Question: Should recreational marijuana be legal?

Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Recreational Marijuana should not be legalized. It is harmful and dangerous, and legalizing it would be no better than legalizing heroin. Addictive substances such as this should not be allowed to harm our citizens. While there is danger in legalizing it, there is no danger in keeping it illegal. Therefore, the logical solution is that recreational marijuana be kept illegal. Also, while people say that it only harms the people who use it, what about those people's friends and families? It is important to protect everyone possible from the effects of recreational marijuana.

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. Contentions 1. Freedom of Autonomy Famous British philosopher, and political economist, John Stuart Mill theorized that, "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others"[0]. People should have the right to exercise their autonomy. As the quote above suggests, the only time this can be rightfully restricted is to prevent harm to others. The Government has *no responsibility* to ensure individuals do not harm themselves. This is patently obvious, as dangerous and even lethal activities are not illegal, such as smoking tobacco or GrandPrix racing, the latter killing 1/100 participants [1]. Con will need to show that marijuana itself creates a significant enough harm to others, in order to justify marijuana’s illegality. Not only that, but he must demonstrate this harm to others is *greater than or on par at-least* with the harms that the U. S status quo already permits. It would be *illogical* to have one thing be illegal based on its harm to others, just to turn around and permit something of even greater harm. 2. Low Level of Harm to Self and Others The possible harms associated with several others substances are already legal and significantly more detrimental to society and the individuals themselves. The chart below [2] illustrates the level of harm substances have on their users and those around them. We can immediately take note that the *most dangerous* substance is *already legal*. The simple fact that the government accepts this inherent risk of self-harm and harm-to-others from Alcohol, is plenty of justification to accept the lower risks of another substance such as marijuana. Marijuana is shown to be nearly *five times* less harmful-to-others than Alcohol is. If the U. S government accepts these risks of harm, it is only reasonable that we should allow another substance who's risks are significantly less; that being marijuana. 3. Benefits from Regulation There are several benefits to be had from regulating marijuana on a federal/state level. a) Taxation: It should go without saying that the government benefits from the high revenue taxes generate on tobacco and alcohol. It is estimated that the legalization and regulation of marijuana could generate approximately *8.7 Billion* dollars in tax revenue [3]. This alone is a huge benefit worth the possible harm that legalized marijuana may pose. b) Safety and Reduction of the Black Market: With an easily accessible and safe source, people will not be at risk of obtaining laced drugs or poorly maintained products. Both of which contribute to further reducing the possibility of harming oneself or those around them. Additionally, this takes away revenue from the black market which helps to diminish its existence in the U. S. With the legalization of recreational marijuana in several states, NPR reported that the price of a kilogram of weed as gone from 90$ to 30$, making the illegal industry less worthwhile [4] c) Job Creation: In order to regulate marijuana there will need to be jobs to do so! Jobs in which will involve things such as business management, plant growing, product selling, and even cooking will inevitably be created. In turn further stimulating the economy. With the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado, they saw a creation of upwards of 10,000 jobs [5]. Conclusion: Given the great benefits to be reaped from the legalization of marijuana, and the significantly lower harm it possess than what the status quo allows, I believe marijuana should be legalized. [0] . http://en.wikipedia.org... [1] . http://www.besthealthdegrees.com... [2] . http://www.vox.com... [3] . http://www.huffingtonpost.com... [4] . http://www.ibtimes.com... [5] . http://naturalsociety.com...

Debate Topic - Recreational Marijuana ought to be legalized nationwide I shall now present my case. Case One - The problem with illegalized marijuana In many countries across the world we can see that marijuana usage (not just in a recreational sense) is illegal and anyone caught utilizing marijuana can be punished by local law. Now the nature of this law is mainly to prevent the abuse of a psychoactive drug which is shown to be addictive and harmful if used excessively and in the wrong conditions. However this often doesn't happen. If we look at the facts (see source one) the five most powerful drug cartels in the world operate in Mexico and Colombia. Two countries where the usage of recreational marijuana is illegal but unenforced by local law. This law paving way for drug cartels to take control presents a number of problems I will illustrate as follows - One - This has a rapid and dangerous butterfly effect on the governement and public service departments in the country. Mexico's cartel problem has paved way for massive drug rings to form. The money generated from drug rings allows for the financing of other criminal activities. Notably some of these examples include human trafficking, Bribery and corruption in the police force and the government (which allows them to cover up murders and gang-related attacks) and international smuggling. And these figures are on the rise. In Mexico crime rates have soared over the past three years. 28. 5% increase in violent robberies. 14. 3% increase in intentional homicide and 13. % increase in business robberies. The report has also attributed this increase due to the increasingly militarized tactics used by the perpertrators, A trait commonly associated for thugs under the payroll of drug lords. Two - The youth will be more exposed to drug usage more than if it was legalized. The simple fact is that drug dealers and drug lords do not care about the market they are supplying to. Their goal is simplistic and very focused. And that is to simply maximize profit and maintain discretion while doing so. It's very clear that in many developing countries across the world (notably India) enforcability of drug laws is extremely difficult and many members of the youth find themselves exposed to the influence of the widely accessible black market. Three - As hinted in problem one, The strength of the drug cartels in some countries will present incredible problems in another country. Because of the financing behind smuggling rings other countries that have also illegalized marijuana laws will find themselves at risk of massive influxes from the black market. This presents in itself a serious problem for the economy and social welfare. Almost all the negative externalties will be passed on and there will be widespread social chaos caused as a result for no tangible benefit for anyone other than a third party supplying illegal marijuana. Hence, By legalizing marijuana it allows a number of remedies to follow suit. It weakens the power of drug cartels and allows the government to have a stronger grip in tackling internal problems such as corruption and external problems such as the crime rate. While drug cartels specialize in the supplying of drugs other than recreational marijuana, That particular drug itself generates a bulk of the revenue for cartels as its widespread popularity and psychoactive effects are a huge selling point for the drug. Second, It allows the government to properly monitor the process in which legal recreational marijuana is distributed amongst the populace. This allows the government to prevent it from falling into the hands of the youth (as drug dealers will be considerably less inclined to partake in the business due to the fall in the profit margin) and better safeguard them from the psychoactive effects at a young age. Case Two - The similarities of alcohol and tobacco usage Now we're all well aware of the fact that recreational marijuana is only but one of the many things that alter behaviour and cause addiction upon consumption. Alcohol and tobacco are among these. The only difference being that alcohol and tobacco are legal in most parts of the world while marijuana is not. Not only that, But alcohol and tobacco have actually been seen as comparitvely more dangerous in case studies. One such case study (source three) has shown that alcohol and tobacco exposure was proven to be a higher risk factor than marijuana. One such example out of this is the fact that overconsumption of alcohol can potentially be fatal. Howver on the flipside, Overconsumption of marijuana is not known to be fatal on its own. The smoking of pure tobacco cigarettes on the other hand has been shown to be a greater factor to influence the growth of cancer cells and risk other diseaes catching on in comparison to marijuana. The hemp plant in itself has medical benefits. And smoking unfiltered marijuana is not known to cause any notable health effects that can compare to the effects brought on by tobacco usage. Thus we enter a legal loophole. Given that the effects of alcohol and tobacco are perceivably more harmful, It should be only natural that if it was so bad that marijuana had to be illegalized then alcohol and tobacco ought to follow suit. But given that's not the case and probably never will be in most countries, It should only be expected that marijuana is not made the exception simply because of its classification as a 'psychoactive drug'. Case Three - The economical benefits of legalization As most of us are already aware our governments love to tax us every day of our natural lives. They tax us on housing. They tax us for infrastructure development. They tax us to maintain the judicial system and public services. They tax us to finance their annual budget and to appreciate the currency. And of course, They also tax us on the products we buy. The money the government already makes from alcohol and tobacco taxes is quite notable to say the least. In the United States (see source four) $18 billion dollars was collected from tobacco taxes in 2015 and $16 billion was collected from alcohol taxes in that same year. This money goes into the annual budget. It goes into schools, Infrastructure, Hospitals, The works. And the reason is this possible is because the government monitors the sales of alcohol and tobacco through legal vendors. This does not happen with recreational marijuana due to the fact that it's illegal. And all the revenue generated from it goes into the black market and not into the economy at all. Hence the equation is simple. There are incredible economical benefits that can be derived from legalizing recreational marijuana but there are absolutely no economical benefits derived from keeping it illegal. If anything, We're spending more money simply trying to enforce the law by keeping it illegal which often does not work at all in stopping the spread of the drug. Instead of allowing the black market the power of selling the drug, Keep it in the hands of the government. At the bare minimum, The profit margin from legal sales will be incredibly useful in many other aspects of society. Summary In my argument I've laid forward three main principles to support my case that recreational marijuana should be legalized - One) Drug cartels profit immensely of illegalization laws which negatively impact society and the crime rate. Two) Alcohol and Tobacco (both legal utilities) have evidentely been showed to be a great deal more harmful on personal health and yet their status has not been changed simply because they are not labelled as 'drugs'. (This has mainly been the case why many medical practioners have suggested that marijuana isn't really a 'drug' because there are no known effects of usage that cause serious problems on health) Three) The economical benefits of a taxation scheme will not only help rack up revenue for the government to use on society but also help the government monitor the flow of marijuana sales in their own country. It's hard to argue that it would rather be better that we leave the hands of the drug to be sold by black market forces than the government. With that, I hand my floor open to my opponent to present his own case. Thank you. Sources - . https://deserthopetreatment. Com/drug-abuse/cartels/ . https://www. Garda. Com/crisis24/news-alerts/113791/mexico-gang-violence-escalates-in-mexico-city . https://www. Ncbi. Nlm. Nih. Gov/pmc/articles/PMC4311234/ . https://www. Urban. Org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/cigarette-and-alcohol-taxes

The United States Should Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use Pass.

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use Accepted.

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use I believe that marijuana should be legalized for recreational use and by legalizying it, our society will benefit in certain aspects.

Resolved: The possession, use, and sale of recreational marijuana should be legalized in the U.S. I would like to begin by defining a couple of terms. If my opponent disagrees with my definitions, then he/she can suggest and justify alternative definitions, however terminology should be agreed upon within the first half of the debate. I will not use dictionary definitions; let us just keep it simple. Possession means owning something. Use means smoking/inhaling/eating/vaporizing/etc. marijuan. Recreational marijuana means that adults ABOVE THE AGE OF 21 YEARS OLD are allowed to purchase up to SEVEN GRAMS of marijuana for any reason, with no medical conditions required. Legalized means that we remove the penalties from marijuana activities and that we regulate marijuana in dispensaries at which consumers of age can purchase it. The U. S. refers to all fifty states of the United States of America; the resolution seeks to essentially overturn the national ban on cannabis. The framework for this round should be net benefits. Unless my opponent is able to demonstrate that the costs of legalizing marijuana in the U. S. overwhelmingly outweigh the benefits, the Pro should win the round. Contention 1: Economic Benefits. Legalizing pot allows the United States to allow a wealth of economic benefits in the form of tax revenue and also in the form of liberating costly prisoners from incarceration. We have already seen examples of collecting revenue. According to the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), between January 2014 and October 2014, Colorado accrued 40 million dollars of tax revenue by legalizing marijuana and allowing 21+ citizens to purchase it. Suppose that we extrapolated legalization to the whole country. According to the Huffington Post, this would result in $8.7 billion per year in the form of state and federal taxes. Taxing any good or service allows the economy to grow, because it provides money that is uesd for other programs. In the case of marijuana legalization, these programs translate to education, health care, and drug addiction treatment, valuable impacts in our society. Furthermore, legalizing marijuana prevents costs that are associated with incarcerating individuals. According to the DPA, approximately 750 thousand citizens are arrested for an infraction of marijuana law each year. Furthermore, the cost of incarceration is $47,000 per prisoner per year. This translates to 7 to 10 billion dollars per year that are wasted on locking up stoners (rather than rapists or murderers). Clearly, not only does legalizing marijuana create money; keeping it illegal costs money. This 35 billion dollars could be used to reduce the national deficit, solve other crimes, or perhaps reduce taxes on American citizens. Contention 2: Legalizing marijuana reduces crime. Legalizing marijuana prevents police officers from wasting their time arresting harmless stoners, when they could be spending these efforts and resources fighting actually dangerous crimes, such as murder, theft, or rape. According to RollingStone Magazine, marijuana arrests are no longer real "police work"; law enforcement would rather spend their time tackling other crimes such as murder and rape. This argument is intuitive rather than logical; less time wasted on activity X (stopping pot smoke) leads to more time available for activity Y (stopping murder). LearnLiberty echoes this message: "legalizing marijuana frees up resources to solve other crimes". The impact is clear: a reduction in violent crimes that hurt American citizens, if the U. S. is smart enough to legalize pot. Contention 3: Legalizing marijuana reduces or eliminates racial discrimination in law enforcement. It should be clear to the layperson that most marijuana arrests are against racial minorities, particularly blacks. A black individual is no more likely to use pot than a white person but, in Washington D. C. , is over 8 times more likely to be arrested for it. This is what one could refer to as a Jim Crowe system; blacks suffer from mass incarceration much more than whites do, but they do not commit any more wrongdoings than whites. In order to provide for an American system of equality of opportunity and justice without regard to skin color, marijuana should be legalized. This will prevent irrationally suspicious police officers from locking up "dangerous blacks" (who, in truth, are not the least bit dangerous; they are just minding their own business); this racist enforcement is unethical, discriminatory, and clearly non-beneficial. Contention 4: Regulated marijuana is healthier marijuana. When alcohol was prohibited (i. e. before the 1920's), this led to an extensive black market whereby Americans still found ways to produce, purchase, and enjoy alcoholic beverages such as rum and beer. The same phenomenon occurs with marijuana. Even if marijuana is perceived to be dangerous, keeping it illegal does not deter its use. In fact, the criminal nature of cannabis provides a compelling reason for drug cartels to enter the country and sell cannabis, with no regard to whether the weed is tainted with dangerous chemicals like PCP. Since the illegality of marijuana fails to have any deterrent effect, legalizing pot will allow the government to closely control and regulate it. This allows for high-quality marijuana, meaning that consumers will enjoy marijuana that has no dangerous chemicals in it and that achieves standards of safety and health. This makes it a safer option. The influx of drug cartels is associated with the trade of weapons and also with violence, coercion, and sometimes murder. It is easier for a teenager to obtain a joint than it is for him to obtain a can of beer. Since Americans smoke pot regardless of whether or not it is legal, we should legalize it so that citizens purchase it from trusted, regulated dispensaries rather than untrustworthy, sketchy black-market dealers. Contention 5: Americans have freedom of choice. An American citizen should be able to do whatever she want, so long as her actions do not infringe upon the rights of others. Even if skeptics were successfully able to argue that smoking pot is harmful (which I would disagree with), Americans can choose to engage in harmful activities, as long as the others in society do not feel the effects of these choices. People are allowed to eat candy, drink beer, watch TV all day, and smoke cigarettes. Why should we limit the behavior of an individual simply due to archaic notions without any substantial evidence? Marijuana is used for a wide variety of medicinal and leisure purposes, and its effects have been described as uplifting, stress-relieving, and relaxing. To keep marijuana illegal is at variance with the pursuit of happiness that Thomas Jefferson had in mind when America was established as an independent nation. If individuals want to smoke pot, they should be able to do so, particularly in the privacy of their own homes. For many citizens, occasional marijuana use improves the quality of their lives and has medicinal benefits. Some who need it for medical use are too impoverished to afford to obtain a medical recommendation from their doctors, making their medicinal options severely limited. Keeping marijuana illegal is an invasion of privacy. In short, to legalize pot is to provide Americans with the freedoms of choice and discretion and the liberty that they deserve. I have posted evidence below that substantiates my claim. In short, the legalization of marijuana leads to benefits that address the economy, other crimes, racism, national safety, and the freedom of choice. These are all significant benefits that contribute to my proposed framework of "net benefits". A reason why keeping marijuana illegal is disadvantageous is equivalent to a reason why making marijuana legal is advantageous. Too many dollars are wasted in prohibition. Too many lives are locked up in prohibition. To many blacks and Hispanics are unfairly arrested in prohibition. Too many drug cartels enter the U. S. in prohibition. Finally, too many freedoms and basic liberties are violated in prohibition. For these reasons, the possession, use, and sale of recreational marijuana should be legalized in the U. S. Please vote Pro. I await Con's contentions. . https://www.drugpolicy.org... . http://www.huffingtonpost.com... . http://www.drugpolicy.org... . http://www.rawstory.com... . http://www.rollingstone.com... . http://www.learnliberty.org... . https://www.washingtonpost.com... . http://www.collegiatetimes.com...

