Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

955 Words4 Pages

Marijuana has been vilified in America over the past 70+ years. Despite its many practical uses, the U.S government continues to maintain the status quo that marijuana is a critical dispute. It is a highly controversial issue in today’s society and is now at the leading edge, both culturally and medically in American Society. Today, the U.S government is in an ongoing battle of the legalization of marijuana for medical and now, for personal use. We the people of the United States attempt to use reason and logic in order to determine our laws. With this intellectual process comes consequence, developing graded scales for punishment and extent of illegality. It is common to think that the more dangerous an activity, the more illegal it shall be and the greater punishment it shall receive. Thus, activities in which aren’t as dangerous are not illegal or looked …show more content…

A most comprehensive and informative report on this subject is, “The Legalization of Marijuana in Colorado” by Kevin Wong and Chelsey Clark, concludes that the ones in favor of making the prohibition come to an end, greatly outweigh the possible negative effects it could have. People who are in favor believe that ending the prohibition could eliminate arrests, resulting in fewer people with criminal records and lessening prison population, cause law enforcement resources and funding to target more serious and violent criminals, not increase in use due to tight regulations, added generated revenue through taxation, and eliminate the black market. On the other hand the population opposing the legalization of marijuana, claim that lifting prohibition can be harmful preventing success or development. Some of the consequences include increase in use among youth and young adults, increase in impaired driving fatalities and rise in marijuana-addicted users in treatment, and adverse effects of physical and mental