Do you think marijuana should be legalized?

Question

What are your reasons why or why not? How old are you?

Answer 1

Im 18
marijuana is the most commonly uses illegal substance in the United States. it is used by many people, most of which aren't your stereotypical "druggie", with no life agead of them. Many of them hapen to be very successful, good people. Think about it almost if not every person who reads this paper will know (even if they don't realize it) at least one if not several regular users of marijuana. Its often made out to be much more harmful htan it really is, unfortunatly not every one realizes this.

What many people don't realize is marijuana is much less harmful than alcohol or tobacco. Yet it's the one of the three that gets a bad rap and is illegal. Marijuana isn't even physicaly addicting. You certanly don't see meetings for marijuana like you do with alcohol and AA. Unfortunatly due to American culture the less harmful of the three is illegal.

The most common reason why marijuana can be harmful is that people can often come across laced marijuana without realizing it. Marijuana can easily be mixed with other more harmful drugs with out the buyer realizing it, until they have already used it. This is a dangerous thing that causes many people to do more harmful, hard core drugs without realizing it. If it were to be legalized the government could provide guide lines, like it does with alchol to insure that people knew what they were putting into their bodies.

Marijuana actually has many helpful benefits toward diseases / sicknesses. Marijuana can reduce nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by AIDS. It can Reduce interlobular pressure, which alleviates the pain and slowing and sometimes even stopping the progress of glaucoma. Common side effects of chemotherapy are nausea, loss of appetite, and vomiting, all of which marijuana would help. It can limit muscle pain and relieve tremor nad unsteadiness of gait for multiple sclerosis patients. Marijuana can help prevent epileptic seizures in some patients. It can also alleviate chronic, often debilitating pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries. Each one of these applications have been deemed legitimate by at least one United States court, legislature, and/or government agency.

Due to these reasons and many others many people are going to jail/prison on a daily basis due to simply smoking a little pot These aren't dangerous criminals that would kill or rape someone. Many of them are teachers, lawyers and respected members of their communities. But yet we still pay thousands of dollars of tax payers money to lock up non dangerous "criminals" yearly even though most aren't going to stop after they get out of jail. Don't you think the money spent here is a waste? Couldn't it be going to more useful things such as hospitals, disease research, or better schools? These are the things that would benifit the people of this country. Certanily you would rather benefit the people more than throwing a non violent pot head in jail who was only trying to smoke a joint and relax after a long days work in jail. There is up to forty million regular (note thats just the regular not occasional users) drug users in the United states. If we were to throw all of them in jail it would cost $500,000 per million people, plus the cost and space of building many more prisons. Couldm't that money be spent on building hospitals? There's already about 1.5 million people tax payers are paying to keep in jail over drugs. From 1990 to 2003, nearly 5.9 million people had been arrested for smoking marijuana. Thats a greater number than the entire population of Alaska, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Montania, North and South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. This country simply can't afford to put 40 million more in jail.

Marijuana should be legalized. It has many uses such as helping sick patients. People are going to smoke it no matter what the government sais, and with out govenment guidelines this can be dangerous. Not to mention the fact that we have no way we can afford to throw all those people in jail. Its much less harmful than alcohol and tobacco, which are legal, so doesn't it make sense that it would be also?

Answer 2

Marijuana has less effect on the human brain and the ability to function than alcohol does. It also has medical benefits such as pain relief, help with digestion problems, glaucoma conditions, and more. I definatly think it should be legal! The money spent by our government prosecuting people for marijuana offenses and tv ads to prevent using marijuana could go to our schools who need it much more than we need weed prevention and prosecution for using it! Most people who use mj. are not committing other crimes, they tend to be relaxed and peaceful people. Not to mention if they taxed it like cigarettes we would put a big dent in that national debt!!! 25 year old female

Answer 3

No it should not be legalized. Because it is a psychoactive substance, it should be a controlled substance. It is believe to slow down mental processes and make one listless and apathetic. It can produce suffocative feelings and anxiety. It should not be a crime, but only a misdemeanor at most to have a small amount of marijuana for personal use. For those who need marijuana as medicine for pain reduction or appetite improvement, etc a prescription should be required. I am more than 63 years of age.

AO

Answer 4

Yes. Or at least revamp our penalties.

I do not smoke marijuana and think it is a bad idea.

However I don't see it a big societal threat, either.

I have seen too many young kids lives get ruined by being prosecuted for possession of marijuana. I just don't see the point in giving someone a felony conviction, cutting off financial aid for college, and/or putting them in prison for possession of some leaves. I am convinced we spend way more money in the U.S. arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating people for marijuana offenses, than any societal costs involved, even if you belive the worst-case scenarios.

We should have learned our lesson when we tried prohibition with alcohol.

I am 32.

Answer 5

Marijuana is less harmful and less addictive than ciggarettes or alcohol. Marijuana actually has a lot of medicinal uses for helping cancer patients and people in a lot of pain.Also it should be someones personal choice to use it like ciggs or beer. There are so many perscription drugs out there with these horrible side affects and the government is all anti pot . i just dont get this country sometimes

Answer 6

Yes. Have you ever heard of someone getting high and going home and killing their family, you have heard it happening when some gets drunk alot. Marijuana as medical uses, it helps with stress. It is not as deadly as tobacco. Growing marijuana and its cousin hemp would help the family farms. You can grow two crops in one year and there are a lot of use for hemp from making rope and cloth, to feeding cattle,and making ethanol.
liquor as far more bad effects on the brain than pot. The effects of marijuana wears off faster also.

Answer 7

The "War on Drugs" has been a failure, but they have all this infrastructure in place that they have to justify their existence. Marijuana should be legalized and taxed like alcohol and tobacco are. Jails are full of people who just had a little weed. They're not going to hurt anybody. I'm 33.

Answer 8

No, it should not be legalized. It is potentially addictive and it impairs judgment and motor skills. Likewise alcohol should be made illegal for it's effect on peoples ability to operate moving vehicles as it slows down peoples ability to judge and react. I thought it was cool to smoke it in the 70's. It wasn't until 2004 that I was finally able to stop doing all the drugs (alcohol included) that I have always done. God willing, I'll be clean 2 years in July and I wasn't able to go 2 hours without anything.

Answer 9

Yes I think it should be legalized. Im 49 years old and I think its less harmful than alcohol. Also I can't take pain meds, had two accidents this year breaking my leg and arm, if not for marijuana I would have never made it.

Answer 10

Im 21, going on 22 in July. I think it should be legalized, one for medical reasons, if you take the PILL it will not hurt your LUNGS! Thats not the only reason though also for recreational use, I mean why not people are GOING to do it either way! Makes no sense to me...