Marijuana should be legal for recreational use Arguments extended.

Recreational Marijuana Should Be Legal My first point stems off of economic impact. Taxation off of marijuana could bring billions into each state's economy. The legalisation of this substance would also make many different medical disorders easier to treat without a prescription, reducing the cost of the everyday person, and decreasing corporate profits. This would consequently result in lower healthcare costs. (. http://taxfoundation.org...) My second point is that of decreasing prison population. Marijuana illegalisation has been an excuse to lock up minorities for the last 50 years. Prison numbers and demographics prove this. If we want equality, we need this substance legalised. (. https://www.washingtonpost.com...) Finally, if we allow a psychoactive drug like alcohol. And we tax and regulate it. Why now marijuana?

marijuana should be legal for rec use Extend Arguments.

Legalization of recreational marajuana Smoking pot is a victimless crime; that is it does not infringe upon anybody else's rights. Instead people have the right to exercise their personal freedom to smoke. It is not the government's responsibility to legislate morality. The government exists to protect people's rights. Adults of sound mind should be able to make the legal decision to smoke - especially on their own property. Con argues that marijuana poses some danger. In fact the harms of smoking pot are negligible. Weed is safer than alcohol, tobacco, sugar, vehicle exhaust and many chemicals that we put in our food [1]. Ibuprofen kills almost 50,000 people per year. Diaper cream and toothpaste also kill tens of thousands [2]. Prohibition of marijuana is based on manipulative and exaggerated propaganda. Plus, it would be unrealistic and unproductive to criminalize anything that could be potentially harmful. While Con says that people once didn't know tobacco was harmful, people know now, and yet we allow tobacco to remain legal along with a plethora of other harmful substances. In this debate, Con will have to prove that criminalizing pot is more just, fair and reasonable than legalizing it. One reason the government permits cigarettes to remain legal is because it's so profitable. The government collects huge amounts of revenue from cigarette taxes. Similarly, where they have legalized pot, the government has raked in a ton of money to put toward schools and other positive social programs. So far Colorado has raised over $100 million from taxes in legal pot sales [3]. Not only would pot allow us to collect tax revenue, but economists say that pot legalization could SAVE us more than 13.7 billion dollars per year [4]. Legalizing pot would also boost the economy by creating a lot of jobs [5]. Moreover, legalization would save smokers a ton of legal fees. More than 1/2 of all drug arrests are for pot. More than 8.2 million people are arrested for smoking every year [6] even though those people do not harm anyone but (maybe) themselves. These people should not have to spend thousands of dollars per person paying off fines and other expenses related to arrest. It's also ridiculous and unfair to give someone a criminal record for smoking weed. Criminal records make it significantly harder to get jobs [7] and may inhibit people's rights [8] yet Con wants to penalize smokers in this way, while not penalizing other people in society (like drinkers) even though their behavior is more dangerous and more harmful. Prohibition has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana. More than 25 million Americans smoke pot annually, and weed is the largest cash crop on the planet [9]. These people are peaceful and should not be considered criminals if they do not offend other people's rights. Furthermore, keep in mind that pot criminalization disproportionately targets minorities [10]. This perpetuates racism and problematic barriers for people of color. A regulated, legal market in marijuana would reduce marijuana sales and use among teenagers, as well as reduce their exposure to other drugs in the illegal market. It would also reduce the flow of money from the American economy to international criminal gangs. Last but not least, pot has a handful of positive attributes, such as its undeniable medical value and use as a recreational drug with relatively mild side effects. Science has discovered more than 23 medicinal uses for pot [11]. There are also positive mental, emotional and social impacts such as elevated mood and less social anxiety [12]. "Marijuana provides relief from pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications. Many American adults prefer marijuana to the use of alcohol as a mild and moderate way to relax. Americans use marijuana because they choose to, and one of the reasons for that choice is their personal observation that the drug has a relatively low dependence liability and easy-to-manage side effects. Most marijuana users develop tolerance to many of marijuana"s side effects" [9]. In conclusion, the criminalization of marijuana is unnecessary, harmful and too expensive for our justice system. Instead it should be legalized and taxed to support beneficial government programs. This would benefit society by alleviating the tax payer burden, and providing people freedom of choice. Since pot has many benefits (including medicinal), people should be able to make the smartest, safest decisions for themselves. Only people who infringe on other people's rights should be punished. Smoking pot does not impede on other people's rights and should not be punished. SOURCES: http://www.debate.org...

The United States Should Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use I accept.

Marijuana Legalization Due to the overwhelming evidence of the social and legal benefits, Marijuana should be legalized in both Medical and Recreational fields.

Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Marijuana should be legalized for recreational consumption. It should be up to the individual to decide whether or not they wish to consume marijuana, regardless of what ever health effects it has on the body. If one enjoys passing their time by smoking marijuana that should not be an activity that is considered illegal. The three inalienable rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. the catch to these rights is you only have them if you are not infringing on another individuals rights. therefore if murder is how you pursue happiness that would not be allowed due to the fact that it infringes on your victims rights. As long as ones consumption of marijuana does not infringe on the rights of another individual, one should be allowed to consume it as they see fit.

Resolved: Marijuana should be legalized for recreational purposes. I affirm. Definitions:marijuana: a plant used to produce hemp fiber and as a slightly psychotropic druglegalized: (of something that was illegal) authorized by local, state, or federal lawrecreational: taken on occasional basis for enjoymentMy standard is NET BENEFITS IN THE UNITED STATES. This is a broad and universally accepted framework that gives Pro and Con equal access to the ballot. Thus, whichever side produces the highest benefit and lowest cost (to society, to the individual, etc.) in America should win today's debate.My plan is that marijuana be legalized on a state-by-state basis for citizens. Anyone who had a perfect or nearly perfect driving record, completed high school, and was 21 years of age or older could purchase up to four grams of marijuana per week and have up to one ounce in his/her home at any time. As this is a public-forum-type round, I do not have to prove solvency for my plan; this is my way of fulfilling the resolution and maximizing benefits. I do NOT have to argue that marijuana should be legalized at the federal level, nor do I need to argue that there should not be regulations on the drug.The Pro burden is that the benefits of my plan (see above) outweigh the costs.The Con burden is that the costs of keeping marijuana a legally prohibited drug overwhelmingly outweigh the benefits.Contention 1: Legalization of marijuana creates economic benefit. In a economic situation like the one from which the U.S. suffers today, marijuana helps economies to grow and deficits to plummet. Subpoint A: Monetary benefits. According to a study conducted by Harvard professor Dr. Jeffrey Miron, replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation similaro that integrated on alcoholic and tobacco products would result in annual savings and revenues of between $10 and $14 billion per year. Over 500 other economists have endorsed Miron’s study and note that legalization could help schools, recreational centers, and the debt. Furthermore, Miron’s study points out that removing the prohibitive status on marijuana would result in saving $7.7 billion in government expenditures on prohibition enforcement: $2.4 billion at the federal leve and $5.3 billion at the state and local levels. The amount of money accumulated or saved by the mere legalization of cannabis should be an alluring option for the U.S., particularly in its current state of economic stagnation. Subpoint B: Ease on taxpayers. According to the US Department of Justice, nearly one in eight drug prisoners in America are behind bars for marijuana-related offenses. This means that about 45,000 prisons are behind bars for cannabis-related offenses, totalling a burden of over $1 billion on US taxpayers to incarcerate Americans. To increase the quality of life for lower- and middle- income Americans, state and local governments should stop prohibition on marijuana and instead regulate it. This will decrease taxes, improve local economies, and encourage growth.Contention 2: Legalization solves other crimes. Removing laws that prohibit marijuana use inherently decreases burdens on society and protects innocent citizens. Subpoint A: Legalization solves other crimes, like murder and rape. According to analyst R.A. Scott, “efforts to arrest and send drug users to jail take money and personnel from local police departments away from solving other crimes... That would go far to making the country safer and would cost less in the long run.” The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics shows taht each marijuana arrest takes about 17 minutes to complete. Multiplying the amount of misdemeanors and felonies as marijuana-related crimes by the amount of minutes per crime creates an astounding 42 days of wasted law enforcement time per year. These 42 days could be used to solve murder, rape, theft, insider trading, or other high crimes that negatively affect people’s lives. However, they are instead being used to track down and capture plausibly inoffensive potheads, which represents both a burden on American society and a corruption of law enforcement. Subpoint B: Illegal marijuana forces customers to interact with criminal underground. Presently, cannabis is sold by dealers who have connections with the “underworld”. The legalization of cannabis will help facilitate the sale of the drug in establishments like ‘coffee houses’ and ‘gas stations’. This will shift the sale of cannabis away from the dangerous, coercive underworld and to a well-regulated market that is determined to protect the health and well-being of buyers. The severance of the ‘criminal link’ in the status quo will ensure that the users of the drug no longer need to come into contact with organized crime.Contention Three: Criminalization violates our intuitions. Subpoint A: Legalization is more consistent with our intuitions. According to a 2012 Gallup Poll, about 54% of Americans support the legalization of recreational marijuana on some magnitude, up from 49% just seven years ago. Considering that my planputs regulations and limits on the legalization of the drug, the 54% number may be even higher for the purposes of this resolution. When looking to net benefits for American society, we should look to the side that is more consistent with what people want. Since more people want the drug to be legalized than otherwise, it only makes sense to remove some of the laws and penalties against it. Subpoint B: Legalization upholds rights. According to philosophical analyst John Mearsheimer, “the state has no business in regulating or deciding what people can put into their bodies, so long as the substance does not hurt or negatively affect their peers. Keeping marijuana illegal is a violation of people’s basic, implied rights, not only as they are listed in the Constitution but also as they are applied to issues like smoking cigarettes, owning registered hunting weapons, and having abortions.” The United States is grounded upon a system of freedmo and recognization of rights over restrictions. This premise can only be upheld and maintained if some of the criminal laws against recreational cannabis are removed. Upholding the Constitution is paramount to this round, because all net benefits and costs to American society are based upon the document. Our Founding Fathers, previous presidents, and current leaders all approve or have approved of giving individuals basic rights that do not show detriment to people who do not agree with or approve of the effects. Thus, it is in the best interests of American society to legalize the drug for societal, natural, and constitutional benefit.Thus, I affirm.

