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Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

1893 Words8 Pages

A very prominent and contreversial subject regarding recent American legislature, as well as society, revolves around the legalization of marijuana. Marijuana is one of the oldest psychoactive plants known to humanity and dates back as far as 6000 B.C. It has served several purposes since then including that of food, fabric, and even ethanol fuel. In today's society, however, it is percieved as an illegal drug with a direct association to a swelling crime rate. The possession and use of marijuana, often regarded to as cannabis or the hemp plant, has been considered illegal for many years in the United States. Although, recently, many terretories have legalized the possession of small quantities of marijuana, it has remained an active issue …show more content…

They usually range from simple to more severe punishments depending on the amount of marijuana in posession. Since marijuana is used in such high numbers, these laws as they are now, cost tax payers billions of dollars a year. They essentially have to pay for every individual that is sent to prison for possession of marijuana and nothing more. Most people are sent to prison for possession because they are on parole and it is a violation to have any illegal drugs on you or in your system. Because of the three strike rule, they are only three joints away from spending life in prison, which is extremely expensive for the taxpayers; all due to the illegal status of marijuana. Taxpayers also have to pay for every bit of litigation that leads up to the “offender’s” incarceration. According to Dr. Miron, "Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of legal regulation would save approximately $7.7 billion in government expenditures on prohibition enforcement." (http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/mironreport.html Accessed on June 7, 2010). Due to the country's current economic crisis, the unemployment rate is rapidly increasing and more individuals are claiming welfare and unemployment money from the government. By simply legalizing marijuana and allowing it to be sold in the market, the government can shut down prohibition enforcement agencies and save billions of dollars each

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Topics discussed also include what social or economic effects that decriminalization of marijuana has had on the United States society. The heated-debate situation of marijuana today mainly results from the discrepancy between federal laws and state laws. By analyzing different laws, we can gain an insight into why marijuana is legal today in most states. Also by looking at the social and economic consequences of marijuana legalization in certain states, we can better understand why other states still consider marijuana illegal. This article provides a different and unique angle to explore the research topic by comparing legislative difference among laws.

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The prohibition of marijuana has been a contentious topic for decades, with proponents on both sides of the debate offering compelling arguments to support their stances. In this essay, we will delve into the historical context surrounding the ban on marijuana, explore key figures and events that contributed to its prohibition, analyze the ban's impact on society, and discuss potential future developments in this field. One of the main reasons why marijuana is banned in the United States and other countries around the world is its association with criminal behavior and addiction. During the early 20th century, several factors converged to demonize marijuana and lead to its prohibition.

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Aside from a multitude of medical benefits, it is important to recognize how the United States economy could save an estimated 7.7 billion dollars annually, if they let citizens to have an alternative legal form of medicine such as marijuana. Many of our country’s money saving would stem from the amount of money which is spent in order to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate those who utilize medical marijuana. Caputo and Ostrom have as well stated, “It estimated that the figure represents 10-15 percent of the total trafficking illicit marijuana sales which, assuming a 15 percent

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The Costs of Criminalization Over the last 18 years, 23 state governments have legalized marijuana, taxonomically known as cannabis sativa, for medicinal use. Voters in these states have declared that the federal government has scheduled marijuana inaccurately, in that cannabis has many medical uses. Medical professionals in these states prescribe marijuana as a treatment for ailments ranging from insomnia and muscle pain, to post traumatic stress and epilepsy. But recently, we have seen a shift in marijuana reformation movements throughout the country.

