Introduction Cannabis, most commonly known as marijuana, is the most used illegal drug in the United States. It is consumed recreationally for its mental and physical effects, as well as for its religious and medicinal purposes. The discussion on whether or not to legalize the drug for recreational use has been going on for decades. Those against it, claim that it is a “gateway drug”; a drug that increases the probability of trying harder or more addictive drugs. The people that are for the legalization believe that it could help the economy by creating jobs and increasing tax revenue and be more available for those who wish to use it for its medicinal benefits. To opponents, marijuana is an illicit drug that can lead a person down a negative path. People that are against the legalization of marijuana believe …show more content…
Marijuana is a drug included in this four-decade “war”. The increase in enforcement against marijuana since the war began has been perhaps the most destructive part. The toll it has taken can be measured in dollars, years, and lives. Each year, laws on possession costs the nation more than $3.6 billion, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. From 2001 to 2010, the police made more than 8.2 million marijuana arrest, almost nine in 10 were for possession alone. In 2011, there were more arrests for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes put together (Wegman, 2014). When a person is arrested for possession of marijuana, they spend years trying to re-gain what they’ve lost; their arrests stay on their records for years, crippling their prospects for jobs, loans, housing and benefits (Wegman, 2014). After all these years, criminalization has not affected the general usage of marijuana. Every year, about 30 million Americans use marijuana for recreational, spiritual, or medicinal use (Wegman,