Legalize Marijuana

Legalize Marijuana

Marijuana also known as cannabis is one of the most consumed illegal drugs just after alcohol and tobacco. The plant is also known by other names such as dagga, ganja, hemp, Mary Jane and bhang just to mention but a few. In the recent years, there has been a great debate on whether use of marijuana be legalized or not.  Those of pro choice argues that the plant is very beneficial to human race while those against the idea asserts that this is a hard drug that has great negative effects on the way human think. In this paper, i will outline major reasons why I think marijuana should be legalized everywhere in the world (Ruschmann, 2003).

In my own personal view, the use of marijuana should be legalized in any part of the world. The argument on whether marijuana should be legalized or not, should be based on pure facts and not in meaningless and exaggerated claims. For instance, many people are against the use of marijuana citing cause of death as the main reason why the use of marijuana should be condemned. However, from previous statistics it is evident that among the most consumed drugs in America, marijuana has the least number of death causes. The most killer drug being tobacco and alcohol (Govier, 2014). However it is important to note that its abuse can induce lethargic behavior and not death. The users of marijuana should do it astutely to avoid the minor health issues it is associated with.

The other reason why marijuana should be legalized is for economic reasons.  The use of marijuana can be of great economic importance if it is taxed. This is because it demand is ever increasing and its taxation would boost the world economy. The ever increasing cases related to use of marijuana proves to be very expensive for many justice systems. This time would otherwise be used in other vital business such as preventing the rising crimes in major cities. The money received from taxing marijuana can be used in upgrading the justice systems in most federal states.

The other reason why legalization of marijuana should be encouraged is the great medicinal value derived from the plant. Recent researchers have found out that the marijuana plant has high medicinal value which could be of great importance in the medical sector. It has been proved that marijuana provides pain relief, nausea and spasticity. The use of marijuana has also increased as an aesthetic during minor surgeries.  This is because it helps in relaxing muscles and causes a good sleeping moment thus enabling a smooth surgery moment. Other researchers have also proved marijuana has been of great help to those people suffering from loss of appetite as a result of ailments such as   HIV/AIDS. In this regard, most marijuana users use it as a recreational drug which has relatively mild side effects. Marijuana has been of great importance in cancer treatment among other diseases (Ruschmann, 2003).

Legalization of marijuana would be of great importance in development of agriculture. This is because marijuana is from hemp plant which would be a major boost to the economy. The cultivation of this plant would have other benefits such as bio fuel that significantly reduce carbon emissions (Govier, 2014).  The hemp plant has several uses such as fuel and the production of marijuana. Legalization of marijuana would encourage cultivation of the hemp plant for industrial purpose. This would be of great importance to the development of the economy. The legalization would help industrial development which as a result would increase employment significantly. Increased cultivation will also help in climate conservation which would be great in preventing global warming which is a menace to the global population.

Legalization of marijuana would be very fundamental in ensuring that its sales and use among the teenagers is controlled.  This is because its legalization will help regulate and control the marijuana market. By making the use of marijuana an illegal affair has made it a more valuable business than it6 would be if it was legal. This has made it very easy for the teenagers to sell it to their colleagues thus making a lot of money. The use of marijuana among the youth can be trimmed if the state government legalize and control the market. This is because the excess profits realized in the black market would be minimized thus lacking motivation for teens to be in this business (Morgan, 2011).

Another reason why legalization of marijuana should be encouraged is because marijuana is less addictive as compared to other drugs. By legalizing marijuana, a significant drop in the use of other hard drugs such as alcohol, heroin, barbiturates, cocaine and methamphetamines will be noted.  This will be a broad step as the use of marijuana will have relatively low side effects as compared to alcohol and tobacco.  Marijuana consumers are more responsible people who pay taxes; take care of their families among other core duties as opposed to those who are addicted to alcohol and other hard drugs. Marijuana is a less killer drug as compared to tobacco and alcohol and thus it should be legalized (Govier, 2014).

Another major reason why marijuana should be legalized is because its criminalization has no moral justification.  The prohibition of marijuana is based purely on lies and disinformation. Several exaggerated dangers associated with marijuana have been but forward but they lack scientific prove. Criminalizing use of marijuana does not entail a crime since a real crime occurs where there is a victim and a perpetrator. However, smoking marijuana does not entail a crime since the smoker does not harm anyone. This is like jailing a person for robbing oneself. It lacks logic to criminalize someone for a crime he commits against himself. Every government should be concerned with basic human rights and realize that marijuana users have their own rights (Gerber, 2004).

In conclusion, the marijuana use should be legalized in all federal states. This is because it is crystal clear that its legalization would have more pros than cons. Both the economical and social benefits associated with the use of this plant outweigh the baseless propaganda orchestrated by those against the use of the plant. Everyone agrees that marijuana, or any other drug use such as alcohol or tobacco use, is not for children. Nonetheless, adults have demonstrated over the last several decades that marijuana can be used moderately without harmful impacts to the individual or society. After legalization of marijuana, civic education should be carried out to ensure that there is public awareness on the possible side effects associated with the use of the plant (Morgan, 2011).  The civic education should also be aimed at discouraging its use among the teens.

 

Works Cited

“10 Reasons Marijuana Should Be Legal.” High Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.  <http://www.hightimes.com/read/10-reasons-marijuana-should-be-legal>    .

Gerber, Rudolph J.. Legalizing marijuana: drug policy reform and prohibition politics. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2004. Print.

Govier, Trudy. A practical study of argument. Enhanced 7th ed. Australia: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2014. Print.

Morgan, Kayla. Legalizing marijuana. Edina, MN: ABDO Pub. Co., 2011. Print.

Ruschmann, Paul. Legalizing Marijuana. New York: Infobase Pub., 2003. Print.

 

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