Argumentative Essay: The Decriminalization Of Marijuana

You will not endure pain if you become bound to the drug said Galen, a roman physician in context to gladiators consuming opium to numb their battle wounds. For over 4,800 years marijuana has been used for medical purposes. Until the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act banned marijuana and created uncertainty in Americans. Especially with the with the arrival of new drugs like aspirin which became the new pain reliever and marijuana came to be known as an intoxicant. Until today, with the rise in popularity of medical marijuana, we see states one by one changing their laws to decriminalize the use of medical marijuana. As of today there are 12 states in the United States that have in some way decriminalized medical marijuana and with more states following
Alaska did a recent study and if they decriminalized marijuana its tax revenue would increase $10-20 million per year. Enforcing the marijuana prohibition laws is costing Alaska $25-30 million per year. Carrying out these marijuana prohibition laws gets expensive when you consider the cost of the courts, the police, and corrections. Decriminalizing marijuana would drop the law enforcement cost by 10% if we say an estimated 10% of our jurisdictions arrest were due to marijuana crimes. Instead of taking the law enforcement off of the streets to sit in court on a minor marijuana trial they can be using that time more effectively by trying to get the serious crime off the streets. Same with the court systems, they're backed up with minor trials and with the decriminalization of marijuana that court time can be opened for more important trials. In the United States from January 2005 to October 2005 there were 4,396 Federal Offenders sentenced for marijuana-related charges. Many states that have decriminalized marijuana have got rid of incarnation or criminal charges for possession of small amounts and instead have replaced them with civil fines, drug education, or drug