Arguments For Legalizing Marijuana

Ending Prohibition Since 1951 the federal government has prohibited the production or consumption of marijuana. In 2012 two states challenged this policy by instating legislation that legalized recreational marijuana use in their states. These two states, Washington and Colorado, have reopened the marijuana legalization debate, and Americans are questioning the current federal policy regarding marijuana. The U. S. government should follow these states and legalize marijuana for recreational use despite the minor health drawbacks for the economic benefits correlated with legalization. Unlike the famed 1980’s anti-drug campaign in featuring a fried egg with the catchphrase “this is your brain on drugs” recent research, including the research published in the National Academy of Sciences report Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base (1999), comes to the conclusion that “moderate use of marijuana produces no serious, long-term consequences for individuals or for the general society” (Newton). Newton’s article “Arguments for Legalizing Marijuana also states that “long-term use of marijuana appears to have no permanent effect

The first month that Colorado’s legalization policy took effect they raised “$2 million in taxes related to the sale of recreational marijuana” (Phillips). Colorado used the first forty million dollars of this tax revenue for school construction immediately benefitting the Colorado community. Legalization of marijuana would also create an entirely new industry in the United States creating jobs a healthier economy. Marijuana benefits the economy at such a large rate that “500 economists signed a petition urging a renewed debate on the benefits of legalizing the possession of marijuana” (Newton). This proves that marijuana legalization would provide a variety of benefits for all Americans, cannabis consumer or