Legalization of Marijuana What comes to mind when thinking about “illegal drugs”? Cocaine? LSD? Heroin? All these drugs are dangerous, bearing countless long-term negative effects. But what about marijuana? It is one of the rare instances of an illegal substance that has no significant negative health effects. Marijuana should be legalized because marijuana-related incarcerations plague America’s tax money, the substance has clear evident health benefits, and it doesn't cause the level of danger that even some legal drugs cause. Marijuana is an illegal substance that has more benefits than all other illegal substances, and it has less negative health effects than other substances that are legal. The chances of lung cancer are much larger if somebody is a cigarette smoker but not if somebody is a marijuana smoker. Many American citizens die every year from alcohol poisoning and drunk driving, but no fatalities have resulted directly from marijuana (Daileda). You cannot physically overdose on …show more content…
Marijuana has obvious health benefits, unlike the prescription and over the counter drugs given to patients who suffer from chronic pain and suffering, which should be enough to make it at least legal; after all, using it is a personal choice. People are getting locked up left and right over marijuana possession and marijuana use. Marijuana “abuse” is taken just as seriously as violent crimes, evident by the fact that police make more arrests over marijuana possession than violent crimes. To be exact, in 2015, 70,000 more people were put behind bars for weed than violent crimes. (Ingraham). Black and white adults use illicit drugs at the same rate, but black adults are more than twice as likely to get arrested for it (Ingraham). This is very alarming that our officials are taking more of an issue over a potentially beneficial drug than