Marijuana\Cannabis should be legalised for both medical and recreational purposes in the U.S. I thank Wush for this debate. == Definitions == Cannabis\ Marijuana: Cannabis, also known as marijuana, marihuana, among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug. [1] Recreational: A pastime, diversion, exercise, or other resource affording relaxation and enjoyment. [2] Medical: Curative; medicinal; therapeutic. [3] Legalised: To make legal [4] U.S.: http://en.wikipedia.org... == PRO Arguments == --- Harm of Marijuana --- There has so far been no deaths recorded that directly result from the use of Marijuana, and there has been no recoded deaths in the U.S., and when stacked up against other products, Marijuana is relatively harmless [5]. Indeed, unlike many other substances, it is extremely hard to die from the use of Marijuana. As noted on the below article: "A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response." [5] We can therefore conclude that it is extremely hard to technically kill oneself solely through the use of Marijuana. Also, Marijuana does not have any detrimental long term effects on a person health and mortality. As noted in two studies [6], the users of Marijuana were far less likely to have shorter life spans. The only noted possible health effect of Marijuana is a increase in heart attacks 1 hour after smoking Marijuana. This is however an extremely rare risk, given that it only occurs in .2% of all heart attacks [6], of which would have to occur within the first hour of Marijuana consumption, an extremely rare risk indeed. However, if one was concerned with the increase in heart attacks, there would be substances with a far greater plausibility of increasing the risk of heart attacks in the long term, such as Fast Foods [7]. We can conclude from this Marijuana is a therefore a substance which, while it has risks, is safe. One must consider that while Marijuana has negative effects, every product has risks and negative effects. --- Benefits of Marijuana --- While we know the are very few extremely low chance risks involved with the use of Marijuana, there are many benefits to it use, most, if not all, of which are medical. There is a list as long as my arm of illnesses treated by Medical Marijuana [8], but some illnesses include various cancer (Testicular, Prostate, Skin), forms of Hepatitis, Diabetes related illnesses and dependence illnesses. It is also used to stop the build-up of Alzheimers Disease [9], reduces the growth of breast cancer cells [10] and stimulating appetite in HIV\AIDS patients [11]. It is clear there are a large number of medical benefits from the use of Medical Marijuana. --- Individual Choice --- Currently, the use of Marijuana is a victimless crime, that is to say, no one is harmed in the consumption of Marijuana other than the consumer, who has willingly consumed the Marijuana by choice. Even should there be mounds of evidence suggesting Marijuana is extremely harmful to consume, it is still the personal choice of the individual to consume it and suffer any negative effects. There is no need for the government to impose themselves in people's lives unless they are preventing them from harming another person directly, which is why people would obviously not be allowed smoke Marijuana and drive a car, or operate machinery. --- Benefits of Legalisation --- As it stands, the US government spends a huge amount of money to suppress the use of Marijuana. It is estimated that the US could gain $14,878,200,000+ by legalising and taxing the sale of Marijuana [12]. It is clear that the US economy would benefit from the legalisation of Marijuana through the creation of jobs. The War on Marijuana is also ineffective, as most of the arrests (89%) are possession of Marijuana, not distribution [12]. Furthermore, it would reduce the amount of funding available for criminal gangs, as drugs trading is a huge source of income for them. This would reduce criminal activity and have a benefit to society. --- Conclusion --- From my argument we can conclude that Marijuana has very few real risks associated with its use, and has multiple uses as a treatment. Furthermore, the use of Marijuana is one which only carries risks for the user once used on private property, and furthermore, it is uneconomical to attempt to enforce a prohibition of Marijuana. Seeing as Marijuana has medical benefits, it should to be legalised for medical purposes. Furthermore, as it is a victimless crime and has few risks, it should be legalised for recreational usage. [1] = http://en.wikipedia.org... [2] = http://dictionary.reference.com... [3] = http://dictionary.reference.com... [4] = http://dictionary.reference.com... [5] = http://drugwarfacts.org... [6] = http://www.webmd.com... [7] = http://hubpages.com... [8] = http://www.letfreedomgrow.com... [9] = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... [10] = http://mct.aacrjournals.org... [11] = http://www.thebody.com... [12] = http://iloveweed.net...

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use The regulation and restriction of recreational marijuana is justified. Marijuana will provide more harm than benefit to our society. My contentions: -Marijuana is harmful and addictive -Legalizing marijuana would very likely increase the number of abusers manifold. -The likely effects of marijuana abuse on society can be easily gauged by measuring the harm produced by a similar but legal and widely advertised drug: tobacco -Can drugs destroy an economic powerhouse such as the U. S. ? Yes. It has done so before, and it can do so again -A large proportion of marijuana users are unconscious of marijuana's risks, therefore their decision to use or abuse it is mostly uninformed Marijuana is an addictive and, contrary to my opponent's belief, does pose a legitimate and serious threat to the smoker's health. In addition to the apparent harms effected on the respiratory system (due to it being generally smoked), marijuana "impairs short-term memory and motor coordination; slows reaction time; alters mood, judgment, and decision-making; and in some people can cause severe anxiety (paranoia) or psychosis (loss of touch with reality). " [1] Marijuana abuse severely detriments the abuser's abilities to effectively work or reason. Marijuana is also an addictive. Despite these facts, the general perceptional trend among youths is that marijuana is a 'safe drug'[2], leading to an increase in its illicit use among youth demographics. According to the Newport Academy, a reputed teen drug-abuse treatment center, the common myths held true by illicit abusers are that marijuana isn't addictive, marijuana is natural therefore harmless, marijuana doesn't cause any problems, and marijuana doesn't make you lose control[3]. These all point to one general and very wrong perception: marijuana is harmless. Does my opponent believe that, when marijuana is legalized, marijuana-selling companies will clarify marijuana's risks? Even tobacco companies don't do this in its multimillion dollar advertising campaigns. What makes you think marijuana companies will? Something often said by marijuana proponents is: Why in the world is marijuana illegal, but tobacco isn't? Tobacco products pose much greater impairments to health and are much more lethal in terms of mortality. So why is marijuana illegal? Let us go back 300 years to 18th century China, which had prospered as the wealthiest and most powerful economic unit from the 14th to early 18th century (due to the immense quantity and unique quality of silver and silk within). By the mid-late 18th century, China had deteriorated to a state rife with corruption. Its productivity had taken a massive dive from what it had been decades before, and it was losing massive quantities of silver to the English and other European nations. The cause of this economic and societal deterioration was indisputably opium. Millions either stopped working or were only able to churn out a fraction of the productivity they were capable of prior to smoking opium. The emperor eventually became aware of the nation's opium, it's detrimental effects and inescapable addiction. Opium was decreed unconditionally illegal. The ban was implemented much too late. Officials ignored the law, accepting bribes to help facilitate the black market opium trade. Most of these officials were themselves Opium addicts. The rest is history. By the late 19th century, China had become so weak that when Japan first began its invasions that the world's nations, which had assumed China to be able to easily fend off the Japanese, balked at China's unexpected crushing defeat. This is the reason marijuana is illegal and tobacco is not. Although it doesn't kill people as tobacco does, marijuana, like opium and other illegal substances, directly affect the brain, destroying most addicts' ability to work, to reason, etc. Millions of potential doctors, lawyers, workers, and entrepreneurs will be lost to marijuana abuse and addiction. Consider the following excerpt: "Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person's existing problems worse. In fact, heavy marijuana users generally report lower life satisfaction, poorer mental and physical health, relationship problems, and less academic and career success compared to their peers who came from similar backgrounds. For example, marijuana use is associated with a higher likelihood of dropping out from school. Several studies also associate workers' marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers' compensation claims, and job turnover. "[6] The effect of marijuana on productivity and motor/brain functions is VERY real. Imagine marijuana smoking on a scale greater than that of tobacco (43.8million smokers nationwide with 78% of these who smoke everyday[5]). Despite the fact that tobacco companies spend billions on advertisements, the number of illicit marijuana smokers still far exceeds the number of tobacco smokers (Over 83 million Americans [7] over the age of 12). Imagine if we were to legalize marijuana. Marijuana will destroy our economy, affecting more than just the health of the millions of hemp-users, but also the lives of the nation's residents. In fact, due to marijuana's very low mortality rate, we can expect tobacco users to even switch to marijuana, thereby destroying their brains, their motor functions, and their productivity. [1]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [2]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [3]newportacademy. com/marijuana-rehab/abuse-myths/ [4]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [5]. http://www.cdc.gov... [6]. http://www.drugabuse.gov... [7]. http://parentingteens.about.com...

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use Thanks, you bring up some very good points - however, I would like to remind you that this debate discusses the recreational use of marijuana, not medical. In your first rebuttal, you describe the medicinal benefits that marijuana can possess. As of the present date, twenty-three states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington) and the District of Columbia have passed legislation that allows for the legal use of medical cannabis in conservative amounts. In response to your description of benefits, a carefully measured, legally dispensed amount of medical marijuana can be effective in treating or bringing relief from said medical issues. However, I would like to again highlight that this debate is centered on legalization of recreational use of the drug. As with the majority of prescription drugs, these medicines are more difficult to access than over-the-counter drugs because potential misuse could have disastrous effects. This is why a doctor's prescription is required to obtain these prescription drugs. Should marijuana be legalized for recreational use, thus giving it the same accessibility as over-the-counter drugs, it is far more likely to be misused for purposes beyond medical reasons. By keeping it as a carefully monitored, limited, and measured and prescription drug, we as people are allowed to take advantage of such benefits you have described while avoiding the disastrous effects of potential abuse. In response to your second rebuttal, it is true that a tax on marijuana could contribute to government profit. However, as I mentioned in my introductory argument, its legalization could lead to even greater hikes in national spending by needing to provide for greater health care and educational needs that would need to be met as a long-term result of the drug's harmful effects. The government also realizes and embraces the fact that there are many other forms of taxation that they currently impose to gain revenue (whether we agree on them or not), and that the consequences of recreational marijuana legalization could far outweigh the benefits. It is true, in the meantime, that America is a country founded on principles of human rights and freedom. However, our forefathers established a government for many reasons - among these is to "promote the general Welfare" of our people, as quoted from the Constitution. This concept of general welfare can be defined as "the concern of the government for the health, peace, morality, and safety of its citizens" (http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com...). In carrying out this mission identified in the Preamble, the government works to protect its citizens by keeping from them the dangers and threats that this drug poses to the health and welfare of society. It is much the same reason as to why the government prohibits the public from accessing nuclear weapons - but it's a free country, right? Well, yes, but the government has good reason to be keeping such potentially lethal things from public use, even if the majority of users are responsible individuals who "promise it doesn't affect them." Despite the fact that marijuana addiction itself is rare, the influence the drug (in non-medical use) can and does have upon users and those around them as described in my introductory argument is too significant to put aside. The government, though recognizing our freedoms, is remaining faithful to the law of the land by watching out for its citizens - providing safer ways of having a good time and relieving one from the pains of life. This, in my opinion, is something to be thankful for. :) Citations: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org... http://www.nlm.nih.gov... http://www.archives.gov... http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com...

The United States Should Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use Marijuana is Relatively Harmless: Americans can enjoy alcohol, tobacco, fast food, etc. with no fear of facing any punishment (as long as they are following regulations regarding the first two). So for something to be illegal, one would think it would have to be seriously bad for you. This is one of the main problems with having marijuana illegal, it is no worse for someone compared to many other things Americans can consume. In the US, the average death rate of alcohol poisoning yearly is 2,221 deaths. (1) Tobacco is even worse, seeing as it causes 1 in 5 every death in the US annually. (2) For marijuana to be illegal, one would think it would have to cause just as many deaths or have the potential to if legal. However, that’s impossible. Although there is some debate on the exact amount of marijuana one would need to consume to overdose on it, all conclusions agree it would be practically impossible to do so. Some of these studies say you’d need to consume: 1500lbs worth all at once, 20,000-40,000 times the amount of marijuana in one marijuana cigarette all at once, or one third of your body weight in pounds of it all at once. (3) It’d be even easier to overdose on water! (4) As for long term effects, although marijuana has some negative ones, alcohol and tobacco have a lot (possibly more) as well. (5, 6) 1- http://www.cdc.gov... 2- http://www.cdc.gov... 3- http://druglibrary.org... 4- http://www.medicaldaily.com... 5- http://www.drugfreeworld.org... 6- http://www.cancer.org... Prohibition Violates Freedom: Another problem with having marijuana illegal, even if one argues it is dangerous enough to be illegal, is that it goes against the principles on which the US was founded on. The Declaration of Independence mentions that everyone has the unalienable right to liberty. (1) I’ll show how prohibiting use of marijuana violates one’s right to liberty. Defining liberty can be difficult, but the Law Dictionary, based on Supreme Court cases, defines liberty as, “Freedom; exemption from extraneous control. The power of the will, in its moral freedom, to follow the dictates of its unrestricted choice, and to direct the external acts of the individual without restraint, coercion, or control from other persons.” (2) Notice it says nothing about what you do to yourself. This is why marijuana should be legal, you are not directly harming others by choosing to take it. 1- http://www.archives.gov... 2- http://thelawdictionary.org... Importance of Regulation: Even if both my previous arguments are rejected, marijuana should still be legal. Con may think that having marijuana be illegal will protect people from themselves. That’s simply not true. Nearly 100,000,000 Americans admit to having used marijuana and over 14,000,000 admit to using it regularly, despite laws against it. (1) Clearly, people will use it regardless and the best way to protect people is to have it legal. Why? Because it can be regulated. Marijuana regulation is crucial. Without the ability to regulate it, countless chemicals, toxins, and other drugs can be added to the product prior to selling it. This can make long term effects a lot more dangerous, adding more drugs to increase chances of becoming addicted, and possibly even kill you. (2, 3, 4) Plus, many people don’t know how many chemicals are actually in weed. There’s a common belief that it’s simply a plant and it’s all natural. However, if like cigarettes, the ingredients and warnings were listed, these people may be deterred from usage. As mentioned above, marijuana itself is not any worse than tobacco or alcohol, but having it illegal can make it so much worse than it has to be. If people are going to smoke it anyways, it makes sense for the government to want to make it safer (which legalizing it will). 1- http://norml.org... 2- http://www.cesar.umd.edu... 3- http://www.canada.com... 4- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... Education is Superior to Bans: This is a chart that shows usage of common recreational drugs among high school seniors since 1975. As can be seen, alcohol and cigarette usage have dropped much more than marijuana has (which seems to have been going mostly up since the 1990s). In fact, this chart also shows how since 1965, marijuana arrest rates have increased dramatically. Why is it preventing marijuana usage has been so hard despite all the laws against it, yet cigarettes have been decreasing so much? It’s because of how effective anti-tobacco campaigns are. (1) In fact, just recently in 2012 the CDC launched an anti-smoking campaign which helped cause over 100,000 smokers to quit. (2) If the government focussed on spending money spent to keep marijuana illegal (more on that later) on anti-marijuana campaigns, then the results would likely be much more successful. 1- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... 2- http://www.tobaccofreekids.org... War on Drugs: The War on Drugs has been a massive failure (of which marijuana is a huge part of). Since it started, the US has spent about $1.5 trillion dollars on it. (1) However, as I showed last argument it hasn’t even really dropped usage. Plus it has also led to increases in violent crime, because it gives criminals another industry which they can compete and operate in. (2) Not much else needs to be said. Keeping drugs like marijuana illegal has not dropped usage, but has only led to more crime and a lot more money spent. 1- http://www.thewire.com... 2- http://drugpolicy.ca... Taxation: Finally, the revenues from an industry such as marijuana is huge. Since marijuana has become legal in Washington state, $70,000,000 have been raised in taxes. (1) If it were legal across the country, much more revenue could be made (such as paying for anti-marijuana campaigns which are more effective). http://www.businessinsider.com...

