I believe that the national government should legalize marijuana for both recreational and medical uses. The legalization of this drug should be done nationally so as to avoid any confusion amongst those crossing state borders. The national government should also set the legal age and legal amount to have in possession, this would again help to alleviate any confusion, and inadvertent law breaking, that might occur while traveling between states. Determining the regulations for growing, amount of tax on the product, and any other things relating to the production, sale, and use of marijuana should be left up to the states to decide and regulate. Medical marijuana is scientifically proven to have benefits for those suffering from conditions …show more content…
In 2015 alone 574,641 arrests were made for possession of small amounts of marijuana intended for personal use. Marijuana is a drug that has been asserted by scientists as less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco (two products that are both legal and easily accessed in the United States). If this drug is less dangerous than two of the most common legal drugs in the country, then why should the United States be spending millions of dollars maintaining non-violent criminals in our prisons? Recreational marijuana would also provide the US government with a major new source of income. In Colorado, where marijuana has been legal for recreational purposes for 4 years now (since 2014), the state government had made $506,143,635 as of May 31, 2017. The money has gone back to schools, helping the homeless, and improving prison conditions amongst other things. In summation, the legalization of marijuana for both medical and recreational purposes would be beneficial to American people in numerous ways and I strongly believe that the national government should legalize it across the board while leaving the decisions about taxation, regulation, and things beyond that up to the individual