Power to the States

Power to the States Throughout our countries existence power has teeter totted back and forth between state and national governments, there is no absolute response whether either or is better, but rather based on one’s opinion. One of today’s biggest debates amongst Americans is whether or not the use of marijuana should be legalized or not. As of right now, California is the only state among the US that allows medicinal marijuana, even though through our national government marijuana is illegal. In this case of public policy, it would benefit our government the most to allow greater freedom to the states government to experiment with drug policy. Allowing the states to legalize marijuana would generate income, lower crime rate, and be used for medical reasons. If forty-nine million people can smoke cigarettes then why shouldn’t they be able to smoke marijuana? If you take a look at today’s economy, it isn’t operating to the best of its ability. We as a country have slipped into a recession, where many American citizens have been laid off from their jobs and are looking for work, in a time period where no one is hiring. Adults are so desperate for income that they’re occupying the part time jobs meant for teenagers and therefore leaving the ages 16-22 jobless with no job experience for later on in life. With allowing states to legalize marijuana it will open up an entire job market with no limits. Marijuana could be sold through pharmacies or also by individuals. The benefit of selling marijuana individually would be that you don’t necessarily need a college degree to be qualified for this type of work, which would essentially open up the part time shifts back to the high school and college students. This more or less will generate income and create more jobs for American citizens. Jimmy Carter once said, “Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the drug itself” (Jimmy Carter: Message to Congress). Over 60,000 people are

Cited: "For What Conditions or Diseases Do Doctors Prescribe Medical Marijuana?" WikiAnswers. Answers, n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://wiki.answers.com/Q/For_what_conditions_or_diseases_do_doctors_prescribe_medical_marijuana>. Jimmy Carter: "Drug Abuse Message to the Congress.," August 2, 1977. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=7908. Normal. "Marijuana Decriminalization Talking Points." Normal. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://norml.org/marijuana/personal/item/marijuana-decriminalization-talking-points-2>.