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Legalization of Marijuana Policy Paper

April 4, 2013 by Stef Smith   

Stephanie Smith
The Benefits of Marijuana Legalization

The countless benefits of legalization of marijuana outweigh the cons by a far stretch. Marijuana will keep hundreds of thousands out of jail, provide jobs and boost the economy. It also has enormous medical purposes, including the treatment of cancer patients. It’s time that the prohibition of marijuana be recognized as an unreasonable government intrusion into individual freedom of choice.

Marijuana is a plant that contains a psychoactive chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in its leaves and buds. It can be used as a medicine, for illegal recreational use, in food, drink, body lotion, make up, and many more. Although there is no proof marijuana poses any seriously harmful threats, it has been illegal in the United States since the 1930s. In reality, the pros outweigh the cons of marijuana legalization by a far stretch. It’s the most commonly used illicit drug, with forty two percent of adults who’ve reported to have used marijuana in his or her lifetime (10 Facts). It is also the most common drug that people are arrested for. Although, it’s been proven to not be a dangerous, highly addictive drug, it’s ironicly enforced very harshly by law. Prohibition of marijuana is an unreasonable government intrusion into individual freedom of choice. Legalizing marijuana would benefit our country in so many more ways than the government realizes including medical purposes, a giant decrease in arrests, as well as a huge leap in income and job offers.

Marijuana is extremely expensive on the Unites States’ judicial system and should, instead, be taxed to support government programs. It’s unnecessary to spend the time, effort, and money arresting seven hundred and fifty thousand people a year for the possession of marijuana and then having to dispose each case as well (Top). Not only is it expensive, but marijuana arrests make the judicial system less efficient by deflecting the attention of police officers, attorneys, judges, and correctional officials’ attentions from more serious problems such as sexual abuse or violent crimes (Top).

Alcohol and tobacco are two legal substances bought by many Americans every day. On average, eighty thousand deaths a year are due to excessive alcohol use, making alcohol the third leading lifestyle cause of death in the entire nation. (Facts) Also, around four hundred and forty three thousand people die a year who smoke or are exposed to secondhand smoke of tobacco products and another 8.6 million people live with a serious illness caused by smoking (Tobacco). These statistics make the irony that tobacco and alcohol are considered legal substances in the United States and marijuana is not. This is because there have been zero deaths relating to marijuana use or causes in the entire history of mankind (Deaths). In fact, marijuana was compared to a total of seventeen FDA-approved drugs and it’s interesting to see that marijuana was the one and only drug that didn’t kill or cause the death of any person. Many other drugs such as ones for ADD, narcolepsy, and depression were all primary suspects to thousands of deaths (Deaths).

To take a look at the comparison between getting drunk off of alcohol and getting a high off of marijuana, the effects of alcohol are clearly worse than those of marijuana. For example, not one person has ever overdosed from marijuana use, but many people have from drinking alcohol (Marijuana). Alcohol use also damages the brain and liver, is linked to cancer, and is addictive while marijuana does not (Marijuana). Alcohol use contributes to the risk of serious illness on the consumer, as well. It was found that thirty six percent of hospitalized assaults and twenty one percent of all injuries are alcohol related, while the American Journal of Emergency Medicine says that lifetime marijuana use is rarely associated with emergency room visits (Marijuana). An article in the Journal of Addictive Behaviors reported that “alcohol is clearly the drug with the most evidence to support a direct intoxication-violence relationship,” whereas “cannabis reduces the likelihood of violence during intoxication.” (Marijuana) Lastly, a study conducted by the Research Institute of Addictions found that alcohol increased the likelihood of sexual abuse and domestic violence, while marijuana did not (Marijuana).

One of the reasons marijuana may not be legal is the idea that it is a gateway drug to other more dangerous drugs such as cocaine or heroin. This is actually not found to be true. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the country and most marijuana users have never used any other type of drug. The ones that do, usually don’t become addicted or go on to have associated problems (10 Facts). Marijuana is more of a terminus rather than so-called gateway drug that most people portray it to be.

Most people think that because one inhales marijuana, it may cause lung problems, but it actually has been found to increase lung capacity in users (All). Marijuana actually has many benefits in the medical field, especially for cancer patients. It can be used to treat and prevent glaucoma, which is an eye disease that puts pressure on the eyeball, which damages the optic nerve and eventually causes loss of vision. Marijuana helps buy decreasing the pressure in the eye and slowing the progression of the disease (All). Marijuana can also decrease epileptic seizures because the cannabinoids, such as THC, inside marijuana bind to brain cells responsible for controlling excitability and regulating relaxation (All). Marijuana also decreases anxiety, slows the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, eases the pain of Multiple Sclerosis, lessens the side effects from treating Hepatitis C, treats inflammatory bowel diseases, and relieves arthritis discomfort (All). There’s not that many illegal substances out there that can do so much for the medical field like marijuana can and yet the government is holding it from treating all of these ailments.

