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Should Marijuana Be Legalized Essay

599 Words3 Pages

Should marijuana be legalized?

People have been arguing about the legalization of marijuana for many years now. Currently about 54% of Americans want to see the drug legalized, while 44% want it to remain illegal (Jacques), furthermore nearly 49% of Americans have admitted to actually using the drug (Saad). Marijuana should be legalized because the illegalization is not only hypocritical, but it’s wasting tax dollars while oppressing a whole segment of our society. Cannabis users deserve the same level of civil rights protection just like any other demographic in America receives (Motel). Alcohol is one of the most toxic drugs out there and using just 10 times the amount one would use to get the desired effect could lead to death. Marijuana is one of the least toxic drugs, with a fatal overdose nearly impossible (“Safer than Alcohol”). According to the U.S. …show more content…

The U.S. is now the world’s largest jailer, while drugs remain widely available and treatment resources are scarce. Not only have billions of tax dollars been wasted, but drug war spending has also resulted in the defunding of other important services (“Wasted Tax Dollars”). The number of arrests in 2014 in the U.S. for marijuana law violation was around 700,000, while around 88% of those arrests were for possession only. 57% of the people incarcerated for drugs are black or Latino, even though these groups use and sell drugs at similar rates with whites. People of color are far more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, prosecuted, convicted and incarcerated for drug law violations than are whites (“Wasted Tax Dollars”). So not only are we wasting money on incarcerating individuals who are not a threat to society, we are creating a racial divide between the citizens of the United States by targeting specific groups of people in this “drug

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isn’t the only thing people believe needs to change; the reasons for arrests have been criticized by many. America incarcerates more citizens for drug related crimes than any other place in the world. Of the roughly 200,000 in federal prison, 52% are being held for drug crimes and only 8% are for violent crimes, such as: murder, assault, and robbery (Waldman, 2013). Many believe that the “War on Drugs” must become less aggressive because of its large contribution to the prison population. The distribution of prisoners by race has also raised concern among Americans.

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If the legalization of drugs was measured by their level of toxicity and injury to health, marijuana would be the first to be legal. There are drugs that damage the U.S population being sold at every gas station around the corner. Alcohol vs Cigarettes, explains the health issues on the body the addiction of the alcohol and smoking causes. Excessive alcohol consumption is known to cause the development of sixty major types of diseases and approximately 2.5 million deaths per year, more than HIV or tuberculosis. Alcohol is ranked globally as the third leading cause of disease and disability.

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This subject has been debated numerous times over the past few years. People’s points of view and researches about the topic have varied greatly. Some people believe that marijuana should be legalized, while the rest feel should stay prohibited. Proponents of marijuana argue that there are numerous medical benefits and that the drug is not more harmful than tobacco or alcohol. On the other hand, opponents argue that marijuana is too dangerous; its legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of teens and that marijuana use often progresses to the use of more dangerous drugs like heroin and cocaine.

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