The first documented use of cannabis sativa, also known as marijuana, dates back to around 2500 B.C. in the Chinese cultures. Marijuana was discovered to produce a mild exhilaration feeling and was found to be an effective pain reliever. Since then, marijuana spread throughout the world. It wasn’t until the 20th century when most states passed laws banning the possession and cultivation of marijuana.
In 1996 the state of California passed Proposition 215, which allowed marijuana use for medical purposes. Here we are in 2009 and 6 other states and the District of Columbia passed similar laws despite the Supreme Court’s position on the issue. The controversy of the legalization of marijuana has split into two groups: Pro-Marijuana and Anti-Marijuana. The question I always ask myself in such debates is: why not? The main argument for Anti-Marijuana advocates is that marijuana is a gateway drug which leads to the usage of harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin. If the fact that marijuana is a gateway drug is truly a concern, then why is tobacco legal? Tobacco is the number one addictive drug. Alcohol, which has far worse effects than marijuana and is also addictive, has been legal for 76 years. Both tobacco and alcohol are two drugs that have worse effects than marijuana but remain legal. If legislators want to maintain prohibition of marijuana for those purposes then they ought to be consistent with their beliefs and illegalize tobacco and alcohol as well.
Alcohol was legalized during the time of the Great Depression by President Franklin Roosevelt. It was used as a strategy to strengthen the economy. With the United States current economic situation, why not legalize and regulate marijuana sales and collect taxes from it? By legalizing marijuana our government would generate revenue while saving money at the same time. We would not have to waste money on locking people up for victimless drug crimes and law enforcement officers can spend their time fighting crimes that actually harm innocent citizens. Drugs are not the cause of crime—drug dealing cause crimes. If marijuana were legal, the dealers would go out of business which as a result will cause a decrease in crime.
The reality is over 25 million Americans use marijuana in some form. It is a waste of money and time fighting a battle that clearly cannot be won. Rather than wasting time and money fighting marijuana use, why not legalize it, collect taxes, make money, and save money all at once. Yes, marijuana is a drug but so is alcohol and tobacco and the fact is marijuana has less hazardous effects short-term and long-term. The government just does not want to face the fact that they will never win the war on drugs. Honestly, I believe that the only reason anti-marijuana supporters stand their ground is their fear of losing votes. Legalizing marijuana and regulating the sales, will have more positive effects on society than negative.
Please take a moment to watch this 6 minute video of Ron Paul debating Stephen Baldwin on the issue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufekh_SwZd0
12 comments:
I think that marijuana should not be legalized. Although it may help the economy by taxing, there are many other negative sides. Even if it is sold in the stores, I don't think that it will end drug dealer business. People may still go to drug dealers because of their image. They may not want to go to the store and buy some. I feel that they should be laws that lessen the extremity of the crime.
--shanika
I agree with Sasha, marijuana should be legalized. There are way too many people in jail and awaiting trial for petty marijuana charges. It increases our taxes and the price falls on us. Putting taxes on it will produce revenue and increase profits. I also believe that legalizing marijuana would diminish petty drug dealers. They no longer have an edge or a one-up on other people. If you can buy your drugs legally from a gas station, why would you want to buy illegally from some kid in shady circumstances. I also believe that legalizing marijuana will take some pressure off the police, so that they can focus on more important crimes.
As a resident of California, i agree that marijuana should be legalized. It is basically legal in my state and majority of the population smoke the plant anyways. It is so easy to get a medical marijuana card when over the age of 18 so the next step is actually legalizing the drug.
A.Calloway
Sasha,
I thought you did a good job on supporting your claim. Good use of historical examples and the Ron Paul video was very interesting. We don't often hear pro-marijuana agendas in the media, especially not from well-known politicians.
I personally believe that marijuana should remain illegal. The supposed benefits of legalization could easily be adopted through other policies and programs. I strongly believe that legalizing marijuana will ultimately affect the overall productivity of Americans. We are quickly being surpassed by other world powers and this certainly will not help us compete in a global economy.
I'm a little on both sides. People might argument "people are going to smoke it anyway, so you should legalize it". Others might argue that "people are smoking it anyway, don't legalize it. It doesn't make a difference". I think that because smoking marijuana will be a part of the norms people, preferably the youth, will resort to another drugs. Marijuana is already a gateway drug, and during the first years of marijuana being legalized will resort in the death of many.
-jAs
I believe that marijuana should be legalized because the pros outweigh the cons. Marijuana is not as harmful as other types of drugs and many people use it daily regardless if it is legalized or not. If it is made legal, it will minimize the amount of people going to jail, and it will cause younger kids to not rebel due to it being legal.
-Shaunte F.
I agree in legalizing marijuana. In fact I do believe that by making it legal to smoke and/or sell it will lessen the glorification of becoming drug dealers. Young children often become "street corner workers" because they see the older drug dealers driving a Benz or having nice clothes and jewelry. It’s seen as a get rich quick scheme and everyone wants to be a participant. However, to make it legal is to decrease the street pharmaceutical job opportunities. So why not make money off of something that is sold so frequently in the United States. If it will benefit our current economic state then we should go forth with it, just as long as some stipulations are placed on the drugs and not accessible by all individuals; especially youth.
This was a good arguement. I will not comment on my personal views about the topic but since there are is so much information avaiable about marijuana you could have had more statistics and examples to sway your audience.
BriElla Nelson
I agree that Marijuana should be legalized. Aside from the possible stimulation of the economy through taxes, the legalization of Marijuana could have other positive effects. The fact that Marijuana is legal may lessen the fascination of youth to do it because it is illegal. Legalization would also cut down on the violence related to international drug cartels which is becoming a huge problem in certain areas of the nation. An alternative to completely legalizing Marijuana would be to decriminalize the plant in certain ways. This may mean only prosecuting individuals for distribution and not possession of the drug. This may satisfy both sides in some ways.
Although I do not agree with the legalization of such DRUGS such as marijuana, your argument was strong. It helped your argument to provide background information. For instance you revealed where marijuana was first documented. Also when you stated that currently California and other states have legalized marijuana. Other than money purposes, it would have helped you argument if you could have stated how the legalization would help the individual person versus how the state or local government can benefit. Although the government makes a great sum of money when they arrest individuals for marijuana possession, when these same individuals are legally purchasing marijuana, the government is still profiting from individuals who would be purchasing such DRUGS. Overall, your use of technology aid such as providing a video to help your argument was beneficial.
By: Raavin R Evans
I agree with your argument. It was well thought out and you provided a great deal of evidence to back up your claim. There are many reasons the legalization could be an "iffie" situation, but you gave great electronic and verbal evidence why it should be legalized. GO GREEN!
-Sascha
I agree, marijuana should be legalizd. I think that there are more pros than cons. Plus, marijuana does less harm to the body than several legal drugs. In fact, marijuana does not harm the body, it relieves pain. I liked how you supported your argument with historical analogies. You presented many convincing positives for ending the prohibition and you also addressed the other side of the debate and refuted their concerns.
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