Legalization of Marijuana Essay

The fight to legalize marijuana has been going on for decades now and looks to have no end until the result is that it’s legal. My fight would be for it to be legalized as well. Simply because it’s a drug with more benefits then harm. In some states, and other countries it’s already legal and doctor approved which I believe needs to be applied everywhere. Marijuana users will not stand for marijuana probation, no matter how long it takes, punishments or consequences. One might say press the issue! Make harsher laws! These prohibition views have failed to silence users. Marijuana legalization is a persistent issue that will not just go away. I believe it will be legalized because users are willing to continue to fight until they succeed. This will eventually open people’s eyes that the drug is not all bad. Marijuana has positive attributes; a medical value with very mild side effects. Many people use it because they see it good for them especially those suffering ailments. It relieves pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications. I agree that if we do legalize it just for medication that it would leak to other users. But in today’s society many American adults prefer marijuana over alcohol as a way to relax, it has a lot less side effects then alcohol. The use of marijuana in America is a choice that comes with a relatively low dependence rate. Most people develop a tolerance to side effects, and those who don’t usually stop using drugs. Most Americans decide that the benefits of the drug outweigh the risk which the greatest risk is low risk arrest. Legalizing the drug can have more benefits to our county then harming it. If marijuana was legal we could put a tax on it, to make a profit on it. If we look at our crime rate, our law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession. By doing this we waste jail space, clog court systems, divert time of police, attorneys, judges, and corrections officials away from violent crime. When I say violent crimes I mean being able to focus on the sexual abuse of children, terrorism and other more dangerous crimes. For my study I looked for a country that has legalized marijuana and their reasons for doing so. I found that it is a common knowledge throughout the world, that in Amsterdam you may just enter a coffee shop and buy drugs; you will be handed a menu with drugs of the day, and there might be even a special on the menu. It is all accessible, for four joints you will pay the same amount for twenty cigarettes. Marijuana is legal in Amsterdam because the government there realizes that it is much easier to control when they make it publicly available. This way they can tax it to generate state funding and ensure that they know where it is and who’s using it. It’s a much more liberal approach than prohibition, which causes any controlled substance to go immediately underground and leaves the government’s jurisdiction. Marijuana being illegal is much like the prohibition of alcohol. The Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. And unlike alcohol and any prescription drugs, marijuana is not lethal. A study in 2009 by U.S. Department of Health and Human Studies published that 69.7 million Americans are current users of tobacco products, 15 million Americans abuse alcohol, and only 4.2 million Americans abuse Marijuana. Everyday 1,000 people die from smoking related illnesses, 550 die from alcohol related accidents and diseases, and less than 20 die of drug related causes. American adolescents use Marijuana twice as much as their counter parts in Holland where Marijuana is legal. It seems that the temptations to do what you’re not supposed to do are too strong to resist. In conclusion, marijuana should be legal. If we are going to continue to offer these drugs that are more harmful then marijuana then why band one that helps? If continuing to keep marijuana as an illegal substance then users are willing to continue to fight. Like the prohibition of alcohol I don’t believe this fight will end until the users win. Maybe they will think their decision over, and realize it would help us more then it harms us.