Argumentative Essay: Why Marijuana Should Be Legal
Darren A. Benedict
Professor M
English 101
3 February 2015
Why Marijuana Should Be Legal
Marijuana is something that’s not peculiar in today’s generation; music, TV shows, and movies seem to refer to it nowadays. The debate on whether marijuana should be legal has been going on for a long period of time now. The argument intensifies even more now that four states in the US have legalized marijuana for recreational use. When smoking marijuana tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the leading stimulant is released. Receptors on nerve cells receive the stimulant and as a result the effects from marijuana will be experienced. THC is the one responsible for the psychological effects felt by marijuana users such as mild euphoria, and relaxation that usually …show more content…
last around 1-3 hours. Cannabis is used way back in ancient Egypt, and even George Washington praised hemp in some of his writings. So why must it fall under such heavy scrutiny now? With the legalization of marijuana, the government can regulate the drug by taxing and distributing it for consumption. I believe that marijuana should be legalized because it will lower down crime rate, improve the economy, and benefit the society from medical aspect. The first reason to legalize marijuana is because of the vast health benefits that it can contribute to the medical industry, and therefore this would lead to higher and better quality of health standards.
Sativex is a recent drug that uses cannabis as its main ingredient, and UK Company GW Pharmaceuticals discovered the drug for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Sativex is a mouth spray that alleviates neuropathic pain, spasticity, overactive bladder and other symptoms of MS. Marijuana can also aid for patients with severe diseases like cancer and HIV/AIDS. Marijuana can mollify nausea from chemotherapy of cancer patients, and for HIV patients’ marijuana can stimulate their eating appetite. Bill McCalberg, founder of Chronic Pain Magament Program, states that, “Cannabinoids found in marijuana have been shown to be effective in reducing pain.” The ongoing research on marijuana still needs to be carried on, so that the society can discover the full potential benefits that marijuana could help in the medical …show more content…
field. Second reason to legalize marijuana is because it decreases crime rate in a significant rate. Often time drug busts on young people because of marijuana related issues turns them into lifelong criminals. The arrests really affect the mental especially to the adolescents, as they won 't have a clean slate of record anymore. Imagine a young kid in a poor neighborhood trying to make decent money for college by carrying marijuana when suddenly he 's busted. His dream to change his future by going to college suddenly got crushed because of the felony record. In Colorado State, the data from Uniform Crime Reporting Denver shows that crime rate decreased by 10.1 percent during the first 5 months after the legalization of marijuana; arrests in Colorado during the first 5 months of 2013 were 10,616, which then decreased to 9,539 during the first 5 months of 2014. This is a quite significant improvement in just a short period of time. If more states would legalize marijuana the crime rate across the United States would definitely plummet.
Third reason to legalize marijuana is because it yields a new source of income to the government. The legalization of marijuana can actually bring an economic relief to the United States. Controlling and correctly imposing tax on marijuana can significantly contribute to the growth of United States’ economy. The Economic Revenue and Forecast Council projected that Washington State alone would reap $207 million from marijuana tax revenue in 2015-2017 and $636 million in the next five years from recreational marijuana market. This will allow Washington State to have more employment opportunities to its citizens, which would then lead to lower unemployment rate. In Colorado State, it’s estimated that the 10,000 people are working in the marijuana industry. This will also attract people from different places to come and visit the state for marijuana consumption making the place more popular for tourism, which would then lead to an increase in economy again. Growing hemp will then be possible again with the legalization of marijuana. Hemp is a cannabis plant that is grown specifically for its strong fiber that will then be used for industrial products such as ropes, paper and fabric. Hemp is able to produce higher yield of fiber per acre compared to cotton with 1:2 ratio. From the increased tax revenue collected, the government can use it to build new schools and even improve the quality of public goods. This is another solid proof on how marijuana can alleviate the economic struggle.
