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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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