Legalizing Marijuana

Legalizing Marijuana

There are a multitude of reasons to use marijuana and there are just as many reasons to not use marijuana. The usage of marijuana can be both helpful and harmful. Now the general populace will go with pro legalizing marijuana. However little does society know that as soon as marijuana is legalized it will be taxable and eventually will become like alcohol and similar products. Similar to alcohol it will eventually become legal and with many amenities in the sense it will come with conditions. So in terms of legalizing marijuana it will be beneficial to society due to the fact it will become taxable, it will come with conditions, and that the war on illegal drugs will be one drug less. There consist many conditions that come with formerly illegal inhibitors. For example alcohol was an illegal substance and the way it was abused when it was outlawed drastically changed from the way it is abused now. To elaborate now that alcohol is legal, there are conditions such as the drinking age and the tax that comes with purchasing it. As such many individuals in society drink themselves to poverty. The same predicament can occur with marijuana which will obviously lessen its usage. Another factor is that with it becoming a government regulated substance majority of society will be shackled to the government by more than a medical marijuana card, which addicts tend to use to abuse the marijuana supplied. “Already earning California about $14 billion a year, it has been estimated that legalizing marijuana could generate anywhere between $1.5 and $4 billion (from taxing the drug) in revenue for California, a boost that we most undeniably need.” (Wolff, 2009) This means that adding marijuana as a taxable substance will drastically increase profits for California by about ten percent to 35 percent. This in turn will spur the economy which is in a drastic slump, even comparable to the great depression. Another point that needs to be made about legalizing marijuana is that it can come with conditions whereas now practically any individual with a medical marijuana card can use it. It is commonly known that a portion of the individuals using a medical marijuana card are not using it for medicinal purposes, but are instead actually using the marijuana for recreational use. “We all know one or two or 10 people who have medical marijuana cards who aren’t actually in medical need of it, and some of us know people who have entered or even worked in a clinic without proper authorization. This could indicate to some that fully legalizing marijuana would be disadvantageous, spurning a lazy and dissociated population.” (Wolff, 2009) This statement indicates that majority of society has a sociable relationship with an individual, or even people, who abuse said medicinal marijuana card. As such legalizing it would make it so that medical marijuana cards are not handed out so leniently due to the fact the government is going to get its teeth into that lucrative business. One obvious and valid point that need be made when legalizing marijuana is that it will be one less illegal substance that the government will not have to waste money on combating. To elaborate if marijuana is legalizing it will essentially be removed from said list of illegal drugs/substances. This will in turn cause a chain reaction that will allow the government to dedicate more times to more harmful substances, and even save the government the money that goes towards combating marijuana. Drug rings will become less profitable, not drastically but enough to matter, due to the fact that one major source of income will be ruled out. Marijuana being legalized will allow the government and government agencies to dedicate time and money to taking out more dangerous drug rings. “Additionally, our country as a whole spends $68 billion a year on its prisoners, one-third of which are imprisoned for nonviolent drug crimes. About half of these criminals are marijuana offenders, which means one-sixth of our country’s prisoners are in jail for marijuana-related charges.” (Wolff, 2009) So in addition to the taking it off the list, majority of criminals which are basically imprisoned for use and abuse of the illegal substance are using billions of taxpayers dollars. Legalizing it means the efforts and money put into imprisoning drug users can be dedicated to helping the economy and aiding in other drug rings that need to be taken down. Society has many flaws, and one of them is the usage of illegal substances. However with one widely used illegal substance being taken off the list, and becoming taxable and conditional it will allow the government to regulate its usage and in turn prevent one major flaw in society. Although there are many points to be raised about banning it entirely, the benefits outweigh the consequences in about every circumstance. Legalizing marijuana will be far more beneficial to the economy, and to individuals who require the medical assistance of it. With this being stated it would an idea that can help America’s predicament.

Works Cited

Wolff, M. (2009, November 9). Legalizing marijuana can reduce crime, increase revenue for state. Retrieved October 9, 2012, from Daily Sundial: http://sundial.csun.edu/2009/11/legalizing-marijuana-can-reduce-crime-increase-revenue-for-state/

Cited: Wolff, M. (2009, November 9). Legalizing marijuana can reduce crime, increase revenue for state. Retrieved October 9, 2012, from Daily Sundial: http://sundial.csun.edu/2009/11/legalizing-marijuana-can-reduce-crime-increase-revenue-for-state/