Legalization of Recreational Marijuana The legalization on marijuana for recreational purposes will only amplify rates of drug usage among individuals at all ends of the age spectrum. Psychologically, legalizing marijuana would send the message that using it would be acceptable, which it clearly generates more complications than it solves. From a legal standpoint, laws would need to be altered in order to accommodate for committing or engaging in criminal activity under the influence of marijuana. Needless to say, our tax-payer funded public health care systems would use taxpayer money to fund both medical and rehabilitative treatment for those involved with the substance.

Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational Use I firmly believe that marijuana should not be legalized for recreational use. It is not good for the body or for society. Legalizing it for recreational use would greatly endanger communities, and I feel that the idea of legalizing it is foolish.

Recreational Marijuana should be Legalized in all 50 States. The first argument to our debate is the fact that many marijuana arrests are made unjustly and the criminalization of marijuana possession wastes law enforcement resources that could be used to fight violent crime. According to a report released by the Drug Policy Alliance in 2012, one million of the NYPDs police hours had been spent making 440,000 marijuana possession arrests in New York City from the years 2002-2012. These hours should be devoted instead to more serious, violent crimes. Jesse Wegman says ". . . The toll (of Marijuana) can be measured in dollars " billions of which are thrown away each year in the aggressive enforcement of pointless laws. It can be measured in years " whether wasted behind bars or stolen from a child who grows up fatherless. And it can be measured in lives " those damaged if not destroyed by the shockingly harsh consequences that can follow even the most minor offenses." This quote shows that the arrests can make large impacts on both the economy and lives of those arrested and their family and friends. Bernard Noble, father of seven, was a trucker stopped in New Orleans in October 2010. He had two previous, non-violent offenses, and was found with a small amount of marijuana in his pocket. He was sentenced to thirteen years in prison. He'll see his children again though when they"re all grown. Too bad for Jeff Mizanskey, who was arrested in Missouri during 1993 for unknowingly participating in the purchase of a five pound brick of marijuana. With two previous, non-violent offenses, he is now living out life in prison without parole. The only way he'll ever see his child, Chris, again, is if he visits him behind bars. According to the Drug Policy Alliance, Caucasians use illegal marijuana at a higher rate. But sorry, if you are an African American living in Wisconsin, you"re six times more likely to be arrested under marijuana charges. So oops, let"s spend millions on non-violent crime, and then go and arrest people discriminatorily and then allocate unjust and unfair sentences.

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use Introduction Thank you for your response. My opponent broke his arguments down into different sections, all to which I will respond to individually. I would like to urgently point out that my opponent didn’t even attempt to respond to my entire argument on personal choice, which in essence is the most important argument of this debate because if my opponent cannot show that Marijuana should be legalized despite it being a personal choice that does not inherently, negatively affect society as a whole, then he loses this debate. Since this is the last round my opponent has already dropped the argument. Marijuana Is Harmful and Addictive This argument is the most logically unstable argument of them all, for my opponent attempts to argue that humans should not be allowed to do dangerous things. My opponent goes on about all the negative affects marijuana has on users, and that many users do not tend to know the full affects marijuana may have on their system. The Argument from Individual Choice All humans have a right, granted through their basic human dignity, to make any choice that inherently affects themselves, even if that decision is dangerous. To not grant humans this right is to erode the basic human dignity we are born with, and to also erode are freedoms as individual beings. Not allowing a human to make a choice that inherently affects themselves, no matter how dangerous, is to take control of their lives, and to restrain them. The government’s job is to make a society that has a balance of individual freedom, allowing our human dignity to be respected, while allowing the society as a whole to be prosperous. Since marijuana inherently only affects the individual taking it of their own free will, it should therefore not be illegal. In addition to this, the government should not punish others because some are unaware of the dangers of marijuana. It is of their own decision to not study the effects it could have on their body. Legalizing marijuana would very likely increase the number of abusers manifold My opponent argues that the legalization would increase the number of abusers of marijuana. The problem with this argument is that even though the legalization of marijuana may increase the number of abusers, it is still of the individual freedom of these citizens that they choose to make a decision that inherently affects their own bodies, whether harmful or not. Once again, it is up to humans to know and be aware of what they are doing. It is not the government’s job to erode the personal choice humans have, whether harmful or not. Argument from History My opponent gives a story on a past Chinese addiction to Opium, destroying the society. This can’t even compare to marijuana legalization. Far too many questions arise, such as but not limited to: Did the government regulate this drug at all? How easy was it to get the drug? How addictive was this drug? Did the under-development of the science behind drugs attribute to this? How was the economy already? What other variables may have attributed to this? Then obviously, the biggest one of all: In the story it says the entire working class had basically been destroyed, therefore attributing to the downfall of China. This would make the bare assertion that if marijuana were to be legalized then the entire working class of America would too, be destroyed. This assertion is unrealistic. The Argument from Choice To blame the choices that individuals who use drugs make on the drugs, would be to give a man a free pass from being responsible for his own actions, for you are ultimately blaming his actions on the drug rather this man’s own personal choice to either take the drug, or make the decision the individual made while on the drug. “If an individual choice is the act of selecting an option from two or more possibilities, then because one may choose to use drugs or not to use drugs, drug use is an individual choice. However, if the choice to use drugs or not to use drugs is subject to external coercion by the force of law, then legislation and the legislature that passed it are constraining individual choice. By constraining individual choice, human dignity is the opportunity cost of the rule of law as the individual is coercively acted upon by the law maker. - drug use is an individual choice in which the agent making the choice is the subject acted upon and the only subject acted upon, the decision to use or not to use drugs is an individual’s right to make for themselves. ” - YYW My opponent presented some other arguments such as how many people are unaware of the harmful effects of marijuana, but I have already addressed the other point my opponent made. Conclusion My opponent’s key arguments seem to be that since marijuana has the potential to negatively affect the society, it should therefore be illegal. This reasoning is not sound, for many things have the potential to be dangerous, yet are not illegal for they are not inherently dangerous. Since marijuana is not inherently dangerous, it should therefore not be illegal.

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use Personal Choice Marijuana is a personal choice and the government has no business in regulating that of which is a personal choice among humans. The government has an interest in protecting others from external sources, but when a human makes a personal choice that will only affect their own body of their own consent; the government has no business in regulating or even denying someone the decision of acting upon these choices. Now, you may argue that the government should make marijuana illegal because when humans are high they may be under the influence. Marijuana is much like alcohol. When used correctly and appropriately everything will go fine and as intended. They are only dangerous when abused. Alcohol can be completely safe, but someone over drinking and getting drunk is the only time when alcohol ever becomes a danger. Since marijuana is not inherently dangerous when used correctly, the government should not have an interest in making it illegal. To argue against this would follow under the logic of “well some people are terrible drivers, so we should punish those who do drive correctly and just ban all cars all together since they can be dangerous.” Obviously this logic is completely flawed. Humans should have the freedom to make a decision that will only affect them, whether it is bad for themselves or not. Marijuana Prohibition Is Not Worth It Instead of illegalizing marijuana and actually making its existence disappear all together, all that really happens is that marijuana goes to the black market, where it is sold to citizens illegally. This means that despite marijuana actually being illegal, people are still going to be able to get their hands on it, and quite easily at that. Just look around you, I guarantee that you know at least a few people (if not indirectly) that do weed and are pretty open about it. Fact is, people don’t think it’s wrong, and they recognize it as a personal choice with little to no harmful effects. Seeing this as true, the government spends 7,000,000,000 dollars funding marijuana prohibition in the United States (1.) That is ridiculous, especially for something that shouldn’t be illegal at all. In addition, 60-70% of all jail inmates are in there for drug possession(1); Seeing that Marijuana is the most popular and easiest to get drug this would mean a large amount of those inmates cold be free right now. This helps solve the problem on the prison space issue that has arisen in the United States. Conclusion All humans, through their basic dignity that they are born with, should have the right to make a decision that will inherently affect their own body, whether that choice is dangerous or not. Marijuana directly falls under this category and unlike hardcore drugs, has far less harmful effects on the user, and far less chances of it being dangerous to other people around them. By keeping marijuana illegal, you degrade our free will to make decisions that will only affect us, while spending a lot of money on marijuana prohibition that could be well spent elsewhere; In addition by legalizing marijuana you free up a lot of jail space which helps solve that problem. Legalizing marijuana has many benefits for the United States and should therefore be legal. (1) http://www.changetheclimate.org... (2) http://legalizationofmarijuana.com...

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use Thank you. It's true that this subject is a matter of opinion, as many debates are; however, I would like to bring some scientific reasoning and research in the negative effects of recreational marijuana use to the table. 1. Marijuana, or cannabis, is a drug known by many to bring about feelings of relaxation and freedom from troubles. While this may be beneficial for medicinal use, the legalization of this drug can have drastic effects, both short-term and long-term, on the population of our society. While some of these issues may seem manageable, the detrimental influence they have on the life of a person as a whole are too great for the national government to overlook. Some of the physical effects of marijuana are listed below. Short term effects: - Distortion of the senses - Impaired short-term memory - Panic and anxiety attacks and feelings of paranoia - Poor coordination and reduced reaction time - Increased risk of cardiac problems due to increasing of heart rate - Irritation of the throat and lungs - Overall impaired sense of judgment Long term effects: - Increased susceptibility to illnesses which could prove to be fatal - High risk of developing a form of mental illness, including but not limited to depression, schizophrenia, and psychosis - Strongly reduces libido and the production of sex hormones, thus decreasing the ability to conceive - Overall reduced motivation and impaired ability to focus on, organize, and learn/retain information - Destruction of lung fibers and the formation of lesions on the brain - Growth disorders of the user or fetus inside a pregnant female user I again emphasize that, although these symptoms of marijuana use may appear to be tolerable to some users, frequent use of the drug poses immense risks to each individual user. While use of marijuana will not lead to overdose or direct death, the consequences of using this drug can pose serious threats to the lives of users and others. 2. Among these threats is the unfortunate destruction of an individual's capacity to learn. Whether in school or on the job, learning is an integral part of life that helps to ensure our well-roundedness. Though the government may appreciate increased revenue due to a tax on marijuana sales, it would be unfortunate for the investment it puts into public education to go to waste due to ineffectiveness in marijuana users. This is not to say that every student who attends a public institution uses or will use marijuana; however, with its legalization, the increased access to it could be tempting for curious teens to experiment with. These teens will become the adults of tomorrow, the leaders who set an example for future generations; should many lack the motivation to create a better world, it is not only the individual users but society as a whole that will be affected by their choices. In addition, in the workforce, oftentimes new regulations, processes, etc. are implemented that must be known and carried out in order to complete work appropriately and successfully. Should a frequent cannabis user arrive at work unable to comprehend/carry out these new implementations, depending upon the type of work, this could pose dangers for the clientele and coworkers, or the user him/herself, who could be laid off. This on a grander scale, as a result, would lead to a potential increase in the national unemployment rate, an event that the government would not like to see happen. A point to note: imagine you are in need of a crucial surgery and decide to have the operation done by a trusted, licensed surgeon. What if the surgeon went outside smoke some weed during the day and eventually returned to complete your surgery high and uncoordinated? Although this is a very specific situation, the moral behind this example can be applied in many a situation. 3. Although addiction to marijuana is not as common as is for other drugs (say, heroin or nicotine), it can not be deemed impossible. According to a 2013 study by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, marijuana use accounted for an approximate 4.2 million of the estimated 6.9 million cases of drug dependency in the United States. So even if you, your buddies, or any other cannabis user you know has never been addicted, these statistics show irrefutable evidence that addiction has a likeliness to occur. And it is true that other such harmful drugs such as nicotine and alcohol are legally sold and can benefit the economy, among all other products that are sold for economic profit. However, it is not unheard of for dependency on these drugs to lead users astray, which in some cases can lead to the destruction of relationships and loss of self-worth and happiness. It is human nature to look out for those close to us, and seeing what may occur as a result of using this substance, it is sensible for the government to want to protect its people from any impending harm. 4. Finally, as a part of my introductory argument, I believe that as Americans, we do have the right to choose what becomes of ourselves and what we believe is right and wrong. As a result, I accept all opinions and arguments from either side of this debate. I would just like to note that one of the main reasons our national government has prohibited legal marijuana use for all this time has been because it, in this sense, cares about the health and well-being of our people, as aforementioned. Although there are many citizens who could use marijuana responsibly and/or be lucky enough to suffer from no ill effects (the odds of which are not likely), there runs a great risk in legalizing a substance such as this which poses such consequences to the health, well-being, and character of the people and, as a result, the structure of our society - it is our choices today that influence the world tomorrow. I too look forward to the rest of this debate. Again, I respect any and all opinions and do not mean to offend anyone with my views or presented data from trustworthy sources. Thanks! Citations: http://www.brown.edu... http://www.drugfreeworld.org... http://www.drugabuse.gov... http://www.drugabuse.gov... http://townhall.com... http://www.pewresearch.org...

