Why the United States Should Legalize Marijuana

Why the United States Should Legalize Marijuana Our government tries to satisfy the needs and wants of all 300 million U.S. citizens, but ends up making us more and more unhappy. Marijuana legalization has been a fight with the government for over twenty years. Many agree that it is harmful and should be done away with while others believe that it is a natural herb planted to help us cope with the stress of our hectic lives. I agree with those who are stressed. Currently I do not smoke marijuana, pot, but if it were to ever become legalized I would most definitely dabble in the tranquility occasionally. I believe that we have been fighting the war long enough to have marijuana legalized and that our government should give it a long shot! I have ten hard theories to as why legalizing marijuana would be a show stopping idea. Not only would it satisfy us, but it could satisfy many other important issues such as our economy. Prohibition has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana. The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for over 75 years and yet: marijuana is now used by over 25 million people annually, cannabis is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and marijuana is grown all over the planet. Claims that marijuana prohibition is a successful policy are ludicrous and unsupported by the facts, and the idea that marijuana will soon be eliminated from America and the rest of the world is a ridiculous fantasy. Arrests for marijuana possession disproportionately affect blacks and Hispanics and reinforce the perception that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities. African-Americans account for approximately 13% of the population of the United States and about 13.5% of annual marijuana users, however, blacks also account for 26% of all marijuana arrests. Recent studies have demonstrated that blacks and Hispanics account for the majority of marijuana possession