Marjuana should be legal with a few restrictions.

Here are the main reasons why I think marijuana should be legalized with an age and area restriction.1) Tax dollars saved vs. tax dollars wastedtax money wasted on arrests for possesion of marijuana:tax payers spend between 1.5 to 3 billion dollars a year trying and imprisoning people for marijuana [1]there's one marijuana arrest every 42 seconds in the U. S. [2]estimated tax money saved by legalizing marijuana:According to one conservative estimate, a 2010 study from Cato found that legalizing marijuana would generate $8.7 billion dollars in federal and state tax revenue annually. [3]Another study from businessweek estimates a much higher amount of revenue:"If the cost of retailing and distribution is the same as for legal tobacco cigarettes, about $10 a gram, then selling the (legal) product at exactly the same price as on the street today ($10 per gram) could raise $40 billion to $100 billion in new revenue. " [4]2) Marijuana is mild in comparison to legal drugs, such as alcoholAlcohol use damages the brain. Marijuana use does not. [5] Many people die from alcohol use. Nobody dies from marijuana use:"The U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reportsthat more than 37,000 annual U. S. deaths, including more than 1,400 in Colorado, are attributed to alcohol use alone (i. e. this figure does not include accidental deaths). On the other hand, the CDC does not even have a category for deaths caused by the use of marijuana. [5]Cannabis - unlike tobacco smoke - has not been linked with cancer [5]Cannabis also slows down the production of cancer-causing free-radicals:"marijuana smoke also contains cannabinoids such as THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol), which are non-carcinogenic and demonstrate anti-cancer properties in vivo and in vitro. By contrast, nicotine promotes the development of cancer cells and their blood supply. In addition, cannabinoids stimulate other biological activities and responses that may mitigate the carcinogenic effects of smoke, such as down-regulating the inflammatory arm of the immune system that is responsible for producing potentially carcinogenic free radicals (unstable atoms that are believed to accelerate the progression of cancer). " [5]3) Cannabis is not addictive. Cannabis is not physically addictive, and is psychologically less addictive than caffeine.9% of cannabis users are addicted to it. [6]75% of caffeine users are addicted to it. [7]4) Marijuana withdrawl symptoms are not any worse than caffeine withdrawl symptomsSymptoms of caffeine withdrawal include: headache, fatigue, anxiety irritability, depressed mood and difficulty concentrating. [8] symptoms of marijuana withdrawl include: "sleeping difficulties, craving, and anxiety. They also show increased aggression on psychological tests, peaking approximately 1 week after they last used the drug. " [9]These withdrawl symptoms sounds pretty similar don't they? Let's see what WebMD has to say about the symptoms of caffeine withdrawl:“No doubt, caffeine withdrawal can make for a few bad days. However, caffeine does not cause the severity of withdrawal or harmful drug-seeking behaviors as street drugs or alcohol. For this reason, most experts don't consider caffeine dependence a serious addiction. ” [8]Since the withdrawl symptoms of caffeine are nearly identical to marijuana withdrawl symptoms, WebMD doesn't consider dependence on a drug with those withdrawl symptoms as serious.5) Legalizing marijuana will result in safer marijuana purchases + final thoughtsIf people don't have the medical license to obtain marijuana, they will try to obtain it illegally like they do now. Any black market transaction runs the risk of fraud, theft, and violence. Legalizing marijuana will probably increase the amount of first-time users, but the statistics show that only 9% of users become psychologically addicted to it. It should also be restricted to 18+ year old adults to restrict usage to those who are older and more mature. Of course this doesn't mean it will stay out of the hands of underage users, but it would be illegal for them to do so - just like drinking alcohol underage is. Given the mild nature of this drug (remember that caffeine is a drug too), I don't see the logic in having it remain illegal because the benefits clearly outweigh the costs. SOURCES. http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [1]. http://www.fbi.gov... [2]. http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [3]. http://www.businessweek.com... [4]. http://archive.saferchoice.org...[5]http://www.drugabuse.gov... [6]. http://www.caffeineawareness.org... [7] . http://www.webmd.com... [8] . http://www.drugabuse.gov... [9]