Should recreational use of marijuana be legal in the US Recreational use of marijuana should not be legalized because it leads to the use of other drugs such as cocaine, heroine, and other hard drugs. While the use of marijuana may not have adverse health effects on a person and no addictive chemicals it is as afore mentioned a gateway drug. Many people who use hard drugs started out smoking marijuana and wondered "If i have this much fun being high on pot what could cocaine do for me?" I understand this isn't the case for everyone who uses marijuana but it is a growing problem in the US.

Recreational Marijuana Legalization First of all, I'll start by addressing the burden of proof issue. I believe the burden of proof lies upon the one who wants something to stay legal. Every responsible adult should have the personal freedom to put whatever substance into their body they wish, harmful or not. This choice should not be criminal in the eyes of the government. My opponent states "there is no good reason to legalize it." The reason it should be legal is because there is no good reason people should be imprisoned for such a non-violent crime; it is akin to imprisonment for things such as illegal file sharing or jaywalking. Many teens and adults are forced to live in juvenile detention centers or prisons because of current marijuana policy [1]. "...the chance that there is no link is so unfathomably small that it can be safely discounted." I do not deny the possible connection between marijuana smoking and the dangers associated with smoking any substance. However, it has been proven that alternatives such as vaporization [2] and consuming cooked edibles are much safer ways to consume it, and are preferred by any user who values his/her health. "...the downgrading of cannabis had led to...many of them became lured to 'harder' drugs". The "gateway drug" theory exists simply because it is still illegal, on an illegal market. People (mainly kids) who are exposed to the illegal market are more likely to be exposed to illegal drugs. When marijuana is legal, and accepted as "normal", in a legal market, while "hard" drugs are still frowned upon (i.e. the policy in Amsterdam), it has little to no effect on hard drug use [3]. I have read the source presented [4], and I fail to see the results of an actual study. This appears to be a mere calculation based on the number of regular marijuana smokers compared to the number of deaths attributed to tobacco. Again, I do not deny the dangers of marijuana smoking, but as I've said, there are safer alternatives. The mental illness statistics my opponent presented are based on TEEN use. Use of any drug as a teen is irresponsible and has ill effects on the developing brains of teens. This is not related to the legality of the drug, but the quality of the kids' parenting. Yes, there is evidence of the harms of its use, but that is no reason to criminalize it. Alcohol and tobacco are legal drugs for those of age, with many dangers accompanying their use. Yet these drugs remain legal, as I believe they should be. As I've said, the use of such substances and the acceptance of their harm is a personal freedom; if it is used responsibly, in a safe manner, hospital bills need not be an issue. My opponent accuses me of holding a subjective view, and relates the perception of marijuana to heroin. Heroin is easily proven to be a much more harmful drug to one's health, family, and society [5]. My position on marijuana acceptance in society is based much more on fact than the position of acceptance of heroin. Con calls my argument "groundless", but I find a position which believes innocent people should be imprisoned for the use of cannabis much harder to stomach. [1] http://norml.org... [2] http://norml.org... [3] http://www.drugwarfacts.org... [4] http://www.independent.co.uk... [5] http://www.businessinsider.com...

Marijuana should be legalized for both Medicinal and Recreational use Hello, and thanks to Pro for giving me the opportunity to debate this important issue. I will begin by stating my contention. Growing marijuana, possessing marijuana, and using marijuana for recreational use (medical marijuana should be legal) should remain illegal, but the penalties for each of these violations should be altered drastically. This is a much more reasonable policy than full legalization. I would like to begin by stating that I agree entirely and will not attempt to refute many of the claims I anticipate that my opponent will make. I agree that marijuana has been proven to be an effective treatment for pain, that THC has been adequately proven not to have a direct adverse effect on the human body, and that the United States' policy on drugs is completely ineffective and has made no progress whatsoever towards their goal. If my opponent would like to present any other traditional arguments against the illegality of marijuana, chances are quite high that I will agree with them. However, Pro should not be disinclined to present them - just know that we are probably on the same page on 90% of issues concerning marijuana. I will now give overviews of how laws concerning marijuana should be changed, and the reasoning behind why it should not be fully legalized. I will not extensively cite sources, as this is an overview of my position - I will use hard data more extensively in later rounds, after I see what my parts of my argument my opponent chooses to combat. First, the so-called "War on Drugs" has been proven to be completely ineffective by both marijuana advocacy groups and neutral government research. Those who still agree with our current policies, which incarcerate thousands of people each year on non-violent offenses and cost the tax-payer absurd sums of money, are very few and far between. Instead, fines and other violation level punishments should be enacted to control and discourage the recreational use of marijuana. Why should marijuana not be fully legalized? There are several reasons. 1. The fact of the matter is, while THC itself is not a harmful substance, there are still negative health effects associated with the smoking of marijuana. It is reasonable to assume that if marijuana were legalized, marijuana cigarettes would begin to be sold in stores. As such, people would purchase and smoke these cigarettes. Some studies have found that, while 'joints' do not directly cause lung cancer or emphysema, they do have some negative effects on both the lungs and the brain. 2. Additionally, THC is an intoxicant. Anecdotal arguments are made quite often to suggest that marijuana use does not effect driving ability. However, this is absurd, as marijuana is a psychoactive chemical which has numerous effects on the brain and has drastically different effects which depend entirely on the user. Drunk driving is currently responsible for a great number of car accidents in the United States. While it is a fact that people use marijuana regardless of whether or not it is legal, and drive under the influence, I do not believe that legalizing it would have any positive effect in terms of curbing 'high driving'. Instead, methods for road-testing suspected drivers under the influence of marijuana should be developed, testing technology should be implemented by police departments, and laws should be changed to punish high drivers in the same way that drunk drivers are punished. 3. If legalized, marijuana would being to be mass-produced and large companies would soon dominate the market. Today's massive tobacco companies are very rich, and as such, have powerful lobbyists that make it very difficult to change laws concerning the distribution and marketing of cigarettes. It took years just to legally force tobacco companies to display warnings on their packets, and to change advertising methods to stop targeting children. There is no reason to assume that marijuana companies would enter the market with the public's good intentions at heart. Instead, the same types of money-mongers who capitalize on the public's urge to drink and smoke would presumably take control of the market and gain similar deceitful legal power. There is currently little control over the dangerous pesticides and chemical additives in tobacco cigarettes - again, there is no reason to assume these large marijuana companies would treat their crops and products with a similar disregard for their consumers' safety due to mass-production and distribution. 4. While it is true that marijuana smuggling is responsible for a great number of unnecessary casualties of drug wars in Mexico, marijuana is by no means the only drug these black market cartels are responsible for. While legalizing marijuana would certainly decrease gang activity dealing with that particular drug, it would simply shift their focus to other drugs or illicit activities. It would take full across-the-board legalization of all drugs to effectively end these deadly battles, and that is not the resolution. 5. The culture of intoxicant use in America has a long history, and while views have shifted over the years, there is still a general attitude of reverence towards legal intoxicants, especially alcohol. The simple fact is that legalizing marijuana would cast it in a more favorable light. While alcohol is known to have detrimental effects on the human body, the fact that this is generally recognized does not diminish the drinking culture that is promoted in films and on college campuses nationwide. The fact that alcohol is legal means it is generally permitted, and endorsing yet another intoxicant does not seem productive. 6. Legalizing marijuana would mean that it would be easier to obtain. While those that seek it are able to find it, it is still more difficult and risky than simply walking into a store and purchasing it. This would mean that underage (if, as should be presumed, there was an age law associated with marijuana) people would also be able to obtain it more easily, and marijuana IS proven to have a negative effect on the developing brain. Combining the above reasons, among others, I do not support the legalization of recreational marijuana use. A pre-negation: the argument that marijuana should be illegal because alcohol is illegal is not valid. If brought, I will explain why. If not contested my opponent excepts the validity of this statement. I look forward to my opponent's argument! I have a feeling we are going to agree on a lot, but there are going to be key differences. Thanks again for allowing me the opportunity to debate this issue, and I look forward to a productive, illuminating debate.

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use It is clear that Con has abandoned this debate.

Recreational Marijuana should be Legalized in all 50 States. Rebuttal 1... I just said a) marijuana possession rates would go down (obviously) because it would be legal. b) laws for marijuana possession in states that allow it are very strict, helping police to enforce them. Argument 2... The legal sale of Marijuana would generate tax Revenue that can be used to support schools and other government projects. For example on January 2014, Colorado has legalized marijuana and Taken in $53 Million in Tax Revenue, on top of $16 Million from Medicinal Marijuana. Also, that was only the state of Colorado where the population is 5.356 million, just imagine if the state of California which population is 38.8 million, seven times Colorado. Imagine how much money in tax revenue they would get and how they could make the environment a better place, building houses, dams, schools and other infrastructure.

AAN: Marijuana should be legalized recreationally. IntroductionThe goal of the government should be to benefit the common good, while preserving the free will of its citizens. My goal will be to prove that marijuana prohibition works against the common good and takes away free will from citizens, thus, it should be legalized. C1) Marijuana's impact on user and those around user:A) User's Mental HealthMarijuana can help rather than harm mental health. Cannabidiol (a substance found in cannabis) is known to contain anti-psychotic properties (1). Many people use marijuana to help with anxiety, as it has a calming effect. Depression is also known to be decreased among those who use cannabis. Jeremy Spiegel M.D. (from Psychology Today) explains, “In a medical journal Addictive Behaviours, researchers compiled data from over four thousand questionnaires of depressed patients and marijuana users, and determined that those who smoked daily or even less often, also reported less depressed mood and more positive affect than non users (2).” There have been some studies that note a correlation between marijuana smokers and depression/anxiety. However, it is important to remember that correlation is not causation. If my con wishes to use this point, he must explain exactly how Marijuana results in depression/anxiety. Another common myth is that marijuana kills brain cells. WebMD explains, “Long-term and even daily marijuana use doesn't appear to cause permanent brain damage, adding to evidence that it can be a safe and effective treatment for a wide range of diseases, say researchers.” My source continues, “scores on thinking tests were similar to those who don't smoke marijuana, according to a new analysis of 15 previous studies (3).” Through this evidence, I have shown that marijuana does not impair mental health and actually has the chance of positively impacting it.B) User's HealthIt has been proven that smoking marijuana is not as harmful to the lungs as smoking cigarettes, in some cases, smoking marijuana has increased lung capacity (4). Although, I will concede that cannabis isn’t exactly “good” for one’s lungs, the effects are much less severe than one would expect. The way that marijuana legalization can positively impact physical health is rather simple. Cannabidiol (mentioned earlier) aids smokers who wish to stop smoking. An experiment was done, and smokers who were given inhalers with cannabidiol decreased smoking by 40% by the end of the experiment (5). If marijuana was legalized, those addicted to cigarettes would be given a less harmful alternative to cigarettes.C) Effects on BystandersOne thing observed after the legalization in denver was that, as Time explains, "researchers found that fatal car wrecks dropped by 9% in states that legalized medical use — which was largely attributable to a decline in drunk driving (6)." This is because, "Driving under the influence of marijuana seems to be less risky because people who are high tend to be aware that they are impaired and compensate, while alcohol tends to increase recklessness and create false confidence." The idea is that people will start using marijuana instead of alcohol due to the legalization. While driving when one is stoned is certainly not advisable, it is preferable to driving while drunk. This 9% isn’t just talking about any crash, but fatal crashes. What this means is that due to this 9% decrease, three thousand lives are saved every year.C2) Unnecessary arrests:As I have proved above, the effects of marijuana not harmful to the consumer and those around the consumer. Yet, arrest for the possession of the drug is extremely high. In 2007, over 750,000 people were arrested for the possession of marijuana. It is completely unnecessary to permanently impact someone's life by arresting them for the possession of a drug that has little harmful effects on the user. We can see from the chart below that arrests for marijuana have clearly gotten out of hand (7). The Medical Marijuana Magazine explains, “In "lenient" California someone arrested in their home can lose their driver's license, which can obviously mean the loss of a job. In other places people can lose custody of their children. If a person is charged with cultivation of just one plant, the consequences can be even more dire. People can and do lose their homes, farms, etc. to "civil forfeiture (8).” So essentially, people’s lives can be ruined for the act of possession/growing of cannabis. The worst part is that California is one of the more lenient states. In places like Alabama or Texas, the consequences clearly are more serious. C3) Money and the economy:Firstly, we have to look at the current amount of money that is being lost by keeping cannabis illegal. NORML notes, “American taxpayers spend more than $1 billion a year incarcerating citizens for using pot (9).” Most of these crimes are for simple possession. So, not only is keeping weed illegal unfair to consumers, but it is unfair to the taxpayers. It is a waste of the government’s money as well as a waste of the people’s money. Secondly, look at the large amount of tax revenue that will come from the legalization of marijuana. Colorado, saw 10.8 million dollars in the first four months of legalization. It is estimated that 1 billion dollars will be raised altogether by the end of 2014. 40 million dollars of this will go towards bettering the schools in Colorado (10). So not only does legalization of cannabis earn money, but it saves money, resulting in funds that can be used for various positive causes. Moreover, the marijuana industry generates jobs and boosts the economy in other ways. The governor of Colorado explains, “Gov. Hickenlooper compared Colorado’s economy since legalization to that of other states by noting, “While the rest of the country’s economy is slowly picking back up, we’re thriving here in Colorado.” C4) Safer cannabis:When obtaining marijuana from a drug dealer, one can never be sure of what they will get. There is always a possibility that marijuana can be laced with a substance such as PCP, cocaine, crack, or even embalming fluid. These things are obviously highly dangerous; with federal regulation, this problem will go away since marijuana will be sold through reliable sources. Some companies in Colorado have begun testing marijuana for contamination, but if the drug was legalized federally, it would have to be tested in order to be sold. ConclusionLet’s assume marijuana is a harmful substance for a minute. I have shown in numerous ways that keeping it illegal hurts works against the common good. It contributes to prison overcrowding and takes money away from taxpayers. It gives drug dealers money, but ultimately hurts the consumer (who will smoke the substance regardless of it’s legal status). What really makes the argument against legalization fall is the fact that marijuana isn’t a relatively safe drug drug. One cannot die from it, or overdose on it. When it is legalized, people have a less harmful alternative to cigarettes and alcohol. Prohibition of cannabis works against the common good and takes away the free will of citizens. For these reasons, I am pro. (1) http://tinyurl.com...(2) http://tinyurl.com...(3) http://tinyurl.com...(4) National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Heart Lung Blood Institute(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...(6) http://healthland.time.com...(7) http://www.bjs.gov...(8) http://www.drugsense.org...(9) US Bureau of Justice Statistics(10) http://www.thedailychronic.net...