A psychiatrist, Tod A. Mikuriya, who helped propose Proposition 215, the state ballot that allowed doctors to issue patients medical marijuana in California, researched marijuana’s therapeutic abilities in the 1960s. He believed that over two hundred ailments could be treated with marijuana, including premenstrual symptoms, stuttering, insomnia, and writer’s cramp. The National Cancer Institute actually agree with him in that marijuana can treat the side effect of chemotherapy, preventing nausea and vomiting, increasing appetite, relieving pain, and helping sleep (All). There’s an actual chemical called cannabidiol found in marijuana, which prevents cancer from spreading by turning off a gene called Id-1 (All). Therefore, marijuana is an extremely effective drug for cancer patients.

Although recreational marijuana use is very controversial, medical marijuana use should be legalized. Recreational use for people over the age of twenty-one has been legalized in the states of Washington and Colorado just this past November. Marijuana use and legalization is increasingly becoming popular and the fight for legality is definitely becoming more prevalent in society as time goes on. There’s no harm in legalization, and if anything marijuana can do a lot of good for the population. Prohibition is obviously failing to control marijuana’s use and distribution. Over twenty five million people use marijuana annually, and it has become the largest cash crop in the United States (Top). So claims that prohibition is successful are ridiculous. Being illegal isn’t stopping any users from selling and smoking it. It’s actually causing harm and inefficiency to the judicial system, as well as the medical field. Thousand upon thousands of people have seen jail time due to possession of marijuana. Not because he or she has done anything wrong while intoxicated by marijuana, but just because he or she owned, possessed, sold, or manufactured it. Another thousands upon thousands of people could be treated of their ailments with the medical purposes of marijuana if only this drug could be legalized. Everyday peoples’ lives are hurt by the prohibition of marijuana. Legalization would aid in so many individual and national problems as long as it was contained and sold in an appropriate way. It’s time for marijuana to be recognized for more than a schedule 1 substance.

Having a legal market for marijuana sale would make more jobs available as well as increase the income to the United States. According to the Huffington Post, hundreds of economists estimate that legalization of marijuana would save the United States up to fourteen billion dollars a year because it’s a top selling agricultural product. With a national debt reaching over sixteen trillion, legalization only makes sense. With a current unemployment rate of 7.8%, legalization would increase employment and bring in billions of dollars in federal and tax money. It would also decrease the international money flow. This is because the prohibition of marijuana makes “foreign cultivation and smuggling to the United States extremely profitable, sending billions of dollars overseas in an underground economy while diverting funds from productive economic development.” (Top)

Arguments over legalizing marijuana have been disputed for decades over the morality of it, success of smokers, and the health of users. Morally, one should be given the opportunity to make the decision on his or her own to use or possess marijuana. There are tons of successful marijuana smoking advocates out there including Bob Marley, Joe Rogan, and Wiz Khalifa. Just because a person ingests marijuana, doesn’t mean he or she can’t be a highly functioning and successful person in society. The examples given are clear enough to show that marijuana does not have to interfere with a person’s ability to achieve. As for one’s health, the affects seem to be way more positive, including increasing lung capacity and helping cancer patients cope with their serious ailments. All in all, small steps towards marijuana legalization should be taken. First, the government should remove marijuana from its schedule 1 substance classification and decriminalize it so the states can make their own decisions depending on their economical and legal situations. Legalization is making baby steps in the states today, and in a few decades total legality may be achieved!

References:
“10 Facts About Marijuana.” Drug Policy Alliance. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“The Top Ten Reasons Marijuana Should Be Legal.” Alternet. N.p., 31 Aug. 2007. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.

“Fact Sheets- Alcohol Use and Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 01 Oct. 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“Deaths from Marijuana v. 17 FDA-Approved Drugs – Medical Marijuana – ProCon.org.” Deaths from Marijuana v. 17 FDA-Approved Drugs – Medical Marijuana – ProCon.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“Marijuana vs. Alcohol.” SAFER -. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.

“All The Reasons Pot Is Good For You.” Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Apr. 2013.


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