Marijuana versus America
Sarah Marcum
COM/156
8/7/2011 Crystal Darby

Marijuana versus America Cannabis, or marijuana as it is more commonly known, is a substance that can provide many benefits to consumers as well as the economy. The United States should approve the legalization of marijuana so that Americans can reap these benefits. Marijuana, when used as an inhaled substance, has less intense effects than other illegal drugs, even though it is often judged as an equally dangerous substance as other inhalants. The United States could also benefit financially from legalizing marijuana through decreased prison costs, increased tax revenue, and product manufacturing. Finally, marijuana has provided relief in various forms to many people suffering from illnesses such as glaucoma and cancer. This will show that the United States should legalize marijuana because of the less severe effects than other drugs, the financial benefits to the country as well as medical benefits to its users. Marijuana should not be grouped with illegal substances like cocaine and heroin as the effects of marijuana use are not as dangerous. The Journal of the American Medical Association states that 17,000 deaths per year are caused by dangerous drugs such as heroin and cocaine. The potential effects of marijuana use are also significantly less severe than two legal substances both included in the top five of the Journal of the American Medical Association’s (JAMA) list of leading causes of preventable death (Mokdad, Ali H., Marks, James S. and Stroup Donna F. et. al. Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000. JAMA. 2004). Alcohol is the third leading cause of preventable death. According to a Center for Disease Control (CDC) study conducted in 2001, excessive alcohol use attributes to 75,000 deaths per year and contributes to 41% of motor vehicle deaths. JAMA also reported that tobacco is the number one leading cause of preventable death. In a separate CDC study, conducted from 2001-2004 researchers determined that tobacco use and the effects of secondhand smoke attribute to approximately 443,000 deaths per year. In addition to these legal and illegal substances, the National Institutes of Health reports that around 20% of people in the United States have abused prescription drugs. In a 2006 CDC study, prescription drug abuse accounted for more deaths than those caused by caused by heroin and cocaine. Marijuana, on the other hand is vastly different from these substances. A study performed by Kaiser Permanente discovered that smoking marijuana does not increase the death rate of a user over a non-user (Cancer Causes Control. 1997 Sep; 8(5):722-8). Marijuana is generally consumed in its pure form, which contains no chemicals. Because marijuana is natural and does not contain nicotine, it is not addictive like tobacco products, which contain nicotine. Many people worry about the tar contained in marijuana, as some studies have shown that the tar in marijuana is more potent, and therefore more dangerous than the tar in tobacco. Most people consider a heavy tobacco smoker to be a person who consumes around a pack (20) of cigarettes per day. Meanwhile, most marijuana smokers consume fewer than three cigarettes per day. Even the heaviest marijuana smokers consume fewer cigarettes per day than heavy tobacco smokers. The United States should legalize marijuana because it is less dangerous than many other illicit drugs as well as numerous drugs that are already legal. Legalization of marijuana would tremendously affect the economy in a positive way. First, legalizing marijuana would increase space in penitentiaries because there would be no need for arresting marijuana users or distributors. Approximately 27,900 people are currently imprisoned for crimes related to the use and distribution of marijuana (Harm Reduct J © 2006 King & Mauer; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.). Taking into consideration an average cost of $23,000 per inmate per year, legalizing marijuana would save taxpayers over $640 billion dollars per year (Department of Justice: JMD: BS: Budget Trend Data, Federal Prison System Operating Cost Per Inmate 1975-2003). In addition, governments could tax marijuana similarly to the tax structure used for tobacco and alcohol. Sales of tobacco and alcohol products combined for more than $20 billion in tax revenue in the United States in 2008 (State & Local Government Finance Data Query System. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/slf-dqs/pages.cfm. The Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center. Data from U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, Government Finances, Volume 4, and Census of Governments (1977-2008). Date of Access: (22-Oct-10 3:17 p.m.)). In addition to tax revenue, manufacturers can use cannabis or hemp to make many products used today cheaper and of higher quality. The cannabis plant can be used to produce paper and plastics. Hemp can be used to make clothing, shoes, and rope stronger than the same products made from materials currently used such as nylon. Finally, the oil from the cannabis plant can be used to make fuel. Each of these products would be cheaper to manufacture and would provide additional tax revenue to the country. Aside from benefiting the economy, there are also many medical benefits that can be gained from legalizing marijuana use. In some states, marijuana has been approved for medicinal purposes to treat several symptoms associated with chemotherapy used as treatment for many cancer patients. Marijuana is prescribed to relieve pain and nausea associated with chemotherapy treatments. In addition to relieving nausea, marijuana can increase a user’s appetite by speeding up his or her metabolism. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly prescribed medication for the treatment of pain in cancer patients. According to the Journal of American Medicine, approximately 16,000 people die each year from NSAID related causes in arthritis patients alone. Replacing NSAID treatment with marijuana would decrease the number of deaths from people simply trying to obtain relief from their pain. Zofran is a commonly prescribed medication to treat nausea in patients using chemotherapy. Though a generic was recently created and approved, the cost for 30 pills is still $70 without insurance. Since the effects of these pills last eight hours, a patient can go through 30 pills in less than two weeks. Marijuana is also prescribed to glaucoma sufferers to reduce eye pressure. Three five milliliter bottles of glaucoma drops can cost $55 dollars. Marijuana has longer lasting effects and can provide relief of both pain and nausea with one dose. Finally, marijuana relaxes users and allows them to experience a more peaceful sleep. Throughout extensive research, it has been proven that marijuana does not increase a user’s death rate. The effects of marijuana are significantly less severe than other illegal drugs as well as legal drugs like tobacco and alcohol. Legalizing marijuana would benefit the economy through savings in prison costs and increased tax revenue. Finally, legalizing marijuana would provide many medical patients with quicker, safer relief from their symptoms. The benefits of legalizing marijuana use far outweigh the risks. Because of the overwhelming number of statistics proving that marijuana cannot be linked as the cause for any deaths as well as the endless economic and medical benefits to the American population, it is obvious that the United States should vote to legalize marijuana.

Works Cited
Actual Causes of Death in the United States, 2000 Ali H. Mokdad, James S. Marks, Donna F. Stroup, Julie L. Gerberding, JAMA. 2004; 291(10):1238-1245.doi:10.1001/jama.291.10.1238

Diversion and Abuse of Methadone Prescribed for Pain Management, Theodore J. Cicero, PhD, James A. Inciardi, PhD, JAMA. 2005; 293(3):297-298. doi: 10.1001/jama.293.3.297

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 2000–2004. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2008; 57(45):1226–8 [accessed 2011 March11]

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health, United States. Hyattsville (MD): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. [accessed 2011 March 11].
Obtained from the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/

Division of Adult and Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Obtained from the CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/

Marijuana use and cancer incidence (California, United States) Sidney S, Quesenberry CP Jr, Friedman GD, Tekawa IS. Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, California 94611-5714, USA, Cancer Causes Control. 1997 Sep;8(5):722-8.

DOJ: JMD: BS: Budget Trend Data, Federal Prison System Operating Cost Per Inmate 1975-2003 (retrieved from the US Department of Justice Website http://www.justice.gov/archive/jmd/1975_2002/2002/html/page117-119.htm)

State and Local Government Finance Data Query System. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/slf-dqs/pages.cfm. The Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center. Data from U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, Government Finances, Volume 4, and Census of Governments (1977-2008). Date of Access: (22-Oct-10 3:17 PM) (retrieved from the Tax Policy Center website: http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=403) Medical news today: Article Date: 05 October 2003 - 0:00 PDT
Harm Reduct J © 2006 King and Mauer; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. (retrieved from the Medscape website http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524483_12)