Why should marijuana be legalized?
Marijuana, one of today’s top most controversial topics. The main concern it holds is whether or not it should be legal. Many people are so closed-minded that they cannot perceive much less comprehend the unlimited possibilities that it has as a viable resource. If I were a leader of the free world, I would legalize the production and distribution of illegal contraband such as marijuana. Everyone always asks the overburdened question of why marijuana should be legal. However, from a philosophical view point, why should marijuana be illegal. The government’s main duty is to ensure the safety and overall well-being of the people. With that being said, they can limit any and all choices made that endanger other people. This does not include nor apply to marijuana, because it is a personal decision that is based on free will and free will alone. On the other hand, the government does have the right to seize any actions that hurts others. According to Wikipedia.com, a drug broadly speaking is any substance that when absorbed into the body it alters normal bodily functions (7).
As you can see, alcohol is a prime example of a real drug. According to alcoholvsmarijuana.com, alcohol has two times more negative effects than marijuana (3) . It also has more short and long term negative effects than marijuana, which has little to none. In addition, according to 25 studies done on the subject in 2010, alcohol is the second leading cause of death; whereas marijuana is third from the bottom of the list (4).
Mphdegree.org’s article on alcohol verses marijuana states that no matter what you may have heard, alcohol causes more deaths than marijuana.
Marijuana is not only a safer substance than alcohol, but it’s a multimillion dollar industry. As a leader, once I legalize marijuana, I would then begin to start product production. This would lead to many factories and stores to produce and sell the product. This would also lead to thousands of new job opportunities for the American public. The new found company and stores’ taxes will stable out the economy as well. The same rising taxes on tobacco will be placed marijuana. As you can see the legalization of marijuana is already beginning to benefit the world. Another major benefit of the marijuana legalization process would be the drastic decrease of in contraband related crimes. Marijuana is not only for recreational purposes; it is used and trusted in the medical field. Marijuana has been proven to help treat glaucoma and other cancers. The usage of medical marijuana has also been proven to soothe ADD and ADHD patients (1).
It also revives hunger to cancer patients.
Now let’s take a journey back to a time where alcohol was in the same position as marijuana. Alcohol was only legalized because the government found a way to tax it. According to yahoo.com, the alcohol companies pay very high taxes and are major revenue for the government. In the year 2009 the government collected $20.6 billion from alcohol, tobacco, firearms and ammunition companies alone (3).
As you can see when the government legalized alcohol, they knew that could tax some major money off of it. Obviously marijuana will follow alcohol and be soon legalized and begin to benefit everyone.
WORK CITED PAGE
Wright, John. “Marijuana vs. Alcohol: 25 Enlightening Studies and Infographics.” MPH Degree – Online M.P.H. Programs (Public Health).
Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .
Axson, Tim J. “SAFER – Alcohol vs. Marijuana.” SAFER – Home. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .
Boneparte, Tiffany R. “Marijuana vs Alcohol – Do the Math on the Dangers.” Cannabis News – Medical Marijuana, Marijuana News, Hemp, Cannabis. Web. 21 Mar. 2011. .
Johnson, MaryAnne. “Debate: The Legalization of Marijuana/Marijuana vs. Alcohol | Debate.org.” Debate at Debate.org. Web. 21 Mar. 2011.