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A Prison Population There are about 537,000 non-violent marijuana possessors put in American prisons every year. By legalizing marijuana we could get all of these people out of prison and bring them back to their families. Marijuana users are put in danger when brought to jail because they are not tough violent criminals and could be violently assaulted and raped, this creates an unsafe area for them. B Help For Addiction

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Marijuana, or cannabis, is a plant that contains more than 100 different components which were utilized for centuries across the world for medicinal purposes (Russo, 2007). The United States enacted various laws towards criminalizing marijuana during

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In the United States, one of the most industrial resources known to earth remains illegal. Cannabis sativa, the genus name for the marijuana plant, has been used for over centuries by civilization for building materials, food resources, medicinal uses, and also recreational uses. The reason this plant remains outlawed is because of the bad reputation that it has taken on. Since a certain form of cannabis sativa is capable of creating a euphoric state of mind and can impair decision making, some people seem to believe that this drug is extremely dangerous. However, much research has been done that has concluded that marijuana is not as dangerous as one of our countries leading killers tobacco, and that the other type of marijuana plant, hemp, can be used for a variety of industrial purposes.

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Recently the legality and criminalization of drugs, specifically cannabis has been greatly debated in the United States of America. Cannabis is a flowering plant that originates in Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent and has been used for centuries for hemp fibre in certain papers, medicinal purposes and recreational use (ElSohly). The recreational use of cannabis also known as marijuana was deemed illegal more recently in the United States’ history since 1937. In the articles, “Harmful Effects of Marijuana Use Are Exaggerated” by Paul Armentano, “Colorado and Marijuana Legalization One Year Later: What Has Changed?”

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As a nation we have come to point where we must take a unified stand on the issue of marijuana. Since 1937 the drug has been deemed illegal by the U.S. government but over the best decade, people have been pushing for the decriminalization of the cannabis plant. As a non drug user, i have researched the internet in search of unbiased information regarding the drugs health, economic, and crime influences on society. The fruits of my labor have brought me to the undisputable conclusion that our continued restriction on possession and use of the drug not only violates the liberties of U.S. citizens, but it also is costing Americans Billions of dollars, and something, our lives.

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Pot legalization could save the economy $13.7 billion per year (Berman). If you had plans to celebrate 4/20 this year you could actually make the government some money, if only these activities were allowed. More than 300 economists suggest that if the government legalized marijuana it would save $7.7 billion annually (Berman). The report added that legalization would save $6 billion per year if they taxed marijuana at the same rate as tobacco and

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The Legalization of Marijuana As a teenage indvidual residing in Idaho, the most prevalent activists and adversaries for the legalization of marijuana are potheads, too high to see past their noses, arguing with their parents in a sad attempt to justify underage drug use, and fanatic religious members venturing to outlaw anything and everything that doesn’t fit within their strict moral code. For this reason, it has become clear that the controversy over the legalization of marijuana has become a joke to those on neither side of the issue. The arguments, for or against, have mutated into a haze of incoherent thoughts, touching on every aspect other than the only one of significance- the matter of freedom. Because the United States government has an obligation to grant personal freedoms into every American home, citizens with a minimum of 25 years should be allowed to partake in any substance, specifically marijuana, that is not harmful to those surrounding them, even if the outcome is injurious to the individual.

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This is for the regulation of the production of marijuana and to regulate the users. Because of these taxes many drug users can’t use marijuana because they don’t have enough money to pay the

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The issues made by strict drug laws are apparent. Enforcing marijuana criminalization as harshly as America does creates more problems than it fixes; ergo, the

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There are many problems in the U.S. today, and one of them is a very big issue. This issue is whether or not to legalize marijuana, which is the dried flower, seed or leaves from the Indian Hemp plant (“What is marijuana”). It is known as the most common Illegal drug that is used in the U.S.. A survey showed in 2007 that 14.4 million people in the U.S. alone had either smoked or possessed marijuana sometime in the past month before the survey was taken (“What is marijuana”). In other words, Marijuana is a very common and popular drug used in today’s society in the country.

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In the past decade, a number of movements to legalize the use of marijuana has been gaining momentum. According to the 2016 Gallup survey, a record high 60% of Americans say that marijuana should be legalized and this figure marks a 9% increase compared to 2014. Support for legalizing marijuana was 31% in 2000, 50% in 2016 before reaching 60% last year. This shows that despite government efforts to eliminate its use, marijuana is becoming more popular. It is clear that

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