Legal Recreational Marijuana Revisited The Gateway Drug Theory: The truth is the idea you have brought up is simply a theory. Tobacco and alcohol have also been accused of being gateway drugs. I understand marijuana and alcohol are different kinds of drugs but nothing about marijuana has been proven to qualify it as a 100% surefire "gateway drug." Numerous tests and data have shown inconclusive evidence of the gateway drug theory. In 2007 the surgeon general said that marijuana was in fact a gateway drug. He, however, did not prove this himself, and was instead, stating a probable (but not true) side effect to marijuana use based on inconclusive research to help raise awareness about the negative effects. Two studies from University of Pittsburgh's School of Pharmacy show inconclusive evidence to support this theory. So has the U.S. National Institute of medicine and RAND, who works for the U.S. government and military. All of these are reliable resources. Lastly, the assumption that marijuana would be legal for teens is false. Because marijuana is not legal, we don't know what legal using age will be put into place. Avoiding selling to teens is a very valid point that I agree with. Criminal Activity: There is no way to tell how society will react, especially because we don't know whether the gateway drug theory is correct or not. Because of the this unpredictability factor, we have to rely on history for answers. I could list and list events, but I don't want to waste your time so I'm going to concentrate on one significant, closely related one: Prohibition. As you know, Prohibition was when alcohol was illegal in the United States throughout the 1920's. It was proven that as soon as this drug was deemed illicit, crime (organized crime especially) skyrocketed as well as the smuggling of alcohol into the States. This all goes back to the fact that people in the past have increased criminal activity due to the act that made another so-called "gateway drug," alcohol, illegal, the opposite of what you proposed. Alcoholics have a chance to do harder drugs, just like any other type of user, and if your theory was correct then the harder drugs should have become as much of a problem as alcohol in the 1920's...but they didn't. I think we can agree that, heroin, for example, is much more addictive and harmful than marijuana. The difference is so significant, that it makes the assumption that "we should allow other harder substances," false. There are specific reasons marijuana should be legalized versus other drugs. By no means is the government supporting usage by legalizing it. Tobacco is legal yet you don't see the President of the United States endorsing it. The decision is up to the citizen and they have the right to be informed before using. Your two reasons of opposition (the numbered ones) are more of personal reasons why you would not use. The act of legalizing marijuana simply reduces the amount of crime in that drug deals connected to violence will be eliminated, providing users with a (lets just say) safe pharmacy where they can get marijuana. This is legalization to reduce criminal activity not discuss usage benefits/disadvantages. Just like alcohol or tobacco, marijuana use is a personal decision that has to be made. Advertisement bans, behind-the-wheel rules, etc. can all be made to ensure the safety of the public to help regulate this drug in a safer way so that people can use in the peace of their own home, without getting tangled up in crime. This is why recreational marijuana should, in fact, be legalized.

Marijuana Legalization On a personal note, I want to mention that I am a religious Christian and I strongly don't support marijuana consumption in principal. But as an avid supporter for the separation of Church and State, I believe that it should be legalized. I look forward for an exciting debate. My opponent didn't set any specific rules for this debate, so I'll assume that the burden of proof (BoP) will be equally shared. I will support my contention, that marijuana or recreational pot should be legalized, with the following arguments:1. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco2. Prohibition ruins innocent lives unnecessarily3. Prohibition wastes a staggering amount of resources and tax payers' money4. Prohibition doesn't help reduce use5. Legalizing marijuana would cut cartel profits6. Prohibition infringes on the religious freedom of Rastafaris I could add at least three additional points, but I thought that these key points alone should be more than sufficient to demonstrate to the reader that marijuana should be legalized1. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobaccoScientists agree that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco [1]. Scientific Reports published that "…The potential of death from the typical, recreational use of 10 drugs […] Marijuana was, by far, found to be the safest, even when compared to alcohol and cigarettes. " [1] Marijuana also is less addictive than alcohol, tobacco and other substances [2].2. Prohibition ruins innocent lives unnecessarilyI know someone who was caught smoking marijuana, and had to serve community time. This person, with no prior criminal record, is not only otherwise a law-abiding citizen, but also is extremely intelligent, caring and kind. With this blemish on his record, it became harder for him to get a new job. This is not an isolated case. A 45 year-old father of seven, with two previous non-violent­ offenses, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for possessing a small amount of marijuana [3]. This is absurd! The New York Times reports "From 2001 to 2010, the police made more than 8.2 million marijuana arrests; almost nine in 10 were for possession alone. In 2011, there were more arrests for marijuana possession than for all violent crimes put together. " [3]As I mentioned earlier, even if an arrest doesn't lead to a conviction, it will always remain on someone's record making it harder for them to land a new job.3. Prohibition wastes a staggering amount of resources and tax payers' moneyThe New York Times reports that "Each year, enforcing laws on possession costs more than $3.6 billion. " [3] To enforce these laws, police, prosecutors and court resources are wasted every day. These resources could be channeled to fight more heinous crimes, or at least can be used by the police to build a better relationship with the public.4. Prohibition doesn't help reduce useSome worry that if marijuana were legalized, it would lead to an increase in its use. They could argue that these prohibitions are necessary to deter people from using it out of their fear of being caught. It turned out that the above claim is probably not true. Psychology Today reports that "Since Colorado fully legalized cannabis in 2013, the early reports show that rates of cannabis consumption among teens have continued to decline" [4].5. Legalizing marijuana would cut cartel profitsLegalizing marijuana in the US could lead to a drop in carter revenues by 22 to 30 percent! [5] Not to mention that these profits would instead be awarded to new legitimate businesses (creating new jobs). The government will also have its share of these profits in the form of tax revenues.6. Prohibition infringes on the religious freedom of Rastafaris (People practicing Rastafarianism)Rastafaris believe that smoking marijuana is a spiritual act. Criminalizing it has caused several Rastafaris to be arrested. Most notably, the famous singer Bob Marley, "During his time in London, he was arrested and received a conviction for possession of a small quantity of cannabis" [7]. I argue that this is an infringement on their freedom of religion. I am not alone with this opinion… The Italian Supreme Court allowed Rastafaris to possess greater amounts of marijuana legally [6]. RebuttalMy opponent stated three reasons to support his claim that marijuana should be prohibited. I summarized his reason as follows:1. Health risks associated with marijuana consumption2. Marijuana demotes learning abilities3. Legalization would increase the number of intoxicated drivers on the roadI agree with my opponent's first two points. However I don't necessarily agree with his third point that legalization would increase the number of intoxicated drivers on the road. Researchers are divided on the subject [8]. But even if all of my opponent's three points were true, I argue that they do not warrant prohibiting marijuana. As I've demonstrated previously, alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than marijuana. If those reasons alone warrant prohibition, then why are alcohol and tobacco legal? How about fast food and its dire health implications? [9] Should we close McDonald's and Burger King? Should we ban boxing because it's dangerous and leads to significant injuries and premature deaths? [10]ConclusionI've demonstrated six reasons to show why marijuana should be legal. I also argued that prohibiting marijuana has far more negative consequences than legalizing it would. While my opponent's concerns are valid, I argued they don't warrant the prohibition of marijuana. I also argue that there are better ways to address the harms associated with marijuana. That is not achieved by banning it, but by establishing effective social programs. Similar programs were catalysts in reducing the consumption of tobacco from 42% to 19% since 1965 [11]. Tobacco was never banned in this period. I also believe that banning something makes it only that more desirable. Legalizing marijuana would eliminate that desire. I ask the reader to carefully consider the evidence and conclude that marijuana should be legalized. Thank you. Sources[1] . http://www.nbcnews.com...[2] . https://www.psychologytoday.com...[3] . http://www.nytimes.com...[4] . https://www.psychologytoday.com...[5] . http://www.insightcrime.org...[6] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[7] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[8] . http://www.ctvnews.ca...[9] . http://healthyeating.sfgate.com...[10] . http://en.wikipedia.org...[11] . http://www.cdc.gov...

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. Thank you Kasmic, Note: This debate is intended to act as a policy change debate. So an idealist position is not valid if it conflicts with the status quo or isn’t possible to enact. No court would accept outlawing anything based on a *potential harm*, to argue they should, as Con has, would result in absurdities such as outlawing cars. Contentions1. Freedom of Autonomy Con does not contest Mill’s theory. He does however try and argue it to the letter. This however is idealistic and isn’t feasible without limiting more of ones “freedom of autonomy”. I will expand on this in the rebuttals. 2. Low Level of Harm to Self and Others It would seem Con agrees (by not refuting my chart), that marijuana is significantly less dangerous than alcohol. Though he doesn’t have to defend the legality of alcohol, he does have to argue that legalizing marijuana is more dangerous in some shape or form than alcohol, in order to justify why it shouldn’t be legalized. 3. Benefits from regulation Con concedes all three of the benefits legalizing marijuana would have. He does not however, demonstrate why marijuana’s potential harm outweighs these benefits. I believe I have done more than enough to demonstrate the benefits do outweigh. He compares the harms of marijuana to that of child prostution, but this results in a *direct harm* in the form of rape. Rebuttals 1. Justified Law The quote I provided from Mill was to demonstrate a basic concept of when autonomy ought to be limited. It is primarily used to justify laws against things like murder or assault, crimes that result in a *direct harm*, that is to say, doing these things *will always* cause harm to others. This is entirely different from a *potential harm*, in other words, it is not guaranteed to cause harm to others. I would find it near impossible to point out any kind of activity or action that didn’t possess some kind of potential harm to others. Driving has the potential harm to injure other persons, but we shouldn’t outlaw cars just because there is a potential risk someone may be harmed. Similarly, just because there is merely a possibility of harming others by smoking marijuana, that doesn’t mean we should outlaw it. Outlawing these things would be limiting autonomy even more. So, as much as Con would like to turn Mill’s quote against me, it simply doesn’t apply to marijuana. It only deals with “direct harms”, not potential harms. 2. Harm Caused from Marijuana use I accept that marijuana causes harm to a certain degree. However, I don’t believe this potential harm outweighs the benefits of freedom, taxation, safety, and job creation. Don’t take my word for it though, the U.S government has already recognized substances like tobacco and alcohol, which I have proven possess a greater potential harm than marijuana, are already accepted as having benefits that outweigh their costs. Benefits like the ones given above. As I stated in R2, it is *illogical* that we should allow a more dangerous potential harm, only to backtrack and state we shouldn’t allow that which has less potential harm. Furthermore, Con has not demonstrated how these potential harms outweigh the benefits, he only makes a *bare assertion* that they do. 3. Consistency of the Law In this rebuttal Con states that I must accept legalizing all drugs based on the chart I provided. I have no problem with that, although like Con states, this debate is about marijuana and not about other substances. All I must do is justify that the benefits of marijuana outweigh its potential harms. Benefits like freedom, taxation, safety, and job creation all easily outweigh these potential harms. Con needs to justify why the U.S shouldn’t legalize marijuana despite the lack of laws surrounding tobacco and alcohol. The only way he can do this is if he can find some unmentioned harm that outweighs the benefits of legalization. Conclusion: Con has *not demonstrated* why the potential harms of legalizing marijuana outweigh its benefits. He basis his argument on Mill’s theory and tries to follow it to the letter. In doing so he defeats the very purpose the quote was designed to argue, to ensure autonomy.

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use *I'm glad you brought that up, and I will address this concern in this round immediately in a sequential manner before proceeding to my points._________________________________________________________________________________________Concerning Accessibility of Cannabis-If cannabis was legal, like alcohol, it would obviously have an age requirement. Also, it would be handled by less shady and more responsible people, in pharmacies, and not by the current drug dealers, who'd sell them to anyone. Instead, these people who sell marijuana would ask for ID before selling marijuana to a customer, just like with alcohol. Hypothetically, they will never sell cannabis to "kids". -The only way people nowadays can obtain cannabis in the US, is through illegal drug dealers. If Marijuana was completely legal in the US, THERE WOULD BE NO DRUG DEALERS, because everyone can get it at a pharmacy or a shop. They wouldn't have to rely on drug dealers. Without drug dealers, no one will sell cannabis to kids until they reach the required age. -However, it is not to say that kids cannot get their hands on marijuana. It is plausible for them to obtain marijuana from someone like their older siblings or parents. -Therefore, if marijuana was legalized, the accessibility of cannabis for kids will actually DECREASE, if not remain constant._______________________________________________________________________________________Now I shall proceed to my points.Healthwise:-Marijuana isn't as bad for your health as most people think. Studies have shown that casual marijuana smoking is not harmful to your lungs, and that it possibly can even increase lung capacity (which is good). -While it does have potential negative effects on your health, they are much less severe than alcohol and tobacco, which ARE legal. According to statistical analysis done by researchers, cannabis does a LOT more harm than alcohol and tobacco, which are legal drugs. -So my question to Con is: If alcohol and tobacco are legal but harms people more than cannabis, which hardly harms anyone at all, why can't cannabis be legal? http://www.livescience.com...http://edition.cnn.com...Crime Reduction due to Legalization-Marijuana use is not a serious crime. It has been established earlier that that marijuana use has less negative effects than alcohol and tobacco, which are legal drugs. -If Marijuana is legalized, it allows police to focus on actual crimes; crimes that are actually serious/dangerous/harmful to people, rather than people smoking marijuana and hasn't hurt anyone.-A huge problem in the United States today is that there have been too many arrests and too many people in jail. Of the people in jail, 3/4 of a million people were arrested for marijuana. These people have done nothing wrong, yet they're in jail. Furthermore, a lot of these people were framed. There have been cases where good samaritans find cannabis on the ground and give it to the police, who arrest these good people because they held cannabis. This is unfair and a waste of money for the government to fund their time in jail. -Therefore, by legalizing cannabis, less people are in jail, which solves the problem I mentioned earlier about too many people in jail/http://www.rawstory.com...;http://www.cnbc.com...;http://www.huffingtonpost.com..._______________________________________________________________I will leave with this for now. Thank you Con for accepting my challenge. I plan to make more points in future rounds.

