Government Should Legalize Marijuana

                                            Government should legalize Marijuana


     For many years now individuals who possession marijuana have been subject to harsh penalties and unreasonable consequences. Our country has yet to agree on the truth about marijuana. I feel that it is a very controversial issue in this day and age with very strong and supportive arguments on both sides of this issue. The issue has caused a lot of see-sawing between different political viewpoints, and it also has increased conflicts between many state governments and the federal governments. I feel marijuana is here to stay, and it is about time the government faces the truth and decide to regulate it to a legal controlled substance like we saw with alcohol during prohibition. It is one of America’s largest imports, it is extremely valuable (for example, an ounce of marijuana is worth more than an ounce of gold), but of course, it is illegal because the government does not want to waste the jobs and agencies it has built up to keep it that way. If this essay were to name every reason why marijuana should be legal it would make the reader weary after the 8th page so instead we’ll focus on few reasons. The first reason being is that the punishment of just having possession of marijuana is goofed in the sense that you’re arrested and treated in the likes of a robber, killer, and/or thief. Point number 2 on this position deals with the medical benefits marijuana has and the ill-conceived perception some people have that the plant is extremely harmful. The last reason id like to touch on is the opportunity for economic growth that our country needs during this time of financial instability in the country.
     Marijuana, an illegal uncontrolled substance in our country is used by many responsible law abiding citizens. While these citizens may abide by the law and pay their taxes theirs still one thing that can get them put behind bars and treated like a criminal and that is the possession of marijuana. Is it fair to be arrested for possessing a plant that presents no danger society around you?  NORML, an organization based in Washington D.C. that works to protect the rights of people who use marijuana for medicinal purposes found that in 2006, more than 829,000 people were arrested in this country for marijuana-related offenses alone. The statistic is far more than the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined that year. Over the past decade there have been more than 5 million arrests for possession of marijuana. These laws prohibiting the use and possession of the plant are absurd, irrational and to some extent a little ancient. I feel that these laws are putting the innocent people in jail beds rather than the true criminals. The current laws are affecting those who do not use marijuana. NORML says, it costs ten billion dollars each year to enforce the prohibition of marijuana. That is money that we could be spending on education or ten billion dollars that could help our nation’s debt which seems to grow everytime I hear about it. The controversy regarding marijuana laws has caused many problems between some states and the federal governments. As stated by NORML the federal government has sent F.B.I. and A.T.F. agents into states to enforce federal laws, completely over looking the already implicated state laws. In Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon attempts have been made toward the decriminalization of marijuana (NORML). In these 12 states, people can no longer go to jail for marijuana possession. These states do still penalize marijuana criminals, but they have much more rational consequences. Marijuana offenders in these 12 states receive citations for simple

possession and repeat offenders are sentenced to rehabilitation with possible jail time (NORML). The rest of the country is still dealing with ridiculous laws and consequences. I don’t quite understand why the federal government doesn’t take time to look at other parts of the world and see how their marijuana laws are working.
As the United States Federal Government is looking for ways to deal with marijuana they look at, Canada as well as most of Western Europe is now pushing forward with the decriminalization of marijuana. In my personal experience of going to Holland, I found they took off marijuana from the banned drug list, and also Marijuana can be sold in small amounts through shops regulated by the Dutch government. As stated by NORML the rates of marijuana and drug use in Holland are now less than half what they are in the United States. Summing up all the important points, marijuana prohibition is costing taxpayers an enormous amount of money, people are being thrown in jail for just possessing of marijuana, and finally most of the world has figured out a way to enforce some reasonable marijuana restrictions and the real criminals are not being left out on the street. I feel the United States need to make space in America’s overcrowded prisons for the real prisoners such as the murderers and rapists.
     Marijuana is obviously not healthy for your lungs, and in no way is it beneficial to someone with a good health record. Putting any type of smoke into a person’s body is not a healthy way to live. The main question in this essay is, how does marijuana compare to alcohol, tobacco or any other legal drugs? These drugs are accepted in American society and used at a very high rate. CDC states there are 443,000 deaths a year are credited to tobacco, and both alcohol and tobacco are extremely addictive substances. Health Link studies show that there is no evidence proving any type of physical addiction to marijuana, but there is a risk of psychological addiction. People who are at a higher risk to have an addiction can become psychologically addicted to marijuana. However, there is no physical withdrawal when marijuana use is stopped (NORML). No one can say that about tobacco, alcohol or even caffeine. As you most likely know, tobacco, alcohol and caffeine are all legal drugs. All of these drugs can cause a person to become addicted to them.
    Marijuana is in no way a gateway drug. The only way that marijuana use can lead into the use of harder drugs is because it is put into the prohibited drug black market. Since marijuana is still illegal, it forces people to buy it through the same system that other drugs are purchased and sold in. It often forces people to interact with users of harder drugs for the lack of a civil place to purchase marijuana. It causes violence between rival traffickers and distributors. I feel the government is to blame for this. These are all issues that can be solved if given enough attention and logical reasoning. In my personal opinion, maybe if marijuana was sold in stores, there would be no reason to look for it in the black market. I feel that there would be a minimal connection between marijuana and harder drugs. Another possibility is to have marijuana sold in stores much like those in Holland. Also like Holland, the stores would be government run, so the money would benefit the economy and people’s rights. It would help the economy and people’s rights by putting more money in our government and would maybe even lower our nation’s debt. It would help people’s rights by making marijuana legal to use in these certain shops this would help so people wouldn’t get arrested for simple possession. Again, it would save time and money for the many other more important issues this country is dealing with. That idea, however, has its many flaws, but it is just a more practical thought, that might help lead to a solution in the near future.
     Finally, the most imperative reason for decriminalizing marijuana is for medicinal purposes. As stated by NORML, these ten states have actually passed laws allowing medicinal marijuana to be sold: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Washington (NORML). For many patients suffering AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis and or chronic pain medicinal marijuana is one of their only options for temporary relief. Traditional medicines do not work for everybody. There has been an ongoing battle for legalizing medicinal marijuana for the millions of people who need it for health reasons. Out of those 700,000 plus people arrested for possession of marijuana, most likely some of them were on their deathbeds. Some of those people thrown in jail had cancer or AIDS. Every day innocent people are being put in jail because they are simply looking for a way of relieving their pain. They are looking for a way of reducing the nausea after chemotherapy treatment or relaxing their body from a physical disability that has brought them pain their whole lives. I personally don’t think these peoples are true criminals. I feel this issue can be argued either way. Both sides have very valid points. I feel that marijuana should be legal with some regulations on it. The problem is that many state legislatures are at least trying to reach a compromise; however, the federal government steps in and abuses its power to overrule the state laws. Who knows how long it will take for a reasonable solution to be brought up? A crucial step forward is for people to make their voices heard. We all need to listen to the stories of some of these people who have been thrown in prison due to marijuana charges. We all need to hear the stories of those living with AIDS and cancer. It is time for the government to take some action in this matter and let everyone’s voices be heard.