegal? Marijuana is a very desirable and safe drug. If it were legal, it would benefit the United States economy by creating more jobs, more taxes for the government, and many other ways related to marijuana sales. “If cannabis was fully legalized it could generate $46 billion in revenue.” (Schneider 12). Marijuana is much safer than many other products similar to it. Alcohol, prescription drugs, and tobacco have all caused more death than marijuana. Marijuana can also benefit in saving lives. The drug can help cure many different diseases or illnesses such as aids, asthma, and psychological conditions. Marijuana should be legal for sale and use. The most significant reason marijuana should be legal concerns the economy. “A single states government could receive $2 billion every five years in marijuana sales.” (Kinsley 9). In Colorado marijuana is taxed 25 percent from retail producers which is great for the economy (“Controlled Substances Act”). If marijuana was legal then so many more jobs could be attained by people that...
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...and drinking alcohol. Researches states that cannabis is the most consumed illegal drugs used today, while alcohol is the number one drug used and abused. Whether the vice is habitually puffing marijuana or consuming alcohol, smokers and drunkards are seen undoubtedly in every neighborhood in small towns and large cities. Although a great controversial issue for decades, the legalization of marijuana for the past recent years has soared to new heights of popularity...
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...Huffington Post about his stance on the legalization of marijuana. He states he is against the legalization but not the decimalization. Dr. Samuels proceeds to state that legalization would be a nightmare on the fact that marijuana would be available in stores across the country, and that it would mirror the alcohol and tobacco industry. In relation he states that “alcohol has created so much dysfunction and destruction in our society, why would we want to introduce yet another drug that gets people high.” Ok, so I do agree that alcohol does create dysfunction and destruction. This I agree with 100% . I do not agree that introducing marijuana would do the same. Alcohol creates destruction not only to society but to the body as well and cannot cure much of anything compared to the healing properties of marijuana and marijuana is less addictive. “Alcohol's addictive qualities are well-documented. Approximately 17.6 million people, or one in every 12 adults, suffer from alcohol abuse or dependence, according to the NIAAA and t he addictive qualities of marijuana are not yet fully understood. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates 9% of people who use marijuana will become addicted to it. For comparison's sake, cocaine hooks about 20% of those who use it.” (Is marijuana as safe as -- or safer than -- alcohol? By Jen Christensen and Jacque Wilson, CNN updated 11:19 AM EST, Wed January 22, 2014) Eventually alcohol use can lead to liver disease, neurological problems...
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...fight the war on Marijuana. Marijuana has been a hot topic lately, and the debates really been heating up. The main question is how much would our country benefit from the legalization of recreational marijuana? Our citizens and political leaders have a chance to cash in on one of the biggest cash crops in existence today. Legalizing marijuana for recreational use has the potential to be very lucrative and beneficial to our country and society. To fully understand the debate on legalizing marijuana, you must know what marijuana is and how it came to be outlawed in the U.S. in the first place. Marijuana is a plant that produces flowers or buds that can be smoked to produce...
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...Should the U.S. Decriminalize Marijuana? Every year our government spends about nineteen billion dollars to control the usage of marijuana. About seventeen thousand people were arrested last year because of it. The U.S. spends about twenty thousand per year house keep these inmates. (Miles) Who are these dangerous people that we are talking about? These people are considered pot heads. There is a marijuana arrest every forty two seconds in the U.S. In most cases most people who are pulled over don’t have a lot. Yet the government is letting jails get over crowded and using money the government needs. The economy in the U.S. is horrible, but the U.S. could save billions of dollars by decriminalizing marijuana. Marijuana should be decriminalized because it helps people with health issues, it saves the U.S. tons of money, keep jails safer and less congested, and benefit other people that need it. Marijuana should be decriminalized because it acts as a natural pain killer. Studies have shown that marijuana sometimes is the only painkiller that can help a person. For example, it helps people with chronic nerve pain due to injury or surgery feel less pain, relax, and sleep better. (Doheny) This is only one of the pains that marijuana can help, but there are many more. Today, more than 60 U.S. and international organizations support providing marijuana to people that need it. (NORML) Since marijuana is priceless and can assist so many people with medical care for many...
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...not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will, and the government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the individual. But this argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs that are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco. There for the most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. Some often ask “why should marijuana be legalized?" but we should ask "Why should marijuana be illegal?" From an abstract point of view, we as individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. There is no logic why someone would be pushed to take legal drugs that are proven to sometimes be potentially worse for one’s body and mind. “Marijuana is far less subject to abuse than most drugs used to treat the same conditions. It is also less addicting. Dr. Lester Grinspoon, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, says that “Marijuana is safer than most drugs used to treat the same problems.” Since there is no known case of lethal marijuana overdose, that would mean marijuana is safer than aspirin. According to John Marx, one thousand people a year die of aspirin overdose. The side effects of aspirin can also harm young children. The estimated ratio of lethal to effective dose is 40,000 to 1. The second major reason that marijuana should be legal...
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