Resolved: The state of Georgia ought legalize the recreational use/possession of marijuana.

I would like to clarify that my argument won’t attempt to prove that there are absolutely no harms whatsoever to the consumption of marijuana. Nothing that can be ingested is free of causing harms to people, and marijuana is no exception. It is highly recommended that marijuana not be used by adolescents or people with mental illness. Because there are various harms that are claimed to be associated with marijuana which have undergone scientific study, I won’t specifically iterate them in my case due to my limited allotted space in order to provide my argument. Instead, if my opponent brings up any harms that could come about from the use of marijuana, I’ll address them accordingly in the succeeding rounds of the debate. Likewise, the hypothesized health benefits of marijuana are also extensive. The objective of my case is then to prove that the state’s legalization of marijuana would result in more benefits than harm, hence the solitary contention of my case. Contention: Legalization of marijuana could pose benefits to the state of Georgia, and prohibition is a failed model of policy. Looking at a nationwide level of marijuana consumption, the results of prohibition are evident: “Almost 9 out of 10 high school seniors say that marijuana is "very easy" to obtain (much easier than alcohol and tobacco, which are regulated drugs). The street price of cocaine has dropped by 80 percent since 1982, the exact opposite effect from what was intended.” [1] However, the legalization of marijuana could provide a more effective method of handling cannabis. Sub-point 1a: Legalizing marijuana could provide monetary benefits to the state of Georgia. The greater amount of the benefits originates from the savings that the state of Georgia could attain from legalization rather than the tax revenue. Nevertheless, legalizing marijuana can provide monetary benefits to the state of Georgia, as research suggests. The state of Georgia generally spends about $119 million in total annually under the current model of prohibition of marijuana [2], a monetary amount that could be reduced with the legalization of marijuana by the state of Georgia. The tax revenue from marijuana is calculated depending on population and consumption. [3,4] Miron found similar results from estimating economic benefits of legalizing marijuana in the state of Massachusetts. “Combining these two pieces and adjusting for inflation between 2000 and 2002 implies that Massachusetts would collect $16.9 million annually from marijuana legalization.” [5] Sub-point 1b: Legalizing marijuana provides a better deterrent from use by adolescents. The increased difficulty for adolescents to obtain tobacco and alcohol as opposed to obtaining marijuana display the effectiveness of drug regulation. Likewise, history also displays the ineffectiveness of prohibition after the prohibition of alcohol; use of alcohol increased significantly; organized crime obtained aboost to their funds from the black market. Legalization and regulation of substances allowed for better control over the people who obtain substances. Previous decriminalization efforts in terms of medical marijuana additionally showed no increases in use among adolescents [6]. “A Rhode Island Hospital physician/researcher will present findings from a study investigating whether legalizing medical marijuana in Rhode Island will increase its use among youths. Lead author Esther Choo, M.D., M.P.H., will present the findings of the study at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Exposition on November 2... In their study, they included surveys completed between 1997 and 2009…Choo says, "Our study did not find increases in adolescent marijuana use related to Rhode Island's 2006 legalization of medical marijuana; however, additional research may follow future trends as medical marijuana in Rhode Island and other states becomes more widely used."” [7] “In 1997, the Connecticut Law Review found that states that have the strictest laws against marijuana use actually have experienced the largest increase in use and there is no study that can scientifically prove that the use of marijuana will lead to the use of harder illegal drugs.” [8] Sub-point 1c: Legalizing marijuana curbs crime. The legalization of marijuana shows to curb crime. In terms of organized crime, it is predicted that legalization efforts would strike an enormous blow to drug cartels. Because Georgia is a state with ports, trafficking of marijuana can be prevalent. As a study from the country of Mexico shows, drug cartels would suffer a blow from legalization efforts. “The study (.pdf), released on October 31 by the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness (IMCO), found that Mexican drug cartels could see their revenue drop by as much as 30 percent across the board if current ballot initiatives on marijuana legalization in three states are passed.” [9] In terms of unorganized crime, the state of California has shown decreases to crime among youth partially as a result of marijuana law reforms. “Effective in 1976, SB 95 downgraded low-level possession (less than one ounce) of marijuana from a felony to a misdemeanor, and effective on January 1, 2011, SB 1449 reduced most simple marijuana possessions to an infraction involving a mere citation rather than criminal arrest. The 1976 reform simply transferred a few thousand marijuana arrests from felonies to misdemeanors, affecting these categories but not overall or drug arrest totals. The 2011 reform did reduce youth marijuana possession arrests by 61% in one year, from nearly 15,000 in 2010 to 5,800 in 2011, reducing overall drug and total arrests in tandem…Second, they show that deincarceration of youth does not generate more crime. ” [10] Like I stated before, any arguments related to marijuana health benefits/defects will be dealt with in succeeding rounds. However, I’ll open the floor for arguments from the CON. [1] "America's Longest War Has Shown Once Again Prohibition Doesn't Work." US News, , sec. Debate Club, July 9, 2012. http://www.usnews.com... (accessed October 4, 2013). [2] Jeffrey Miron, "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," Harvard University: 10, http://www.in.gov... Implications of Marijuana Prohibition-Jeffrey Miron.pdf (accessed October 4, 2013). [3] Ibid., 13 [4] Ibid., 14 [5] Miron, Jeffrey. "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Massachusetts." Boston University. : 10. http://ukcia.org... (accessed October 4, 2013). [6] Lynne-Landsman, Sarah, Melvin Livingston, and Alexander Wagenaar. "Effects of State Medical Marijuana Laws on Adolescent Marijuana Use." American Journal of Public Health. no. 8 (2013): 1500-06. http://ehis.ebscohost.com... (accessed October 4, 2013). [7] "Study: Legalizing Medical Marijuana Does Not Increase Use Among Youth." NORML, 2013. http://norml.org... (accessed October 4, 2013). [8] Stevens, Amanda. "Legalizing marijuana allows police to focus on violent crimes." The Raw Story, 2013. http://www.rawstory.com... (accessed October 4, 2013). [9] Ramsey, Geoffrey. "Study: US Marijuana Legalization Could Cut Cartel Profits By 30%." InSight Crime, November 5, 2012. http://www.insightcrime.org... (accessed October 4, 2013). [10] Males, Mike. "California Youth Crime Plunges to All-Time Low." Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. (2012): 7-8. http://www.cjcj.org... (accessed October 4, 2013). [11] http://www.policymic.com...