I wrote my paper on the pros and cons for legalization. Heres what I have to work with, I'm thinking about writing marijuana should be taxed and controlled, but I really know thats not possible and don't want to write about something that I don't really believe. I just want to add like 4 or 5 paragraphs to what I have, some of the paragraphs below I think will have to get tossed since they won't be on topic with my problem (w/e it is, still don't know) Shoot me some ideas after skimming through this:
* You most likely know that marijuana is illegal, but do you know the real reasons why this is? If you don't know what marijuana is, it is the dried flowers and leaves from the Cannabis plant usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria. The active chemical in this plant that causes the euphoria is THC. THC in marijuana can range from 1% to 8%. This chemical is a very soluble substance and can remain in the lungs and brain tissue for three weeks or longer. The legalization of this drug is very controversial and is talked about often.
* Marijuana has been smoked for thousands of years for recreation and also medical reasons. Marijuana is possibly the most versatile plant on earth. It can be used for just about anything you can think of. From making paper to suppling power for cars. It can also be used to make tanning lotion and clothes, the possibilities are endless. Before I go on explaining how the legalizion of marijuana could save money for the government, below is a little history and some facts.
* From 1910 to 1920, the recreational use of marijuana began increasing and becoming popular. By the late 1920s, sensational reports of violence resulting from recreational marijuana use were common in the media. Most of these reports were false and were just propaganda. In 1937 the government passed the Marijuana Tax Act which prohibited smoking pot recreationally. Physicians were still able to legally prescribe marijuana until the 1970 Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act. This is now known as the Federal Controlled Substance Act of 1970. Since this law was put into affect, arrests from marijuana has constituted 44 percent of all drug apprehensions.
* After alcohol and tobacco, marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America. According to a government survey, 20 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than about 11million still do. So if so many people do it, why is it still illegal? Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol and tobacco. More than 400,000 deaths are caused from smoking tobacco each year and 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. As where marijuana is a nontoxic chemical, which you can simply not die from overdosing. In order to die from a marijuana overdose by smoking, you would have to smoke the equivalent of your body weight. No one has ever died directly from the intake of marijuana. So the facts show that marijuana is the safest recreational drug Americans use.
* There are many many more reasons why marijuana should be legalized. Such as drug dealers and terrorist would lose most or all of their business since everyone would be able to grow their own or buy it very cheaply. Not only would this slow down terrorism funding, but would also decrease violence on the street on the war for drugs. According to the FBI, "401,982 Americans were arrested nationwide for marijuana offenses in 1980." "By 1999, a record 704,812 were nabbed, 88 percent of them for possession rather than trafficking." The Marijuana Policy Project estimates that the government's war on cannabis users costs taxpayers $9.2 billion annually. Is this really necessary for a drug that's proven to be less harmful than alcohol and tobacco?
* Legalizing marijuana can decrease government expenses, which means less taxes are required from the public. This can also be a source of additional tax revenues, if controlled by the government as a taxable sales item such as alcohol and cigarettes. Using the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics data, the Marijuana Policy Project calculates that 37,500 federal, state and local inmates were incarcerated for marijuana violations in 1998. Of these inmates, 15,400 of them were in for possession alone. At an average cost of $20,000 per inmate, the government spends $750 million to imprison these offenders. This is a ridiculous amount of money which can be spent on other problems we as Americans face.
* Now you can see that keeping marijuana illegal is costing the government and you billions of dollars. These statistics are rarely ever in the news or papers and are covered up by propaganda. Another misconception is that "Marijuana causes cancer." This is proven false. Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post, Study Finds No Cancer-Marijuana Connection. "The largest study of its kind has unexpectedly concluded that smoking marijuana, even regularly and heavily, does not lead to lung cancer. Earlier work established that marijuana doesn't contain chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous." So not only does marijuana not lead to cancer, in a way it prevents it.
* Marijuana also has many other medical proprieties that can be very useful to people. The cannaboid chemical marijuana contains could possibly also prevent Alzheimer's. In this excerpt from the BBC news, researcher Dr. Maria de Ceballos states, "These findings that cannabinoids work both to prevent inflammation and to protect the brain may set the stage for their use as a therapeutic approach for Alzheimer's disease."
* Now for the cons of legalizing marijuana, there are some, but they do not outweigh the pros. It is said that marijuana is often used as a stepping-stone drug, leading to cocaine, heroin, and other harder drugs. After using it for a while, users start looking for a bigger "high" and marijuana doesn't cut it for them anymore. They then go on to using harder drugs which do cause damage and ruin lives. Another problem that would occur if marijuana was legal, is more people driving stoned. Drunk driving is a major problem in the United States and causes many deaths and injuries each year. Now if marijuana is legal, most likely there will be plenty of people that will drive around after smoking. We certainly don't need any more impaired drivers on the road. Marijuana slows your response time and this should not be mixed when operating a vehicle or heavy machinery.
* Also, another thing to add to the con list is, some religions and moral codes prohibit the use of intoxicating substances. Marijuana would generally fit into this category. Legalization would most likely increase the chances of marijuana falling into the hands of children. This is probably the biggest con of legalizing marijuana. Developing bodies and brains can be damaged by the use of marijuana at a young age. Kids and teenagers can already easily get their hands on cigarettes and alcohol. Once you legalize something, you increase the accessibility to children and teenagers. So even though there are many pros, there are definitely some drawbacks that shouldn't be overlooked when debating over the legalization of marijuana.
* Now after reading all of this, what is your side on legalizing marijuana in the United States? After researching and looking at many statistics and articles, I believe it should be legal. Many people assume that marijuana was made legal through scientific, government, and medical hearings; that was meant to protect them, but it was not. It seems that the history of marijuana's criminalization consist of profits, yellow journalism, fear, racism, and corrupt legislators.