On the other hand, some might argue that alcohol and cigarettes cause enough problems already and that marijuana would only cause even more problem. As a matter of fact, marijuana is way less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes. The common misconception about marijuana is that people would usually categorize it in the same group as cocaine and heroine. It’s very wrong to make the assumption that marijuana is similar to those hard drugs. People are afraid that marijuana will be a gateway to hard drugs, however there’s actually no factual evidence whether marijuana really encourage people to do hard drugs like heroine and cocaine. Saying that you shouldn’t use marijuana because it’s a gateway to hard drugs is the same as saying that people shouldn’t eat meat because it will lead to cannibalism, and where’s the logic in that? There’s also some that argue that even though marijuana is going to contribute a lot of money to the states, however it will still ruin people’s lives. Marijuana can also be a potential driving force in the advancement of the medical field if it’s legalized, as more research will be conducted. Therefore, the reason behind the legalization of marijuana isn’t solely because of the money.
At the end of the day, it all depends on the user when it comes to consuming marijuana.
I believe that marijuana should be legalized because it holds huge benefits to the society. Nothing in this world is one-sided and so is marijuana, however the benefits that marijuana brings to the society outweigh its costs. Marijuana is the most illicit drug in the world, and therefore it’s time to face the reality and get involved with the drug problem. Of course there will be rules and regulations in using the substance however, we all know that education about marijuana is the most important factor especially to adolescents and young adults. In addressing the drug problem, I don’t believe that prohibition will be the best solution; better education and awareness to the society concerning marijuana are the solutions that the government should
take.
Works Cited
Dominguez, Trace. "Explainer: The Pros and Cons for States Legalizing Marijuana : DNews." DNews. 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
McCarberg, Bill. "Marijuana Can Help in the Treatment of Pain." Marijuana. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Marijuana and Pain Management." National Pain Foundation, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
"Revenue Up, Crime Down: Marijuana Legalization in Colorado and Washington." Revenue Up, Crime Down: Marijuana Legalization in Colorado and Washington. 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
Smith, Aaron. "Colorado, Washington Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 8 Nov. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
Urena, Ariel. "Cannabisnews.com: Legitimate Reasons To Legalize Cannabis." Cannabisnews.com: Legitimate Reasons To Legalize Cannabis. 25 Nov. 2002. Web. 3 Feb. 2015. <http://cannabisnews.com/news/14/thread14829.shtml>.
Professor M
English 101
3 February 2015
Why Marijuana Should Be Legal
Marijuana is something that’s not peculiar in today’s generation; music, TV shows, and movies seem to refer to it nowadays. The debate on whether marijuana should be legal has been going on for a long period of time now. The argument intensifies even more now that four states in the US have legalized marijuana for recreational use. When smoking marijuana tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the leading stimulant is released. Receptors on nerve cells receive the stimulant and as a result the effects from marijuana will be experienced. THC is the one responsible for the psychological effects felt by marijuana users such as mild euphoria, and relaxation that usually …show more content…
last around 1-3 hours. Cannabis is used way back in ancient Egypt, and even George Washington praised hemp in some of his writings. So why must it fall under such heavy scrutiny now? With the legalization of marijuana, the government can regulate the drug by taxing and distributing it for consumption. I believe that marijuana should be legalized because it will lower down crime rate, improve the economy, and benefit the society from medical aspect. The first reason to legalize marijuana is because of the vast health benefits that it can contribute to the medical industry, and therefore this would lead to higher and better quality of health standards.
Sativex is a recent drug that uses cannabis as its main ingredient, and UK Company GW Pharmaceuticals discovered the drug for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. Sativex is a mouth spray that alleviates neuropathic pain, spasticity, overactive bladder and other symptoms of MS. Marijuana can also aid for patients with severe diseases like cancer and HIV/AIDS. Marijuana can mollify nausea from chemotherapy of cancer patients, and for HIV patients’ marijuana can stimulate their eating appetite. Bill McCalberg, founder of Chronic Pain Magament Program, states that, “Cannabinoids found in marijuana have been shown to be effective in reducing pain.” The ongoing research on marijuana still needs to be carried on, so that the society can discover the full potential benefits that marijuana could help in the medical …show more content…
field. Second reason to legalize marijuana is because it decreases crime rate in a significant rate. Often time drug busts on young people because of marijuana related issues turns them into lifelong criminals. The arrests really affect the mental especially to the adolescents, as they won 't have a clean slate of record anymore. Imagine a young kid in a poor neighborhood trying to make decent money for college by carrying marijuana when suddenly he 's busted. His dream to change his future by going to college suddenly got crushed because of the felony record. In Colorado State, the data from Uniform Crime Reporting Denver shows that crime rate decreased by 10.1 percent during the first 5 months after the legalization of marijuana; arrests in Colorado during the first 5 months of 2013 were 10,616, which then decreased to 9,539 during the first 5 months of 2014. This is a quite significant improvement in just a short period of time. If more states would legalize marijuana the crime rate across the United States would definitely plummet.
