Marijuana Should Be Legalized

My only rule is that there is no name calling or being rude. I will respect your opinion and you should in return respect mine. With that stated, I will begin my reasoning on why marijauna should be legal. 1. ) Money In the USA, over 2.3 million people were incarcerated over marijuana related charges. It costs the federal government over $5 billion dollars just to put these men and women behind bars, most of which, are nonviolent. The bad thing is this amount is steadily increasing. At this moment in time, the spending has increased over 127% is some states. And with the population of prisoners growing over time it is expected to keep on the rise. By legalizing marijuana, this spending would decrease monstrous amounts and save the country and states millions of dollars if not billions. Also, by allowing the use of weed, the government could tax it and make a profit off of it. 2. )Health Benefits and Facts In addition to the profits of marijuana, there are other things that would benefit from legalizing the drug. The health benefits. Its already been proven to help cancer patients and even prevent some types of cancer. Some examples are Prostate Cancer and Lung Disease. Furthermore, smoking, vaporizing, and consuming marijuana relieves the pain of people with HIV's, Arthritis, Migraines, Tourettes and OCD, and IBS and Crohns Disease. The drug has shown to prevent Alzheimer's and Epilepsy. But most importantly, it treats a number of ailments including Glaucoma, Depression, Hepatitis C, Morning Sickness, and ADD and ADHD. Marijuana isn't like other drugs that just decrease the health of people. Unlike others, its not something a person can overdose on and in any case in much safer than alcohol and cigarettes. Speaking of alcohol, many people assume that being high is the equivalent of being drunk. This misconception is highly inaccurate. Being high actually puts a person in a calm, focused, and creative state of mind. Officials worry that legalizing it will cause more car accidents, but because of the chemicals in weed, you tend to be more alert,. Thus, you're better off being high while driving than being completely sober. 3. ) Famous People Who Smoked and What They Benefited to Society The other side effect of weed is creativity. If it wasn't for marijuana, then much of the art, music, and books we read today would not have ever been made. William Shakespeare is a prime example. And due to the focus aspects of it, many of the geniuses of today's society and past might not be or have been in the place they are and were. Presidents smoked weed. Barack Obama was an avid smoker when he was younger and George Washington owned a marijuana farm. Michael Phelps, the man who has the most Olympic gold medals in all of history has smoked. Famous Actors and Politicians frequently smoke such as Michael Bloomberg, Montel Williams, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Another of the world most famous authors is a "pothead", Stephen King. The man who gave you Iphone's and Macs and Ipod's smoked weed. (Steve Jobs) Joan of the Arc thought of her war strategies when high. Smoking weed has benefited society in so many ways! This concludes my argument. In summary, legalizing marijuana would make money for the government, it provides many health benefits, and much of what we have now is a result of people smoking weed. Thank you!