Mr. Green
AP English 11
October 25th, 2013
Legalizing Marijuana The drug war is failing, and people arrested and imprisoned for marijuana use are not cured of their habit during time spent in jail. Since 1971 when President Richard Nixon declared a war on drug abuse, the government has been ineffectual in their fight against illegal drug abuse. From 1997 to 2006, the New York City Police Department arrested and jailed more than 353,000 people simply for possessing small amounts of marijuana. This was eleven times more marijuana arrests than in the previous decade, and ten times more than in the decade before that. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that from 1994 to 2001 the number of 12th graders that had tried marijuana in their life had increased by 10%, and the number of 12th graders that used marijuana every day had increased by 42%. These statistics clearly demonstrate the futility of this proclaimed war on drugs. The numerous positive outcomes that will inevitably accompany the legalization of marijuana, compounded upon the failure of the war against drugs, make …show more content…
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