legalize cannabis

AFFIRMATIVE I will begin by addressing my opponents arguments.'I personally was a regular user of cannabis for a number of years and I found it was a highly addictive drug it gave me problems with motivation so much so I missed day's of work I failed my college exams due to the fact I just couldn't be bothered with the course work, it dulled me mentally so when I eventually came to do my driving test I forgot numerous functions of the car .Financially it also put a strain on me.'This is a nonsensical anecdote. Cannabis is not known to be addicting in its common usage. The only display of 'withdrawal' is mild irritability after the sudden stop of its consumption. This is due to the brain thinking it no longer needs to produce cannabinoids (which work as stress/anxiety coping mechanisms.) But I digress, cannabis addiction is the most trivial of substance addiction. Serious addiction of cannabis only accounts for 9% of said 1 and its estimated that it is close to caffeine in terms to ones ability to get addicted to it. My opponent's experience with cannabis is not the same for all of its users, and I can only beg my opponent to see reason in these wise words: "I know what is best for me, and I do not know what is best for other people." If you have had a negative experience with cannabis, than it would probably be best for you to refrain from consuming it but that, by no means, gives you reason to want to prohibit for the general populace, whom of which mostly find solace, joy, relaxation, creativity, artistry, happiness and relief from the consumption from this herb. It is also worth noting that human beings have been using cannabis for the last 10,000 years for numerous applications and it does not seem to logically follow to have it prohibited especially when accounting for our ancestors success with it. After all, human beings tend to be hedonist by nature and will seek pleasure in any form so it seems only practical to allow a less dangerous substance in lieu of harmful substances like tobacco and alcohol or other harmful substances. Who are we to tell others what we can and cannot put in our bodies as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others or harms them? Obviously, this does not apply to hard drugs that one can easily die from (heroine, cocaine, ect) due to that the user severely harms their family both emotionally and fiscally (funeral costs, ect.)My opponent is adamant that he needs to see purpose behind. I will provide several examples of benefits that will ensue.Firstly, the legalization of cannabis will reduce violent crime rates due to that a lot of violent crime is a direct result of the existence of a black market for cannabis 2. By legalizing cannabis, consumers will have a regulated, clean, and safe access to cannabis without fear of a deal-gone-wrong or other unfortunate scenario. The same predicament can be seen throughout the American Prohibition of alcohol which ensued record high violent crime rates. Gangs would smuggle alcohol across the Canadian border and altercations with rival gangs, ultimately resulting in the bloodshed of gang members, police officers, public officials, and innocent civilians. After the prohibition of alcohol ended, murder rates dropped drastically and conditions improved. Legalization will cut off the majority of revenue going to drug cartels. The sale of cannabis from Mexican drug cartels accounts for over half of their revenue 3. By legalizing it, their revenues will take a serious hit and the lack of funds would prevent them from resuming illegal drug operations across the Unites States-Mexican Border 4. This would reduce the amount of illegal drugs coming into the nation, which include methamphetamines, cocaine, and many more drugs. Secondly, legalization will allow for the reallocation of public funds to more purposeful projects. The United States spends $40 billion dollars 6 annually on the War on Drugs. As I've said before, the legalization of cannabis will cripple most all illegal drug activity and a hardline drug policy would not be needed. Thus, the majority of said $40 billion dollars could be used for more meaningful purposes, such as the funding of social programs, addiction clinics, public education about the dangers of harmful drugs, deficit spending and many other uses.Last but not least, the legalization of cannabis could result in tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of jobs in the private sector economy as well as a huge influx of tax revenue. In the United States, the revenue summation of states with legal medical marijuana (note, ONLY medical marijuana; if recreational use was legal as well, this sum could potentially be exponential) was around $36 billion dollars. If all 50 states had legal cannabis, this figure could easily be north of $100 billion. The sales tax alone on this cannabis would be a huge win-win for both taxpayer and government due that the large influx of sales tax could allow the central government to lower the income tax marginal rates. Moreover, this extra tax revenue could be used to make a surplus on the national debt as well as fund much needed social programs that were previously not feasible to fund. Opponent: 'by legalizing it and making it more readily available to people ' In this statement, my opponent is making the bare assertion that legalization will result in higher access rates to cannabis. This is not always true; in the current status quo, high school students are saying that cannabis (illegal) is easier to get than alcohol (legal.) High access of a certain substance is more related to its strong presence in the black market rather than its presence in 'corner shops'. By legalizing cannabis, you essentially destroy most of its presence in the black market and replace it within a strict, regulated institution that doesn't sell to children or those who do not mentally qualify. The legalization policy of cannabis is not as loose as my opponent believes it to be. People do not want to go to the dark side of society for cannabis, they would rather jump through a few regulatory hoops by purchasing legally than suffer jail time. By legalizing it, we have more control over WHO gets the substance (due to that if one wants a drug, they'll probably get it regardless) and have more preventative methods of keeping it away from the mentally sick and our youth. I will now summarize the progress of the debate: I have fully defended my position towards the topic at hand due to that my opponent agrees with my 2nd and 3rd contentions, even though his accordance with my 3rd contention contradicts his position toward the topic at hand. In light of my opponent agreeing with my 2nd and 3rd contentions, I offer the following resolution: “Resolved: The recreational use of cannabis should be legalized” Due to my opponent's apathy towards the illegal status of cannabis in contrasts to alcohol and tobacco, I would now like to offer a new contention: Contention (revised, summation of previous purposes presented): Cannabis should be legalized for its fiscal benefits, crime-related societal benefits and its public funding benefits.Sources: 1http://www.psychologytoday.com... 2http://www.cnbc.com... 3http://www.huffingtonpost.com... 4http://reason.com... 5http://www.advancedholistichealth.org... 6http://www.prohibitioncosts.org... http://www.drugscope.org.uk...