The Pros And Cons Of Legalizing Marijuana

Marijuana is a natural drug with cancer-symptom relieving properties. People are passionately pushing for the legalization of this drug, but others highly disagree with it. There are many misconceptions about marijuana, which has been illegal for almost a century—but why is it illegal? What makes it okay for medicinal use, but puts tens of thousands of people in jail just for possession? This entirely natural drug has many good and bad qualities, and certainly many different opinions on whether or not it should be legalized for all purposes. In the month of July, 83,982 people were imprisoned for drug offenses alone—nonviolent crimes (Offenses 2016). Plus, in 2011, 49.5% out of 1.5 million drug arrests were solely for marijuana (Weston, 2013). The following gives a little background on the drug itself, reasons to the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana, and the different opinions that come up when discussed.

Hemp, which is the basis for marijuana, is a strong plant that has many uses, such as clothing and rope. Marijuana is the mixture of shredded flowers and leaves that come from hemp—nothing more than just one plant (PBS 2014). Marijuana is now classified as a Schedule I drug; a Schedule I drug has no medical use, and has a high potential for addiction (DEA 2016). However, marijuana addiction has only occurred in severe cases (NIH 2016). Marijuana is also considered a “gateway drug”. A gateway drug is a drug that leads people to do “harder” drugs. Research shows that a majority of people who use marijuana do not go on to use other, “harder” drugs, despite some research that says otherwise (NIH