Recreational Marijuana Legalization Recreational marijuana has many benefits in society today. It has gone through history as a drug grouped together with heroin, meth and cocaine. Grouping them together is highly unrealistic. There are many reasons that marijuana prohibition has done more harm than good and , if legalized, won't cause a massive American meltdown. I will start with 5 reasons and you may rebuttal any of them. 1) Marijuana's health benefits greatly outweigh the risks accociated with them. The main medical risk i hear about is the fact that when you smoke it it damages your lungs. There is truth to that. Inhaling a hot smoke can damage the lungs and can leave tar everywhere. However the reason that happens is because it's not filtered like it is in a cigarette. The inhaling hot smoke predicament can be solved by using a bong which filters out the tar using water leafing a fresh clean smoke and it cools down the smoke considerably. Besides you can get oils, patches, and edibles. Thus most of the dangerous part of marijuana on your health is stopped. (Source: http://www.truthonpot.com... ). That only leaves the mental health side of things. Sure it has an effect on you brain but in the studies done in 2011 on a large swath of people who had a control group and a group of heavy marijuana users what happened suprised the professors. The brain had a few changes that weren't substantial and didn't prove to be a dangerous change. It was just a small difference with no substancial threat. For their reaction times change. That can only be expected from a mind altering drug ( Source: http://m.jneurosci.org... ) it's a 2015 study. Plus the benefits are much greater. It all starts with the reduced risk of many cancers and dangerous diseases including Heart disease, osteoporosis, and can even helps the brain after a traumatic brain injury. http://www.tokeofthetown.com... 2) Marijuana doesn't cause an increase in violent crime. The claim that it does is wrong and has negitively been used to tarnish marijuana and say it's a danger to society. Use this article as an example http://www.iowamedicalmarijuana.org... 3) Marijuana can add money into the economy and add another trade with canada. The tax revenue in the first year of colorado alone was 63 million and is projected to grow up to 1 billion by 2016 (Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com... ) now multiply that by 50 to get a gross estimate of the amount of total revenue per year. Now isn't that a lot of money. Extra link: http://norml.org... 4) If the legalization were nationwide then the cartels would feel quite the smack. If texas and new mexico, their biggest target consumers, were to legalize it they would feel a huge decrease in revenue. About 17% and only in those 2 states and California. (Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com... ). 5) Keeping marijuana illegal is a waste of time and tax dollars it cost 14 billion a year to keep it illegal (Source: http://www.prohibitioncosts.org... ). Not only that, your life can be completely ruined. Even being arrested and not convicted is enough to put a damaging mark on a persons record. Even for having a gram or an empty bong on theirselves. Plus it adds so many people in prison for a non-violent crime. 88% of drug arrests were for normal people possessing small amounts of marijuana. (Source: https://www.aclu.org... ) Read this to see how damaging it really is for an arrest for possessing marijuana https://www.aclu.org... 6) I know i said 5 but i had to bring up another topic. The alcohol and tobacco vs. marijuana topic. I won't get so deep into this but i will add a link for you to read http://bgr.com... That source has a like to the actual study. Those are a few reasons that marijuana should be legal. You may provide your assertions

Marijuana Legalization http://www.youtube.com... Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana is the most used illegal drug [11] Argument 1: Prohibiting Marijuana Has Not Slowed Its Use Much like the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920's, the government's prohibition of marijuana has not had the desired effect of stopping people from using it. Despite heroic efforts from politicians and law enforcement, as well as nearly 1 trillion dollars spent on fighting drug use [1], the US is still the world's largest importer of illegal drugs. Stephen Rolles argues in the British Medical Journal that “Consensus is growing within the drugs field and beyond that the prohibition on production, supply, and use of certain drugs has not only failed to deliver its intended goals but has been counterproductive. Evidence is mounting that this policy has not only exacerbated many public health problems, such as adulterated drugs… but has created a much larger set of secondary harms associated with the criminal market.” August Vollmer, the founder of the School of Criminology at the University of California, Irvine believed that “The first step in any plan to alleviate this dreadful affliction should be the establishment of Federal control and dispensation- at cost- of habit-forming drugs. Drug addiction, like prostitution, and like liquor, is not a police problem.” A better deterrent would be public awareness of health dangers. The following graph shows how the use of marijuana has increased in the midst of the war on drugs. [5] Teenage Use [4] While the effort was noble, the war on drugs has failed to accomplish its purpose and actually caused more harm than good on account of the extreme spending and drug cartel violence fueled by the substances being illegal. Argument 2: Unjustified Amount of Spending The war on drugs has cost the US approximately 17 billion dollars this year alone as of May 30th and is increasing at an estimated rate of about 500 dollars per second. To view the Drug War Clock, which shows the constantly increasing amount of money spent on fighting drug abuse, go to this link (http://www.drugsense.org......). The war on drugs has to this day cost a total of nearly one trillion dollars in the 43 years since its implementation. This kind of money being spent should require some observable positive results by now, but as I demonstrated above, it has not shown any signs of success. The renowned economist Milton Friedman showed that "So far as drugs itself is concerned, some years ago, Alaska legalized marijuana. Consumption of marijuana among high school students in Alaska went DOWN. The Dutch, in Holland, do not prosecute soft drugs, like marijuana, and they would prefer not to prosecute hard drugs, but they feel impelled by the international obligations they've entered into, and consumption of marijuana by young people has gone down. And, equally more interesting, the average age of the users of hard drugs has gone up, which means they're not getting any more new recruits." [2] Right now, marijuana being illegal is a huge restriction on regulating the sale of it. When people are forced to buy it on the black market there is no way to ensure that it is only sold to those who are 21 or above. There is no way to enforce laws regarding dosage amounts. Adding regulation to the market could make sure that all marijuana has labels with dosage and proper medical warnings, there are significant restrictions on advertising, appropriate age limitations, limits to the amount sold, and the ban of sale to an intoxicated person. Jeffery Miron, a Harvard economist, showed that stopping the war on drugs would, in 2010 alone, add 76.8 billion dollars to the US economy. [3] Not only that but legalizing the industry would undoubtedly create jobs. Colorado recently legalized marijuana and now expects to see "$60 million in total combined savings and additional revenue for Colorado’s budget with a potential for this number to double after 2017.” [6] This spending is not justified by nonexistent results. Argument 3: Drug Cartel Violence Drug Cartels are the source of incredible amounts of violence and unrest throughout the world, and despite efforts to eliminate them, have thrived and been incredibly successful in their pursuits. A UN report actually estimated that the drug trade has generated around 321.6 billion US dollars as of 2003[9]. Marijuana is actually many drug cartels' main source of revenue despite the widely held belief that cartels live off the profits of harder drugs. [7][8] Legalizing marijuana would be a devastating hit to drug cartels and severely limit their violent activities. For the latter portion of this argument I considered including numerous examples of the effects of cartel violence in the world, mainly around Latin America, I now believe this point is incredibly obvious and need not be included since I'm running out of characters. If Con wants to dispute this or anybody is wondering I can include some examples in the next round. Argument 4: Freedom My fourth and final argument is that the government should not have the right to dictate what its citizens do to themselves. The Harm Principle is the idea that a person should only be restricted from causing harm to other individuals, not from themselves [10]. Human beings should be able to exercise the free will that is held so dear by the USA. I and I alone, should have the right to dictate what I do or do not do to my own body. The government cannot stop me from smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, overeating, or doing many other things with possible dangers. They can regulate it to make sure I am at a responsible age and fully aware of the dangers, but it has been decided repeatedly that I have the freedom to dictate what happens to my body. Conclusion Legalization of marijuana immediately creates a new industry and stimulates the economy, it allows the US to spend significant taxpayer money elsewhere, and does irreparable harm to drug cartels. People deserve certain freedoms, and illegaling marijuana is comparable to the prohibition. Neither worked and the government does not have the right to infringe on people's liberties like this. Awareness of this controversial issue is growing [12], and worldwide people are gradually coming to the conclusion that marijuana should be legalized for many compelling reasons. Marijuana has been legalized in a couple US states and several other countries around the world. Legalizing marijuana is the wisest path and I have given sufficient evidence as to why. [1] (http://www.cnn.com......) [2] (http://www.druglibrary.org......) [3] (http://en.wikipedia.org......) [4] (http://www.rand.org......) [5] (http://drugprevent.org.uk......) [6] (http://www.nydailynews.com......) [7] (http://www.newrepublic.com......) [8] (http://www.huffingtonpost.com......) [9] (http://www.boston.com......) [10] (http://en.wikipedia.org......) [11] (http://bigstory.ap.org......) [12] (http://prospect.org......)

The United States Should Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use My opinion has chaned.

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use Rebuttal for your reason 1) You left out all the good physical and health benefits of marijuana: It can be used to treat Glaucoma, It may help reverse the carcinogenic effects of tobacco and improve lung health, It can help control epileptic seizures, It also decreases the symptoms of a severe seizure disorder known as Dravet's Syndrome, A chemical found in marijuana stops cancer from spreading, It may decrease anxiety, THC slows the progression of Alzheimer's disease,The drug eases the pain of multiple sclerosis, Other types of muscle spasms could be helped too, It lessens side effects from treating hepatitis C and increases treatment effectiveness. Marijuana treats inflammatory bowel diseases, It relieves arthritis discomfort, It keeps you skinny and helps your metabolism, It improves the symptoms of Lupus, an autoimmune disorder,While not really a health benefit, marijuana spurs creativity in the brain, Marijuana might be able to help with Crohn's disease,Pot soothes tremors for people with Parkinson's disease, Marijuana helps veterans suffering from PTSD, Marijuana protects the brain after a stroke, It might protect the brain from concussions and trauma, It can help eliminate nightmares, Weed reduces some of the awful pain and nausea from chemo, and stimulates appetite, Marijuana can help people trying to cut back on drinking. ~BuisnessInsider.Rebuttal for reason 2) When you buy a product, there will be a tax - we all know that. So if people are allowed to buy this substance, of course there will be a tax on it. The government will gain profit and BENEFIT from this legalization - it is a win-win for everyone! We all have the freedom of choice, weither it is to take a shot, smoke a cigarette, or make a huge decision. We all know that Marijuana is dangerous - we all get it, drugs are bad (and so are tobacco and alcohol); but we should let people have the CHOICE if they want to consume such substances or not. After all, we are in the United States of America; and isint FREEDOM what being an American citizen is all about?Rebuttal for reason 3) But only 9% of people who experiment with marijuana before addicted.Rebuttal for reason 4) Refer back to by first rebuttal in this round.

Marijuana Legalization http://www.youtube.com... Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana is the most used illegal drug [11] Argument 1: Prohibiting Marijuana Has Not Slowed Its Use Much like the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920's, the government's prohibition of marijuana has not had the desired effect of stopping people from using it. Despite heroic efforts from politicians and law enforcement, as well as nearly 1 trillion dollars spent on fighting drug use [1], the US is still the world's largest importer of illegal drugs. Stephen Rolles argues in the British Medical Journal that August Vollmer, the founder of the School of Criminology at the University of California, Irvine believed that A better deterrent would be public awareness of health dangers. The following graph shows how the use of marijuana has increased in the midst of the war on drugs. [5] Teenage Use [4] While the effort was noble, the war on drugs has failed to accomplish its purpose and actually caused more harm than good on account of the extreme spending and drug cartel violence fueled by the substances being illegal. Argument 2: Unjustified Amount of Spending The war on drugs has cost the US approximately 17 billion dollars this year alone as of May 30th and is increasing at an estimated rate of about 500 dollars per second. To view the Drug War Clock, which shows the constantly increasing amount of money spent on fighting drug abuse, go to this link (http://www.drugsense.org...). The war on drugs has to this day cost a total of nearly one trillion dollars in the 43 years since its implementation. This kind of money being spent should require some observable positive results by now, but as I demonstrated above, it has not shown any signs of success. The renowned economist Milton Friedman showed that "So far as drugs itself is concerned, some years ago, Alaska legalized marijuana. Consumption of marijuana among high school students in Alaska went DOWN. The Dutch, in Holland, do not prosecute soft drugs, like marijuana, and they would prefer not to prosecute hard drugs, but they feel impelled by the international obligations they've entered into, and consumption of marijuana by young people has gone down. And, equally more interesting, the average age of the users of hard drugs has gone up, which means they're not getting any more new recruits." [2] Right now, marijuana being illegal is a huge restriction on regulating the sale of it. When people are forced to buy it on the black market there is no way to ensure that it is only sold to those who are 21 or above. There is no way to enforce laws regarding dosage amounts. Adding regulation to the market could make sure that all marijuana has labels with dosage and proper medical warnings, there are significant restrictions on advertising, appropriate age limitations, limits to the amount sold, and the ban of sale to an intoxicated person. Jeffery Miron, a Harvard economist, showed that stopping the war on drugs would, in 2010 alone, add 76.8 billion dollars to the US economy. [3] Not only that but legalizing the industry would undoubtedly create jobs. Colorado recently legalized marijuana and now expects to see "$60 million in total combined savings and additional revenue for Colorado’s budget with a potential for this number to double after 2017.” [6] This spending is not justified by nonexistent results. Argument 3: Drug Cartel Violence Drug Cartels are the source of incredible amounts of violence and unrest throughout the world, and despite efforts to eliminate them, have thrived and been incredibly successful in their pursuits. A UN report actually estimated that the drug trade has generated around 321.6 billion US dollars as of 2003[9]. Marijuana is actually many drug cartels' main source of revenue despite the widely held belief that cartels live off the profits of harder drugs. [7][8] Legalizing marijuana would be a devastating hit to drug cartels and severely limit their violent activities. For the latter portion of this argument I considered including numerous examples of the effects of cartel violence in the world, mainly around Latin America, I now believe this point is incredibly obvious and need not be included since I'm running out of characters. If Con wants to dispute this or anybody is wondering I can include some examples in the next round. Argument 4: Freedom My fourth and final argument is that the government should not have the right to dictate what its citizens do to themselves. The Harm Principle is the idea that a person should only be restricted from causing harm to other individuals, not from themselves [10]. Human beings should be able to exercise the free will that is held so dear by the USA. I and I alone, should have the right to dictate what I do or do not do to my own body. The government cannot stop me from smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, overeating, or doing many other things with possible dangers. They can regulate it to make sure I am at a responsible age and fully aware of the dangers, but it has been decided repeatedly that I have the freedom to dictate what happens to my body. Conclusion Awareness of this controversial issue is growing [12], and worldwide people are gradually coming to the conclusion that marijuana should be legalized for many compelling reasons. Marijuana has been legalized in a couple US states and several other countries around the world. Legalizing marijuana is the wisest path and I believe I have given sufficient evidence as to why. Back to you Con. [1] (http://www.cnn.com...) [2] (http://www.druglibrary.org...) [3] (http://en.wikipedia.org...) [4] (http://www.rand.org...) [5] (http://drugprevent.org.uk...) [6] (http://www.nydailynews.com...) [7] (http://www.newrepublic.com...) [8] (http://www.huffingtonpost.com...) [9] (http://www.boston.com...) [10] (http://en.wikipedia.org...) [11] (http://bigstory.ap.org...) [12] (http://prospect.org...)

