Legalization of Marijuana
Sam Miller
Instructor Logan
Soc. 3003
17 October 2011
Legalization of Marijuana
The legalization of drugs in the U.S has been a very examined issue in the past century. Within the past decade, marijuana has become decriminalized in 12 states. Although there are negative consequences that would come along with the legalization of marijuana, there are also positives. The main focus here will be on the positives because that’s what my beliefs correlate with. According to Erich Goode, author of Legalize It, states, discontent over the efficacy and costs of America’s war on drugs has led to calls for drug legalization. But this course, too, has its pitfalls (Goode). I believe that in today’s world the legalization of marijuana could be ideal for multiple economical reasons. Even though marijuana has been illegal for decades, we are now coming to the realization that marijuana, in fact, is less harmful then alcohol and other illegal psychoactive drugs. The reasons why marijuana should be legalized are because it can be used as medicine to treat and prevent pain in many life-threatening diseases, would bring in billions of dollars to the government if regulated and taxed, and is extremely expensive to impersonate users.
First, Marijuana has its positive attributes. It can be used for medicinal purposes with mild side effects, just like your everyday painkillers such as aspirin and vicodin. It provides relief form pain, nausea, and helps with apatite for those who need it. Where on the other hand, alcohol for example has little-to-no medicinal use. It is for recreational use only. If we bring this into account, why is marijuana so bad? If we directly compare the two, people would all agree on the fact that alcohol is overall, more destructive to long-term health. This includes addiction also. Alcohol is proven to be more addictive and enables the user to become more dependent on it then marijuana. I have personal experience with both of these two
Instructor Logan
Soc. 3003
17 October 2011
Legalization of Marijuana
The legalization of drugs in the U.S has been a very examined issue in the past century. Within the past decade, marijuana has become decriminalized in 12 states. Although there are negative consequences that would come along with the legalization of marijuana, there are also positives. The main focus here will be on the positives because that’s what my beliefs correlate with. According to Erich Goode, author of Legalize It, states, discontent over the efficacy and costs of America’s war on drugs has led to calls for drug legalization. But this course, too, has its pitfalls (Goode). I believe that in today’s world the legalization of marijuana could be ideal for multiple economical reasons. Even though marijuana has been illegal for decades, we are now coming to the realization that marijuana, in fact, is less harmful then alcohol and other illegal psychoactive drugs. The reasons why marijuana should be legalized are because it can be used as medicine to treat and prevent pain in many life-threatening diseases, would bring in billions of dollars to the government if regulated and taxed, and is extremely expensive to impersonate users.
First, Marijuana has its positive attributes. It can be used for medicinal purposes with mild side effects, just like your everyday painkillers such as aspirin and vicodin. It provides relief form pain, nausea, and helps with apatite for those who need it. Where on the other hand, alcohol for example has little-to-no medicinal use. It is for recreational use only. If we bring this into account, why is marijuana so bad? If we directly compare the two, people would all agree on the fact that alcohol is overall, more destructive to long-term health. This includes addiction also. Alcohol is proven to be more addictive and enables the user to become more dependent on it then marijuana. I have personal experience with both of these two
Bibliography: Armentano, Paul. "Pot Prisoners Cost Americans $1 Billion a Year." Washington Examiner 17 Feb. 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2011 Bailey, Eric. "Marijuana is top U.S. cash crop, pro-legalization analysis says." Los Angeles Times 6 Dec. 2006. Web. 17 Oct. 2011. Goode, Erich. "Legalize it? a bulletin from the war on drugs." Ethnic News Watch July 2004 [Berkeley, CA: 19. Print.