Marijuana, the Possibility of a Carefree Future
According to the government’s national Survey in 2010 on Drug Use and Health, over 22 million Americans that are twelve years or older use illegal drugs. If so many people are already using them, why not make them all legal? Although the idea of making every drug legal would give a huge economic boost to the economy, it is extremely dangerous. Therefore, the American government should only allow a few less harmful drugs to be legal. Alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, caffeine, and herbal drugs should all be legal as the economic and overall benefit to society outweighs the detriment.
Although caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, and herbal drugs are already legal, marijuana is not. Marijuana should be legal as it has very little effect on the health of the user and it has the possibility of lowering the United States current debt. If marijuana is sold as a legal drug and is then taxed like alcohol or nicotine is currently, it would yield tax revenues of approximately 46 billion dollars per year (Ghosh). The legalization of marijuana would reduce government costs and raise tax revenues, saving the government roughly 8.8 billion dollars. As for health concerns, marijuana is not nearly as harmful as many other easily acceptable substances. For example, in Jodi Bullock’s article “Pot’s No Different from Alcohol, Legalize It,” she states that between 2001 and 2005, an average of 80 000people died from direct alcohol use or alcohol-related issues, such as vehicular accidents or violence (Jodi). In that same span of time, no one died from direct marijuana use. In this article, she states that a substance that has caused that number of fatalities is legal and available, while marijuana, which has not caused quite as many health issues, is not. She argues that this fact does not make sense at all. Bullock calls for a ban of alcohol, implying that this would make things fairer. She does take a drastic viewpoint when she considers banning alcohol, but who can blame her – it has cause unbelievable amounts of deaths in comparison with marijuana.
Although Bullock has a point in arguing that the illegal drug choice is less harmful than the legal one, a ban on alcohol would not be a good idea. In the 1920’s the government attempted to ban alcohol sales and consumption in a time now known as the Prohibition. This attempt to ban alcohol, however, proved to be futile. People found ways to acquire alcohol – whether it was by sneaking around town to buy it from a salesperson or by making it on their own. In addition, Prohibition introduced the country to one of its most dangerous criminals, Al Capone: “Capone’s multi-million dollar Chicago operation in bootlegging, prostitution, and gambling dominated the organized crime scene” (“History”). In fact, Mike Meno, the director of communications for the marijuana Policy project, stated that he believed that the illegality of marijuana to be comparable to the prohibition, even comparing the Mexican drug cartels to Al Capone. The Mexican drug cartels pose a severe threat to the citizens of the United States. Since 2006, approximately 30 000 people have been killed as a result of Mexico’s drug wars, and the wars are slowly spreading across the border to the United States. About sixty percent of the cartels’ revenue is generated by selling marijuana to United States citizens (Ghosh). So by making marijuana legal, the United States could save money and even make money that could be used to relieve national debt, and it would decrease the amount of organized crime caused by drugs and drug wars.
Herbal drugs such as herbal ecstasy, smart drugs, and melatonin should also be legalized. Many of these types of drugs are taken by people as daily vitamins. Because these substances are sold as nutritional supplements, not drugs, they are not subject to FDA requirements (Kuhn 33-172). Two of the most widely used herbal drugs are St. John’s Wort and Melatonin. St. John’s Wort is very helpful in making the user’s mood better, or acting as an antidepressant. Melatonin is a drug widely used for jet lag. Melatonin is a sleep aid and can be used as a “cure-all” that can help prevent aging and diseases such as cancer. Although herbal drugs are not as harmful or dangerous as other types of drugs, they can still pose a risk to the user’s health if they are abused, which the main is reasoning behind their label as “drugs.” As with most everything, it is possible to die from abuse or herbal drugs. By taking too much of a herbal drug, it can cause heart attack, high blood pressure, or even a stroke. However, the government should not make herbal drugs illegal because they pose little threat to users if used correctly and are more frequently used for true health reasons than abused to alter the user’s state of mind
Lastly, both alcohol and caffeine should continue to be legal. Alcohol, although it is one of the most abused drugs in circulation, is not as dangerous for the user if taken in moderation. In addition, based on history, making alcohol illegal is not a wise choice and will most likely cause more hard and crime than it would good. Caffeine is also a widely abused drug, although most people do not recognize caffeine as a drug: “Caffeine is a stimulant and can be found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, over-the-counter pain relievers, over-the-counter stimulants, and some prescription medications” (Kuhn 33-172). Fatal overdose of caffeine is extremely rare, but still possible. The main draw of caffeine use is to help users stay awake, alert and to improve physical performance. Caffeine allows the user’s body to store large amounts of energy and conserve that energy, allowing it to be used throughout the activity. Overall, caffeine is a relatively safe drug, yielding only minor negative side effects. The main side effects of caffeine are stomach issues and nerves or jitteriness. Caffeine is also a main cause of the country’s obesity crisis, as caffeine heavy drinks contain large amounts of sugar and additives that are detrimental to one’s overall health. However, caffeine and alcohol should not be illegal. The threats they pose to society are very minor. Prohibiting them would cost the government a lot of money, and it most likely would not even work.
Caffeine, alcohol, and herbal drugs should all remain legal, while marijuana should be legalized. Legalizing marijuana would have a positive effect on the economic situation of the country, and possibly even alleviate some debt by the creating of jobs and tax revenue. The benefit of legalizing marijuana outweighs the detriment because it would not only boost the economy; it would also decrease organized crime in the United States in relation to drugs. Furthermore, people are going to use marijuana even if it was illegal, so by making it legal, it allows for the government to raise funds.