Preview

Legalizing Recreational Marijuana

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2439 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
Tamika Deebs
Broward College

Abstract
This paper will discuss Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational use. I will have several arguments which will include the negative and positive effects of the use recreational of marijuana. Also how the government would benefit from taxing recreation marijuana. I will compare the use of marijuana to the use of tobacco. I also plan on arguing how regulating marijuana will generate revenue for the economy, and will help to stabilize employment rather than growing the numbers of inmates.

Legalizing Recreational Marijuana
Marijuana has been used throughout history as a highly potent medicinal herb. Its plant matter has been used for textiles and shelter, and it has played a significant role in religious ritual for many cultures. It is ultimately one of the most resourceful plants on the planet. However, in the last century, enforcement of marijuana prohibition laws has increased and today marijuana is grouped with heroin as a schedule one drug on the federal level. Despite the increased funding of the so-called “war on drugs,” more specifically marijuana, production of marijuana and the amount of crime associated with it increase every year. With appropriate government regulation, the legalization of marijuana would save money on the war on drugs, offer many other economic benefits, reduce the gratuitous amount of crime revolving around one of America’s top cash crop, and open up a new field of potential medicines containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana.
Every year the United States government spends billions of dollars to fund the war on drugs, which is conducted mainly by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). More specifically, the extremely well-funded Domestic Marijuana Eradication/Suppression Program (DCESP) is the portion of the DEA that specifically deals with the enforcement of



References: Eitzen, Stanley, and Maxine Zinn. Social Problems. Boston: Pearson, 2006. Gettman, Jon. “Crimes of Indiscretion: Marijuana Arrests in the United States.” Norml.org. 1 Nov. 2005. NORML. 23 Nov. 2007 . Gettman, Jon. “Marijuana Crop Report: 2006.” Norml.org. 11 Jan. 2007. NORML. 23 Nov. 2007 . Joy, Janet, Stanley Watson, and John Benson. Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. FBI, UCR for the US 1990 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1991), pp. 173- 174. FBI, UCR for the US 1980 (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1981), pp. 189-191. - See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Marijuana#Crime Washington: National Academy Press, 1999. Szasz, Thomas. “The Ethics of Addiction.” Harper’s Magazine Apr. 1972: 74-79.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Drugs have become one of the most controversial topics in the world. Some specific drugs are more frowned upon such as Marijuana. Marijuana is a plant in which its official name is “Cannabis”. Over the years this plant has become increasingly popular to people who don’t usually convert to traditional methods to relieve the stress of a hard day. “The National Drug Threat Assessment states that over 25.8 million individuals 12 years of age and older have smoked marijuana at least once in their life.” The rate has remained the same since 2008. The government labels these statistics as too high as they fight to keep one of the most contentious substances off the market. In 1970, Congress passed The Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act .…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The debate whether or not marijuana should be decriminalized throughout America has been a trending topic for decades now. Marijuana should be decriminalized because it would save the government the time and effort of trying to stop this nation's so-called war on drugs, which evidently has been a failure. The first step to legalization of marijuana is to decriminalize it. Marijuana is undoubtedly the most popular in the United States, the quantity has risen dramatically, the price is cheaper, and more and more people are tempted to start. The illegal drug use and drug related crimes have killed nearly 20,000 Americans annually. The argument whether or not the legalization of Cannabis for medical or recreational use have been an ongoing quarrel…

    • 763 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Wagner, Benjamin B. Dolan, Jared C. 2012. “Medical Marijuana and Federal Narcotics Enforcement in the Eastern District of California.” Mcgeorge Law Review 43, no. 1: 109-126. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.…

    • 2054 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Because of the absences of valuable research concerning the base business of marijuana, the programs, strategies, and theories that exist are voided attempts to enforce irrelevant policies. Instead of making educated guesses about proper policing strategies, there has to be a greater, deeper amount of research taken to fully understand the businesses and production of marijuana. Porter, Gaines, and…

    • 2467 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bibliography: * National Institute on Drug Abust. "DrugFacts: Marijuana." Marijuana. N.p., Dec. 2012. Web. 08 Feb. 2013.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotation

    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Anderson, Matthew. “ Record Marijuana Arrest Feed The Prison Industrial Complex.” 30 Jan. 2009. Social Medicine. Social Medicine, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.…

