Should The United States legalize marijuana?

Question

I want reasons with the answer, not just yes or no please.

Answer 1

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

yes and i agree with what Milli said but want to add to this that with the laws the way they are a rapist or murder can get out of prison after only months of incarceration, on the other hand a person caught with marijuana will be sentenced and have to serve the full sentence, this has led to overcrowding of prisons and also is the major cause of recidivism (people returning to prison) judges hands are tied and can do nothing because these laws were handed down from senate during the (well beaten ) drug wars. that is why i believe we need a change in the laws. look at Amsterdam where it has been legalized the crime rate has dropped and usage is more by tourists then by its citizens because of the education that has resulted from legalization.

Answer 3

Yes and a big Yes,This has made many mobster politicians police officials and local thugs very rich ,lead to murders and thefts crime.yet hardly this policy affected its usage.Legalize it and you will see a dramatic drop in crime and change in the behavior of society.
P,S. I came from a country called India where it grows to the height of 10 feet every where free and hardly any body Except some foreign visitors ever care about it.

Answer 4

genuinely. in basic terms think of of the revenues gained from the tax and how that may help strengthen our monetary equipment. maximum of people smoke marijuana, that's one among those comedian tale why our government looks any opposite direction.

Answer 5

Yes. Marijuana has medicinal value and may stave off the onset of Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia.

Answer 6

It is legal already.
But not in those banana republic States like Florida or Alabama

Answer 7

Yes. For medical reasons most importantly. Second people are going to do it anyway and smoking it is no where near as bad as being drunk.

Answer 8

Yes. But then there would be taxes put on it and people would end up buying it on the streets anyways where its not taxed so whats the point. I guess we will never know.

Answer 9

No, I'm Iivin proof of wut drugs can do to your brain. Besides, we're gonaa get you, cuz you do the wacky weed an' you helping fund "the terrists!" Which means your a terrist and you can be sent to Guantanamo under the Patriot Act. We're gonna go into your homes and have more checkpoints than ever! God bless Amerrca! Jesus Akbar!

Answer 10

No, We should not legalize marijuana. It will lead to harsher drug use. Amsterdam is a classic example of what legalized drugs will do to a society.