Argumentative Essay: The Legalization Of Marijuana

In the past decade, a number of movements to legalize the use of marijuana has been gaining momentum. According to the 2016 Gallup survey, a record high 60% of Americans say that marijuana should be legalized and this figure marks a 9% increase compared to 2014. Support for legalizing marijuana was 31% in 2000, 50% in 2016 before reaching 60% last year. This shows that despite government efforts to eliminate its use, marijuana is becoming more popular. It is clear that

The government isn’t just spending too much on the war on drugs, they could instead be making billions in tax revenue from the marijuana trade. There will always be money to be made from marijuana, but the government needs to decide if the money will go into their pockets, along with legitimate business owners, or into the pocket of drug dealers. When regulated and taxed correctly, marijuana legalization can produce remarkable economic benefits for a state. As proven by marijuana trade revenue in legal states, “In 2015, the legal marijuana industry in Colorado created more than 18,000 new full-time jobs and generated $2.4 billion in economic activity” (Ingraham). The fact of the matter is that the jobs and economic activity related to marijuana continue to persist in the unregulated states, however it goes unrecorded and untaxed, because after all it is illegal.

According to Katie Lobosco, a CNN journalist, in the first year that Colorado sold recreational weed, they brought in a tax revenue of $53 million dollars. Although this sounds like a lot of money, they were expecting a higher amount. One reason economists thought that the total amount of money would be higher is because they thought that people would stop buying illegal pot and buy legal pot, but since the cost of legal pot is higher than illegal pot due to taxes and fees, they overestimated the amount of money they would make selling the legal marijuana. They also assumed that the people using medical marijuana would switch to recreational marijuana as well, and they did not. The tax on medical marijuana is much less than the tax on recreational marijuana because they are both taxed 2.9% but recreational marijuana is the 2.9% plus any additional state tax, also from Lobosco’s journal “Recreational Pot Delivers $53 Million in Tax Revenue to

The tax revenue is simply too great to ignore. States that legalized marijuana like Colorado are making billions and creating tens of thousands of new jobs, that shows that all states should do the same

A complete understanding of this problem is crucial for creating marijuana legislation which truly serves the needs of United States citizens. Despite significant law enforcement efforts in the United States and abroad, marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the world. Its use also carries a much higher level of societal acceptance than cocaine, heroin, and other narcotics. In the United States, large-scale efforts at legalization over the past decade are a testament to this acceptance. Popular media also reflect this tolerant

California has benefited greatly from being the first state to legalize medical marijuana; other states have benefited greatly from legalizing marijuana, just like California. Considering the growing scientific research that supports its effectiveness in the medical field, medical marijuana should be legalized across the United States. It should be legalized because it reduces pain and can slow down side effects of disorders, medical professionals support its legalization, it has no health risks to the user, and it is non-addictive for medical purposes. Medical marijuana has been proven to alleviate pain in patients with diseases or disorders that cause them daily pain. The way that marijuana is processed is through the brain receptors.

Although there is a chance for addiction, medical marijuana should be legalized in all states because it has accumulating health benefits, is administering relief to pain, and is less threatening than most opioids and

Research has proven that medical marijuana has helped treat a many different types of medical conditions and symptoms, but it is not recognized by the FDA as a safe medicine (The National Institute of Drug Abuse). In order for the FDA to approve medical marijuana, a very large scale human clinical trial must be directed to outweigh the benefits and risks of making it available to the public for treatment. Many animal trials have been conducted, and the results shows that “marijuana extracts may help kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others” (The National Institute of Drug Abuse). It has also been able to slow cancer spread and growth in brain tumors. In accordance with radiation treatment, marijuana extracts have “increased the cancer-killing effects” (The National Institute of Drug Abuse).

If marijuana is regulated and taxed properly, it can generate millions of dollars that can help pay the debt of the US and/or help cities rebuild a better infrastructure. Marijuana has become the third most popular drug in the US behind alcohol and tobacco. It is a renewable resource and is not just used for smoking; it can be used to make paper, oils, and cloth. Every year millions of tax dollars are being spent to enforce marijuana laws. If these laws were repealed and marijuana was legalized, we would not only make money from the marijuana, but we would also be using a lot less money to enforce marijuana laws.

The government currently invests a large amount a money to prevent marijuana related crimes. Marijuana is not considered a getaway drug but it is considered dangerous as there are high crime rates in relation to possession because it is illegal. If marijuana was to be legalized, less people would be involved in crimes as it would be controlled properly through the government. If we take a look at Colorado’s status report of their crime rates we can see that their crime rates has decreased in a fair amount within only 1-2 years. It was mentioned that “Violent crime in Denver went down by 2.2% in the first 11 months of 2014”.

Keeping Marijuana Illegal. Marijuana is a drug that is used by approximately 38% in America. Recently, there has been a movement to legalize marijuana for both medical and recreational use. Some states and communities have already passed laws to legalize marijuana and many more have plans to bring legalization to a vote in the near future.

Marijuana has amazing medical benefits. One of the benefits that it can treat Glaucoma “Marijuana decreases the eye pressure inside the eye, according to the National Eye Institute”.(23) Also The Institute of Medicine (IOM)

Why Marijuana Should be Legal Marijuana is a very prominent issue in society today. Many false and slanderous things have been said about marijuana in recent times. But the truth about marijuana continues to reveal itself. Sadly these truths are being criticised because of the stereotypical view that many people call the typical “pot smoker”.

Marijuana, also known as Cannabis, is derived from the Cannabis plant and is used commonly for either recreational or medical purposes. Marijuana is composed of chemicals such as tetrahydrocannabinol (HTC, and over eighty cannabinoids. Marijuana is acknowledged for providing smokers with a “high” feeling. Since the twentieth century, this illicit drug has been banned across the world. However, over the past few years studies have been conducted on marijuana and the results show that it can actually be helpful in many different areas of society.

Its time to change the negative social out look on pot ! Marijuana should be legalized for the decriminalization, medical, and economical benefits that will follow after legalization. Decriminalizing marijuana will free up police resources for more serious and life threatening crimes and incidents. Taxpayers annually spend between 7.5 – 10 million arresting and prosecuting people for marijuana related charges. 90% of these people use marijuana for personal use only.