Third reason to legalize marijuana is because it yields a new source of income to the government. The legalization of marijuana can actually bring an economic relief to the United States. Controlling and correctly imposing tax on marijuana can significantly contribute to the growth of United States’ economy. The Economic Revenue and Forecast Council projected that Washington State alone would reap $207 million from marijuana tax revenue in 2015-2017 and $636 million in the next five years from recreational marijuana market. This will allow Washington State to have more employment opportunities to its citizens, which would then lead to lower unemployment rate. In Colorado State, it’s estimated that the 10,000 people are working in the marijuana industry. This will also attract people from different places to come and visit the state for marijuana consumption making the place more popular for tourism, which would then lead to an increase in economy again. Growing hemp will then be possible again with the legalization of marijuana. Hemp is a cannabis plant that is grown specifically for its strong fiber that will then be used for industrial products such as ropes, paper and fabric. Hemp is able to produce higher yield of fiber per acre compared to cotton with 1:2 ratio. From the increased tax revenue collected, the government can use it to build new schools and even improve the quality of public goods. This is another solid proof on how marijuana can alleviate the economic struggle.
On the other hand, some might argue that alcohol and cigarettes cause enough problems already and that marijuana would only cause even more problem. As a matter of fact, marijuana is way less dangerous than alcohol and cigarettes. The common misconception about marijuana is that people would usually categorize it in the same group as cocaine and heroine. It’s very wrong to make the assumption that marijuana is similar to those hard drugs. People are afraid that marijuana will be a gateway to hard drugs, however there’s actually no factual evidence whether marijuana really encourage people to do hard drugs like heroine and cocaine. Saying that you shouldn’t use marijuana because it’s a gateway to hard drugs is the same as saying that people shouldn’t eat meat because it will lead to cannibalism, and where’s the logic in that? There’s also some that argue that even though marijuana is going to contribute a lot of money to the states, however it will still ruin people’s lives. Marijuana can also be a potential driving force in the advancement of the medical field if it’s legalized, as more research will be conducted. Therefore, the reason behind the legalization of marijuana isn’t solely because of the money.
At the end of the day, it all depends on the user when it comes to consuming marijuana.
I believe that marijuana should be legalized because it holds huge benefits to the society. Nothing in this world is one-sided and so is marijuana, however the benefits that marijuana brings to the society outweigh its costs. Marijuana is the most illicit drug in the world, and therefore it’s time to face the reality and get involved with the drug problem. Of course there will be rules and regulations in using the substance however, we all know that education about marijuana is the most important factor especially to adolescents and young adults. In addressing the drug problem, I don’t believe that prohibition will be the best solution; better education and awareness to the society concerning marijuana are the solutions that the government should
take.
Works Cited
Dominguez, Trace. "Explainer: The Pros and Cons for States Legalizing Marijuana : DNews." DNews. 15 Sept. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
McCarberg, Bill. "Marijuana Can Help in the Treatment of Pain." Marijuana. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Marijuana and Pain Management." National Pain Foundation, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
"Revenue Up, Crime Down: Marijuana Legalization in Colorado and Washington." Revenue Up, Crime Down: Marijuana Legalization in Colorado and Washington. 29 Sept. 2014. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
Smith, Aaron. "Colorado, Washington Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use." CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 8 Nov. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2015.
Urena, Ariel. "Cannabisnews.com: Legitimate Reasons To Legalize Cannabis." Cannabisnews.com: Legitimate Reasons To Legalize Cannabis. 25 Nov. 2002. Web. 3 Feb. 2015. <http://cannabisnews.com/news/14/thread14829.shtml>.