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Matt Dove
Mr. Gilkey
English 9B
29 March 2009
Pot Smoking Power
About 72% say that for possessing small amounts of marijuana people should not be arrested, but simply fined. This basically defines the word “decriminalization” (Nadelmann 1).
The Constitution doesn’t let Washington regulate rules on marijuana prohibition so those rights are up to the states, and the citizens included (Murdock 2).
The government should legalize marijuana for several reasons including that the dangers are exaggerated, a lot of people do it, and it will help the economy.
Opponents to legalizing marijuana say that marijuana is too dangerous to be legal. For example, commenting on Ethan Nadelmann’s article, “And End to Marijuana Prohibition,” John Walter says, “The truth is there are laws against marijuana because marijuana is harmful”(41).
Nadelmann replies in another article, “The Future of Illusion”, “Does he mean to imply that anything that is harmful– or as harmful as marijuana– should be prohibited? The list would be endless given relative safety margins of marijuana compared with thousands of legal drugs, sports, etcetera”(1).
Living in fear of marijuana because it is as dangerous as most daily things not to mention all the insane entertainment such as skydiving or bungee jumping is just absurd. It is true that marijuana can be dangerous, but here are three reasons why it should be legalized.
The dangers are totally exaggerated. Unlike more illicit drugs like heroin, cocaine,
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or LSD, marijuana it is virtually impossible to die as a result of smoking to much marijuana (Ruschmann 37-38).
A lot of people die from aspirin even though America says that it is safe enough to sell over the counter. It is also said that most people who try marijuana never progress beyond moderate use, and therefore never expose themselves to a high risk of serious social or psychological problems (Ruschmann 38).
Most importantly, nearly everybody who tries marijuana, at one point will stop or give it up, which would be impossible if it were highly addictive (Ruschmann 39).
If people are concerned that marijuana is addictive, then why are cigarettes legal even though nicotine is very addictive. The government stresses that marijuana extremely dangerous, or dangerous enough that it not be open to the public.
A lot of people use marijuana on a daily basis, whether it be for medicinal purposes or just for the enjoyment there is always a purpose. It was surprising to discover that Al Gore, Bill Bradley, John Kerry, and Bill Clinton have all smoked pot in the past. Even the previous president, George W. Bush, will not deny it ( Nadelmann 1).
Al Gore, the man that is telling everyone to get green is slowly polluting the air with smoke of marijuana. Obviously, people can still smoke marijuana and be environmentally safe at the same time. Close to 100 million Americans– including more than half of those between the ages 18-50– have tried marijuana at least once (Nadelmann 1).
A large amount of people try marijuana for the first time every year. The are 2,251,000 people a year who try marijuana for the first time. There are 187,583 a month, and an astounding 4.3 people a minute (Somdahl 12).
It is amazing that about four people a minute experiment with marijuana. This is the main reason some states have made marijuana a
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civil instead of a criminal offense. A large number of Americans have experimented with pot while being illegal, so why not legalize it. The rate in young Americans would most likely decrease being that most are tempted by marijuana seeing that its status being “forbidden fruit” ( Nadelmann 2).
Kids try marijuana because there parents and other superior figures have told them not to. Legalizing marijuana would stop rebellious kids from starting to use pot at a young age.
Going on to current events, marijuana would help America get out of this economic slump they are in today. NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) estimated that California saves almost 100 million dollars a year by treating marijuana possession as a civil rather than a criminal offense (Ruschmann 80).
Just think how much money California would save if it legalized it completely. NORML also estimated that legalization would save as much as 10 billion dollars per year in enforcement costs alone (Ruschmann 80).
Ten billion dollars is a tremendous amount of money that could give people jobs and help them pay off America’s debt. If marijuana were legal, the government would be able to tax both the drug itself and the income of those who grow, distribute, and sell it (Ruschmann 81).
Marijuana should be legalized because it isn’t as dangerous as the government makes it seem, a large amount of Americans already do it, and it will help the troubled economy. The war on marijuana assaults individual liberty, weakens families, and militarizes cops while burning tax payer dollars and the constitution as if in a bong (Feder 3).
“Herb is the healing of a nation…”-Bob Marley.
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Works Cited
“Marijuana Legalization Timelines.” Leading issues timelines. 2009. SIRS Researcher. Valencia High School Library. 17 March, 2009. http://www.sirs.com
Murdock, Deroy and Feder, Don. “Q: Should Conservatives Support The Legalization of Marijuana.” Insight on the news. 18 October, 2001. SIRS Researcher. Valencia High School Library. 17 March, 2009. http://www.sirs.com
Nadelmann, Ethan. “An End to Marijuana Prohibition.” National Review. 12 July, 2004.
SIRS Researcher. Valencia High School Library. 16 March, 2009. http://www.sirs.com
Nadelmann, Ethan. “The Future of an Illusion.” National Review Vol. 56 No. 18. 27 September, 2004. SIRS Researcher. Valencia High School Library. 23 March, 2009. http://www.sirs.com
Ruschmann, Paul. Legalizing Marijuana. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004.
Somdahl, Gary. Marijuana Drug Dangers. New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1999.