An Essay On Legalization Of Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana
Alec Heffner Cannabis, a drug that is most commonly known throughout our society as marijuana, has been a hot topic of conversation over the last few years. The legalization of marijuana has proven to be one of the most controversial issues of our time. When considering whether we believe marijuana should be legal, it’s important to remember a few of the arguments presented by marijuana supporters. They argue that the American people deserve liberty and the freedom to use marijuana, keeping marijuana illegal is a highly expensive task, and lastly, prohibition obviously is not working. While supporters continue to push, people against the legalization are not shy from sharing their opinion. Opposing parties argue that marijuana presents mental health disadvantages, acts as a gateway drug, and directly affects a person’s average daily life. Supporters believe that the people deserve the freedom to use marijuana. Many people are so caught up with keeping marijuana illegal and asking why should marijuana be legalized, they often forget to consider the latter, which is, why should marijuana be illegal? People deserve the right to make their own choices. The government doesn’t have the right to violate those choices, unless the resulting effects of those choices are endangering others. That being said, if we compare marijuana to cigarettes, it’s clear the government is showing total and utter hypocrisy. As a nation, we allow thousands of people to die each year from smoking cigarettes. How is it reasonable that the government allows people to make the choice to smoke cigarettes, which have been proven to be deadly, yet they won’t allow Americans the choice to use a natural plant with far less health risks? Over the last few decades, the American people have watched their government fall deeper and deeper into debt. Although the reasons for that debt stems much further than the legalization of marijuana, it is a great example of how the government as a whole is spending money in places that it doesn’t need to be spent. Supporters argue that the local, state, and federal government combined spend billions of dollars annually to outlaw the use of marijuana when governments should be profiting off marijuana. Supporters believe that by taxing and regulating the marijuana business, the government can effectively take control over the situation and make a few bucks in the process. In America, it’s known that we spend billions of dollars a year housing and caring for our nation’s criminals. By reevaluating marijuana laws the government can work to decriminalize the plant, thus reducing the amount of money spent on courts and prisons. The last supporting argument for the legalization of marijuana that I would like to discuss is the realization that marijuana prohibition is not working. The entire reason behind wanting marijuana illegal is so the public doesn’t use it, but instead, marijuana prohibition has only launched an illegal nationwide drug dealing business. It seems outlawing the plant for use has only backfired. The availability of marijuana has made the substance much more popular across high schools. Students, unable to purchase alcohol due to their age, resort to other methods. Local dealers distributing the marijuana aren’t concerned with who they’re selling to causing children to begin experimenting with marijuana at a very young age. If the goal is to reduce drug consumption, maybe the focus should be less on prohibition laws and more on education and treatment programs. Focusing on creating an open and honest environment with the children during these programs will help the kids learn the truths about drugs. All in all, if history can tell us anything, it’s that prohibition is not necessarily the answer. Education and treatment programs are much better ways to address and deal with the problems caused by drugs. Turning the tables a bit, we begin discussing some opposing views regarding the topic of the legalization of marijuana. They claim that marijuana, being one of the most commonly used illicit drugs, is often used as a gateway drug. Marijuana users use it thinking it is harmless, but the drug causes a high and eventually a much bigger high is necessary for the user to have an effect, causing people to turn to hard drugs, such as cocaine or heroin. These people also argue that the effects of marijuana, such as impaired judgement, altered decision making abilities, and paranoia are partially responsible for user’s criminal behavior. They believe legalizing this drug will only cause a spike in criminal behavior, when in reality, the same if not more crime is being committed right now just to obtain illegal drugs like marijuana. Supporters argue that in this case, attempting to prevent the criminal activity by keeping marijuana illegal is only causing more criminal activity. The next thing that opposing forces tend to debate are the physical health concerns presented by using marijuana. They argue that marijuana shouldn’t be legal because it causes damage to the user’s lungs, brain, etc. Although these arguments may be completely factual, supporters argue by comparing the government’s acceptance of alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol and tobacco are two products that are recognized as legal by the government, but are also recognized as being harmful to your body. Tobacco related deaths are one of the most common deaths. Alcoholism is one of this country’s leading problems. Marijuana enthusiasts use these facts and claim that the argument against marijuana’s health effects is completely invalid due it being an obvious display of hypocrisy by the government. Lastly, people against the legalization of marijuana contend that marijuana has significant effects on one’s daily life. Marijuana is known to cause problems with people’s short term memory and overall efficiency inside and outside the workplace as well as causing problems physically too. Many marijuana users report signs of appetite loss, lack of sleep, and loss of breath. Supporters are quick to argue these claims by generally referring to the previously mentioned topic of liberty and freedom. As individuals, people have the right to choose how they live their life. If someone chooses to use marijuana then they are accepting the side effects that come with its use just like people must deal with the consequences of their actions. The government doesn’t punish people for being overweight or drinking too much alcohol because those are choices that we as people should be able to make. Supporters believe that marijuana should be no different. In conclusion, it is obvious that there a wide variety of views on this buzzing topic of marijuana. Marijuana supporters argue that marijuana should be legal because the American people deserve liberty and the freedom to use marijuana, keeping marijuana illegal is a highly expensive task, and lastly, that marijuana prohibition obviously is not working and change must be implemented. Opposing forces argue that marijuana presents mental health disadvantages, acts as a gateway drug, and directly effects a person’s average daily life. All in all, it will be interesting to see how marijuana laws will have changed over the next decade as more people become more accepting of the drug.