Essay, Research Paper: Legalize It

We should legalize marijuana, because it causes more problems that it is
illegal then it ever would if it were legal. I feel that the prohibition of marijuana is a
bigger problem then the smoking of it. No one has ever overdosed on weed, more
people die in alcohol related accidents then pot related accidents. The forbiddance
of weed is the biggest reason for the exploding prison population. Many
non-violent drug offenders are serving longer prison sentences, then murders, then
rapist and other violent criminals. It cost taxpayers 30,000 dollars a year to
imprison 1 non-violent drug offender . That s why politicians are spending billions
of tax dollars on building new prisons and jails to hold everyone, and at the same
money for education , healthcare, and other important things are running short.
The methods used by the government to stop drug abuse aren t working . All
they are doing is creating a black market for weed and other drugs. Stopping
marijuana use cost billions of dollars to enforce and it makes millions of good
hardworking, taxpaying, weed smoking individuals into criminals. Adult use of
alcohol and tobacco are legal and accepted ,but adult use of marijuana is illegal.
With alcohol you can die or get more impaired then with weed and cigarettes are
more addictive then weed.
Many people have the belief that we need to keep weed illegal to keep it
away from our teenagers and children. That is a good theory and it makes sense,
but it is false it doesn t work. There are at least 10 to 15 places that I know in
walking distance, where I know I can get weed , but for me to get a beer it might
take a half an hour to an hour standing outside a bar asking people to go in the bar
or beer distributor and buy me some beer.
In some countries like Holland it is legal to buy pot, but the percent of
teenagers who smoke weed there is less then half of the amount of teenagers who
use it in the U. S. If marijuana was legal it would put street dealers out of business
and then there would be a tax on the sale of marijuana, so that is even more money
in the governments pocket. Tougher laws haven t reduced marijuana use. The use
of pot has gone up every single year since 1991. The government spends fifteen
billion dollars a year waging a war on marijuana smokers, that war is the one war
that the united states will never win and they have been fighting it for over 60
years.
Another five billion dollars is lost every year in tax revenue if marijuana was
regulated and taxed like alcohol. The ban of marijuana is escalating violence and
corruption on the streets as the mob, gangs, and thugs fight for the corner and weed
sales. If you look at the facts just the facts you would agree the biggest problem
with weed is that it is illegal.
According to the institute of medicine commissioned by the White House
office of National Drug Control policy(ONDCP). They found that marijuana is not
addictive and is not a gateway drug, a drug that leads to other drug. Marijuana is
less addictive then caffeine. most of the dangerous substances that are in marijuana
could be filtered out in a bong or water pipe , but those are also illegal and because
of that they are hard to get. Test were run on marijuana and they found that is
impossible to overdose on weed. It is the ratio of weed to get stoned to 40,000. For
example if it takes 1 blunt to get stoned it would take 40,000 blunts to overdose and
you would fall a sleep way before 40,000. The primary active ingredient,
delta-9-thc, in cannabis does not kill brain cells, but alcohol a legal substance does
kill brain cells.
I just talked about the money, violence, and innocent people who go to jail
due to illegal marijuana, but I think the biggest reason that weed should be legal is
that more people can use it. The use of marijuana helps out with many things, it
calms down your stomach and keeps you from throwing up, it gives you a better
and bigger appetite, and helps you sleep . Smoking weed has almost no long term
affects, and is less addictive then coffee. Marijuana helps relieve stress , makes you
laugh, and it s safer then being drunk, and you wake up feeling good and refreshed
as instead of to a hangover or groggy feeling.
Another good thing with weed is that if it was legal it would be mass
produced and it would have to approved by the FDA and many harmful chemicals
would be removed and it wouldn t be laced with raid or anything dangerous. If it
was mass produced it would be grown and made by a company a new company
would mean more jobs and a better economy. If it was made by a company it
would make so much that the price would come down so more people could afford
it and enjoy the benefits and fun involved in smoking weed. The weed would come
already prepared rolled either in a cigarette paper or a cigar paper. Just because
marijuana would be legal doesn t mean anyone could do it anywhere it would be
regulated and lawed like alcohol is, a specific age would be set and you wouldn t be
able to walk down the street smoking a blunt or a joint or you can t drive and
smoke, but you could smoke it in a bar or your house or smoking restaurants. The
best reason to smoke weed is when your high you are more creative less sensitive to
pain it helps shy people be a little wild and it s just an all around fun, and most
important it doesn t hurt anyone and it makes you feel good.