legalization
Jessie Coker
Professor Duffy
English 112
13 September 2012
Marijuana: Miracle or Nightmare? For years, the decision of whether or not to legalize marijuana has been a growing issue. Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in the US, behind first alcohol, and second, cigarettes. Currently, the US law stands firmly against the notion to legalize marijuana, but, really though, why? Why shouldn’t it be legalized? There are many positive sides and many negative sides to this argument. Personally, I support the legalization of marijuana, but I am intrigued to learn more about why some people are so against it. In the article “Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana,” by Dr. Robert L. DuPont, he claims that legalizing marijuana would have more negative effects than positive effects on our society, not only socially, but economically as well. Next to alcohol, “marijuana is…the leading cause of substance dependence” (DuPont, 10). It is the most commonly abused drug in the US, and the world, and the “greatest costs of marijuana [are from] the drug itself” (DuPont, 3). With the United States recently still “coming out” of a recession, this provoked DuPont to speak out. The main reason why DuPont would mention cost is because the most shared fallacy about the “principle costs of marijuana use are those related to the criminal justice system” (DuPont, 4). This is false because research shows that less than a half of a percent of all people in prison are there due to marijuana use. DuPont makes the argument that for some offenders of drug-related crimes, the criminal justice system can be a form of rehabilitation. Effectively, DuPont makes the point that “the future of our drug policy [should not] be a choice between treatment or the criminal justice system” (DuPont, 6). Instead, a likely goal would be to join these two systems together to “more effectively…improve…public safety and public health” (DuPont, 6). In his closing statement, DuPont
Professor Duffy
English 112
13 September 2012
Marijuana: Miracle or Nightmare? For years, the decision of whether or not to legalize marijuana has been a growing issue. Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in the US, behind first alcohol, and second, cigarettes. Currently, the US law stands firmly against the notion to legalize marijuana, but, really though, why? Why shouldn’t it be legalized? There are many positive sides and many negative sides to this argument. Personally, I support the legalization of marijuana, but I am intrigued to learn more about why some people are so against it. In the article “Why We Should Not Legalize Marijuana,” by Dr. Robert L. DuPont, he claims that legalizing marijuana would have more negative effects than positive effects on our society, not only socially, but economically as well. Next to alcohol, “marijuana is…the leading cause of substance dependence” (DuPont, 10). It is the most commonly abused drug in the US, and the world, and the “greatest costs of marijuana [are from] the drug itself” (DuPont, 3). With the United States recently still “coming out” of a recession, this provoked DuPont to speak out. The main reason why DuPont would mention cost is because the most shared fallacy about the “principle costs of marijuana use are those related to the criminal justice system” (DuPont, 4). This is false because research shows that less than a half of a percent of all people in prison are there due to marijuana use. DuPont makes the argument that for some offenders of drug-related crimes, the criminal justice system can be a form of rehabilitation. Effectively, DuPont makes the point that “the future of our drug policy [should not] be a choice between treatment or the criminal justice system” (DuPont, 6). Instead, a likely goal would be to join these two systems together to “more effectively…improve…public safety and public health” (DuPont, 6). In his closing statement, DuPont