Debates on Marijuana
The current debate about the legalization of marijuana is ongoing. The pros and cons are an issue, but there is also debate about values. There are two sides of this debate, those who are for marijuana legalization and those who are opposed to marijuana legalization. The side that is opposing legalization tends to be more conservative and traditional as opposed to those who are pro legalization, who tend to be more liberal and open minded. This debate is difficult to come up with a solution to because marijuana is not considered a “real drug” to many people including members of government.
The official definition for a drug is a chemical substance that physiologically affects the processes of the mind or body. Therefore, technically speaking marijuana is a drug. But just like any other drug natural or chemically altered, legal or illegal both sides would agree that marijuana has positive and negative effects on the body. The actual issue is legalizing the marijuana to have control over it or keeping it illegal so that people “don’t consume it”. In “Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Use Should be Legal”, Pat Robertson who is a five decade long evangelical leader and former presidential candidate states that he believes marijuana should be legalized. Robertson states that marijuana use should be viewed in the same way that alcohol use is. He doesn’t think it makes sense to incarcerate someone over the possession of a joint of marijuana. Upon Legalizing marijuana, the crime and arrest rates would decrease immensely as well as social and financial costs. Robertson stated, “I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them up”. His religious views affected his view in a positive way to be a marijuana legalization advocate. He says that Christ was a compassionate man and would not condone the imprisonment of people for nonviolent acts. Overall, Robertson advocates marijuana legalization because he thinks that the being tough on crime effort has gone too
The official definition for a drug is a chemical substance that physiologically affects the processes of the mind or body. Therefore, technically speaking marijuana is a drug. But just like any other drug natural or chemically altered, legal or illegal both sides would agree that marijuana has positive and negative effects on the body. The actual issue is legalizing the marijuana to have control over it or keeping it illegal so that people “don’t consume it”. In “Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Use Should be Legal”, Pat Robertson who is a five decade long evangelical leader and former presidential candidate states that he believes marijuana should be legalized. Robertson states that marijuana use should be viewed in the same way that alcohol use is. He doesn’t think it makes sense to incarcerate someone over the possession of a joint of marijuana. Upon Legalizing marijuana, the crime and arrest rates would decrease immensely as well as social and financial costs. Robertson stated, “I believe in working with the hearts of people, and not locking them up”. His religious views affected his view in a positive way to be a marijuana legalization advocate. He says that Christ was a compassionate man and would not condone the imprisonment of people for nonviolent acts. Overall, Robertson advocates marijuana legalization because he thinks that the being tough on crime effort has gone too
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