should marijuana be legal?

Answer 1

yes absolutely 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

The first and most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. Some people ask 'why should marijuana be legalized?" but we should ask "Why should marijuana be illegal?" From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual's actions endanger someone else. This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will. The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the individual. But this argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco.

Answer 3

In response to the actual question - yes it should be made legal. Some people enjoy a glass of wine when they get home from work, some people enjoy a joint. If it was legal, people wouldn't be forced to mix with drug dealers, who in turn offer them stronger substances when they are out of weed.
Millions of people smoke it, why should they be punished for doing something they choose to do? And before someone says it causes mental problems - so does anything not used in moderation - alcohol for example.
There is of course all of the medicinal purposes it offers too - even Queen Victoria used to smoke it for period pains.

In response to Dollys answer - do you actually have any idea the effect that marijuana has on a person? It make you relaxed, and when highly under the influence barely able to do anything - I have seen many stoned people and violence is something I could in no way associate with any of them.

Answer 4

Yes. It is ridiculous that it is not already. I could sit here and list all my points as to why it should be legal but I am too lazy for that today, but if you do a little research you find that there are many benefits to marijuana.

dolly, I love your comment about marijuana and violence. So silly you are. You obviously do not know the effect that mary jane has on most people. Alcohol kills more people in one year than mary jane ever has. Alcohol can make people severely violent yet that is legal. Find another argument... one that isn't so oh I don't know hypocritical.

Answer 5

i think it should be legal to possess, but illegal to sell, and the government shold sell quotas of it. That way you dont have to be paranoid about walking down the street with a 10bag, and small time deallers (ie students and other people trying to make a a few quid or a free smoke) wont be completly out of business. most small time deallers dont make much money, and are not violent criminals as the media would have you believe.

Either way, legal or not, people are still gonna smoke it, put it in their cakes, tea, coffee etc. It CANNOT be fully controlled.

Answer 6

Just one more thing that the Gov. could put a tax on.

Yes, it should be legal in the same sense as alcohol, and already has the same penalties for DWI/DUI. As Alcohol does, but with a kicker, being illegal substance.

Answer 7

Yes, marihuana, as well as other drugs, shoudl be legalised.
It's pure nonsense to criminalize drug distribution but allow possesion. How would anyone posses drug if it were not for distribution?
The result is that gringos enjoy pot, but mexicans and other latin-americans incur the security costs of drug trafficking.
Do you want to get stoned? Fine, but don't pass the cost to others. That's simply UNFAIR.

By the way, note I put "latin-americans", not "latins". Those live in Rome, ancient Lacio.

Answer 8

Yes. As is, police forces are taxed to the limit fighting marijuana 'crimes'. The U.S. government should tax it and anyone distributing it should be investigated for tax evasion. The real reasons for its prohibition is , the cotton industry, pharmaceutical industry, and those who make a profit on the so called 'drug war'.

Answer 9

Yes. (In Alaska, Hawaii, Baker, Howland, Jarvis, Johnston, Kingman, Midway, Palmyra, American Samoa and Guam)

Answer 10

Isn't it legal? How come people with arthritis can plant it for medicinal purposes legally then? Should be the same for everyone. We all suffer from arthritis...Ooooh! My back!!!!!