    • 1553 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    In society today, many people are looking for a feeling of freedom. Some go on vacation and spend money while others look to drugs. The sense of high that results from using marijuana acts as an escape from the stresses of everyday life. As a result, a tremendous number of Americans participate in the illicit use of marijuana. Our American society is facing a tremendous drug problem that will increase exponentially by the legalization of this drug. Marijuana should be illegal because it will cause an increase in drug users and drug related crimes, the short term and long term effects of marijuana on the body, and the effect it will have on the country.…

    • 1519 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Article Rebuttal

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Opendoors, "The Criminal Justice Costs of Marijuana Prohibition in Rhode Island," (Providence, RI: March 2010), p. 1.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Marijuana Research Paper

    • 2977 Words
    • 12 Pages

    In America today, marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug. The name marijuana is a Mexican slang word, which became popular in the 1930’s, which refers to the medicinal parts of the cannabis plant. Marijuana is a green, brown, or gray mixture that is created through drying the leaves and flowering tops of the cannabis plant. Some of the more popular street names are weed, pot, herb, grass, Mary Jane, boom, gangster, and chronic. One question that has haunted Americans for a long time is “Should the use of marijuana be legalized?” Some say, “Yes”, while others say, “No”. Owning marijuana was made a criminal offence in 1937 when Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act. Even with this new law, people continued to use the drug.…

    • 2977 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Caulkins, J. P., Hawken, A., Kilmer, B., & Kleiman, M. A. (2012). Marijuana Legalization What Everyone Needs to Know. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.…

    • 2324 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Stevens, Amanda L. “Legalizing Marijuana Allows Police to Focus on Violent Crimes”. Rawstory.com. Web. July 18, 2013. www.rawstory.com…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 3597 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Several topics in modern day society cause controversy, but one topic that out ranks them all is the legalization of marijuana. The main argument is whether not marijuana should be treated the same as already legalized drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol. Many Americans use marijuana illegally; the people using the drug range from the age of teens to even adults in their eighties. Marijuana is considered by most, especially in legal terms, as a dangerous drug. Although the drug is seen as such, many still continue to use it and argue it should be legalized for several reasons. Both citizens and government officials alike debate this topic. To successfully develop and argument for the legalization of marijuana the topic must be defined, the history of the topic must be unveiled, an argument must be made, and a good solution should be proposed. Yes, both sides of the argument both have well supported positions, but marijuana should be legalized by the United States government because the facts supporting legalization far outweigh the arguments keeping the drug as it is.…

    • 3597 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Legalization of Marijuana

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Marijuana has a history dating back many years, and has been used in various cultures in different ways. In recent years, marijuana has become a forefront topic in the world of American politics whether or not it should be legalized. Marijuana has been adapted to fit our lifestyles and our social environment. A vast amount of the world’s population smoke marijuana for various purposes. Thus, the drug should be legalized because it has many medical beneficial uses, the ability to generate billions of dollars in tax revenue, and would lower the cost to imprison individuals arrested for crimes related to marijuana.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Marijuana prohibition has been in America since the 1930’s, but prohibition took power and money from the government and gave it to gangs and criminals. There has been a nationwide war against marijuana for years now; yet the drug is still very easy to find and acquire. Prohibition was implemented to reduce the use, selling, and cultivating of the marijuana plant (Venkataraman). Prohibition is largely depended on arrest, incarceration and, the seizure of private property; but it has failed miserably. These days it is more potent, easier to acquire, and cultivated since beginning of the prohibition. Amazingly, marijuana is America’s number one cash crop at 33.8 billion dollars, more than corn (23.3 billion) and wheat…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Marijuana, also known as cannabis, is a plant that can be ingested or smoked. This plant, or rather botanical, is illegal in most of the country with the exception of some states giving physicians authority to recommend the use to their patients. The purpose of this essay is to examine both the benefits and the risks of legalizing marijuana. Marijuana has many medicinal properties that have been proven to be therapeutically effective for various conditions. However, this drug also has carcinogenic properties and dangerous short- and long-term effects on the body. Although advocates may argue that the legalization of marijuana has many potential benefits, such as it would lessen our national debt and benefit our overall economic system, opponents may beg to differ. In this essay, the debate over the legalization of marijuana continues, with arguments over the therapeutic benefits versus the dangerous adverse effects of marijuana, the influence marijuana has on individuals, and whether or not the legalization of this drug could benefit our economy.…

    • 5889 Words
    • 24 Pages
    Better Essays