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use This debate will be over the topic of Marijuana legalization. I will be taking the Pro position, meaning I am arguing in favor of the resolution. DefinitionsLegalized - To be made legal. To not be restricted by law. Recreational - relating to or denoting activity done for enjoyment when one is not working. RulesForfeit results in an automatic loss. No semantics. Standard conduct applies.

marijuana should be legal for rec use marijuana should be legal because it is not bad for you at all. it can not kill you and in some cases is good for you

Marijuana Should Be Legalized -

Marijuana Should Be Legalized -

Recreational Marijuana Legalization I will start as my opponent has by supplying my main argument. I believe that marijuana should not be legalized for many reasons. The first reason I would like to convey is that the health risks for marijuana outweigh the benefits. Marijuana use has been proven to weaken the immune system, increase risk for pneumonia and lung infection as well as causing psychosis in users that has resulted in death. Long term smoking of marijuana has even been linked to lung cancer. In addition to this, it demotes learning abilities days after use in students and the legalization would increase the number of intoxicated drivers on the road[1]. Also, the legalization would be a significant economic opportunity for drug dealers. As possession would not be illegal, it would be more convenient to purchase marijuana from a drug dealer untaxed than it would be to buy it for extra at the store. To continue that thought, the easy access given by the state would make it easier for it to get into the hands of minors. In addition to this, legalization would (contrary to some beliefs) provoke drug cartels based in Mexico[2]. "The 2014 UN World Drug Reportfound a "large increase" in the number of methamphetamine laboratories seized in Mexico and the United States. " "'Between 2013 and 2014, U. S. Customs and Border Protection saw an increase in seizures of heroin, up 5.2 percent, and methamphetamine, up 9.8 percent,' U. S. Customs and Border Protection media spokesman Carlos Lazo told Fusion. " "DEA spokesman Lawrence Payne told NPR last year that 'Sinaloa operatives in the United States are reportedly buying high-potency American marijuana in Colorado and smuggling it back into Mexico for sale to high-paying customers. '" Sinaloa is a region in Mexico infamous for cartel activity. Lastly, the fact that alcohol and tobacco are legal shouldn't determine whether marijuana should be. I do not deny that alcohol and tobacco can be harmful, but releasing another harmful substance to the public will in no way change that nor have a positive effect. It is simply adding another harmful substance into the mix. Marijuana is more intoxicating than alcohol and tobacco. Upon having a drink, the vast majority of humans will be under the legal limit and be able to drive[3]. Upon "smoking a bowl" of marijuana, one will be intoxicated, or "high". Tobacco does not have intoxicating factors like alcohol or marijuana. It does not take a single drink to get drunk, yet it takes one joint or bowl to get high. Giving the public access to this would increase the number of intoxicated drivers because it is adding another variable to the equation. Driving stoned is very dangerous[4] and a public safety risk as use has been proven to increase where it is legal[5]. For example, if X is drinkers and Y is intoxicated drivers, we have X=Y. If we legalize marijuana, then we would have X Z=Y. It would be dangerous and unfair to the American people to legalize marijuana. [1] . http://www.usatoday.com... [2] . http://fusion.net... [3] . http://dui.drivinglaws.org... [4] . http://www.ibtimes.com... [5] . http://www.denverpost.com...

Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational Use Before I go into my position, I would like to say thanks to my opponent, whoever he/she would be. Without further ado, time to get into my position. With the Marihuana (it was spelled that way back in the day) Tax Act of 1937, Congress asserted the power to ban marijuana for any use outside medicine and industry. (rope is made from the marijuana plant) The rule wasn't exactly enforced, as it was even easier to get it for "medicine" back then. The Act remained the only national legislation on the plant until 1970, when Congress passed the Controlled Substances Act. This act placed marijuana in the group of Schedule 1 drugs, meaning that the drug has no supposed medical use, with a high potential for abuse, in the same category as heroin. So, thus, the Drug War begins. A lot of criminals get rich from drugs, a lot of kids get messed up by contaminated drugs and overdoses, and a lot of money (our money) is wasted. Now fast forward to 2013, several states, mine included, have recognized medical marijuana. Even though the federal law remains unchanged on the subject of marijuana. 2 have gone as far as to say that they have legalized recreational use. Now, even though I don't agree with the War on Drugs, I say that things like heroin and crystal meth are really bad. But those are chemically processed drugs. Marijuana is purely the plant, no chemicals. So I propose that we legalize marijuana for recreational use for individuals 21 or older on the idea that Unlike alcohol, tobacco, or even prescriptions, weed is not addictive. NO ONE in human history has ever died from weed. Ever. Alcohol has killed at least 50,000 people a year from direct consumption, let alone the accidents (although that is largely a lack of personal responsibility). Tobacco has killed 450,000. We could tax it and help pay down the national debt. We would have fewer victimless criminals clogging our prisons. The police, juries, and courts would have more time to deal with real crimes. We could certainly ease some suffering without killing people. (alcohol will kill you over time) We could regulate the quality so fewer people get sick from contamination or "cut" product. And look who's telling you this; I've never taken a recreational drug, never. Not one joint, inhale, or hit. Never even had a sip of alcohol. Thank you for reading. HoneyBadger

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use *Con has forfeited round 2, therefore I will not make any new points, to give Con the chance to catch up.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I will proceed by restating my main points so far. If Con forfeits the next round, I will state more points.-The accessibility of cannabis to children and teens will be more limited.-Cannabis does less harm healthfully than alcohol and tobacco, which are legal drugs, so why should it be illegal while alcohal and tobacco aren't?-Legalization will reduce Crime.-The problem of too many people in prison will be solved. -I would like to add on to this. If there are less people in jail, the government would spend less on funding th prison system, which could result in tax reduction or availability of funding to other things.

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. For my final round I will affirm my own case and attempt to group the responses to Con’s rebuttals within my contentions. Contentions 1. Freedom of autonomy By taking an idealist interpretation of Mill’s quote, Con’s plan would result in absurdities such as banning cars, Con does not respond to this problem. I take a position of a *realist* interpretation of the quote, as does the U.S government. Both me and the U.S government understand the differences between *direct harms* and *potential harms*. That’s why murder is illegal (results in a direct harm), and smoking tobacco isn’t illegal (potentially harmful). I am not claiming that the harms of marijuana aren’t real or don’t exist, I’m simply stating they could be a *potential* problem depending on the user. This sort of statement can’t be used against laws that prohibit murder though, because murder will *always* harm someone regardless of the user. Like having a glass of scotch at night, smoking a bowl of marijuana does not guarantee any specific harm-to-others will occur. Even if it did, the status quo already permits these harm-to-others, and unless Con demonstrates that marijuana possess a greater harm-to-others than alcohol, it is *illogical* to say marijuana shouldn’t be legal. This means Con *must* refute my chart I have provided in R2. (This contention stands so long as I win my “Low Level of Harm to Self and Others” contention, something which is standing extremely strong as of R4.) 2. Low level of harm to others. So far Con has chosen not to address my chart. I can only conclude that he agrees with it and that alcohol is significantly more of a net-detriment to its users and those around them. This alone is overwhelming justification for the legalization of marijuana. Con does make an attempt to *cherry pick* a case in which someone had bought marijuana infused candies and hour later ends up murdering his wife However his very source betrays him a paragraph or two down saying: “The vast majority of the state’s medical and recreational marijuana stores are living up to stringent state rules, they say. The stores have sold marijuana to hundreds of thousands of customers without incident.” [1] This case is not the rule, it is the *exception*. My entire purpose of my second contention is to demonstrate that if we were to weigh the risks of all the *potential harms* on a scale, alcohol would *drastically* weigh more. The chart I provided takes into consideration the cases like the one he provided and adds into the “harm to others” bar. Which as we can see is much large than that of marijuana. This contention has in *no way* been refuted. 3. Benefits from Regulation I have thus far proven that the benefits of legalizing marijuana would *greatly* outweigh is harms, in the forms of freedom, taxation, safety, and job creation. Con’s job was to demonstrate that the potential harms outweighed these benefits, he has yet to show they may possibly do this. In his rebuttals he suggests that neither alcohol nor tobacco should be legal because their potential harms apparently outweigh their benefits, but this is a *bare assertion*. The U.S federal government has already recognized that freedom and taxation, along with the slew of other benefits outweigh these “1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults” that alcohol potentially causes. This is the status quo. Even though I personally also find these potential harms to be rather great, the harms of marijuana simply cannot begin to be weighed in comparison. It’s amusing that Con would bring up how the status quo allows for a possible risk of losing about 500,000 people *every year* from tobacco. This only validates my position even more! The chart below demonstrate the staggering difference between the deaths from tobacco and that of marijuana. [2] As we can see, if the U.S federal government is willing to allow this many casualties from these substances, it is exceedingly obvious they would believe that a substance like marijuana would have its benefits outweigh its harms. Conclusion: I have shown that marijuana possess a lower level of potential harm than any of the current legal substances. Not only that, but whatever miniscule harm that was there is *greatly* outweighed by the benefits of freedom, taxation, safety, and job creation. This is all excellent justification that shows that recreational marijuana should be legalize. [1] http://www.nytimes.com... [2] http://www.vox.com...

The United States Should Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use Thanks for the debate.

Legalization of Recreational Marijuana Great! I will post my opening statement again for you to respond to. The legalization on marijuana for recreational purposes will only amplify rates of drug usage among individuals at all ends of the age spectrum. Psychologically, legalizing marijuana would send the message that using it would be acceptable, which it clearly generates more complications than it solves. From a legal standpoint, laws would need to be altered in order to accommodate for committing or engaging in criminal activity under the influence of marijuana. Needless to say, our tax-payer funded public health care systems would use taxpayer money to fund both medical and rehabilitative treatment for those involved with the substance.

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use I accept your challenge.

Marijuana should be legalized for medical and recreational use. I just want to say that marijuana, while proven to have some negative side effects, are nothing compared to another recreational drug, alcohol. The side effects of marijuana are often temporary, and can be reduced to none when the drug is no longer in the users system. Marijuana as a medicine is often much safer than the legal counterparts, prescription drugs. Side effects from prescription drugs often include death, organ failure, etc.

Legalization of Marijuana I would like to argue for the legalization of marijuana for both medicinal and recreational use within the United States. First of all, as many states such as California, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, New Jersey, Michigan, Maryland, Hawaii, And the District of Columbia, as well as a handful of other states within the US have legislation approving the use of medical marijuana for different types of patients. This shows that there are legitimate benefits in using marijuana. I am also arguing for the use of marijuana for recreational purposes because of the fact that it can generate an extremely large tax revenue for our country and will help to relieve some of the stress and tension that our national debt has put on individual taxpayers. NORML.COM ( National Organization for Marijuana Legalization) has examined many surveys of the daily and yearly usage of marijuana in the united states and states that between 2.2 and 6.4 billion dollars could be generated from the legalization and taxation of marijuana within the United States. It is no secret to anyone that the current restrictions in place prohibiting the use and distribution of marijuana within the United States are not effective, with the legalization of this drug our government would be able to gain a better control over who can produce marijuana, what chemicals and substances can be used to produce it, who can use the substance, where it can be purchased, and where and when. To anyone who looks at this topic objectively it is easy to see that this is a much safer system for the production and distribution of this product that what is in place today in which a buyer does not really know what they are buying, and the government does not have a share in the revenue that is generated. One more reason that I believe the use, distribution, and production of marijuana should be legalized and regulated within the United States is that the harsh criminal penalties imposed on otherwise harmless offenders of these outdated laws creates a burden on all of society. A portion of our hard earned tax dollars are used by our government to fund the increasingly expensive process of convicting these people and housing them in over crowded prisons. The FBI stated that in 2009 there were 858,408 arrests for marijuana violations within the united states and I feel that the resources and man power used for these violations can be allocated much more efficiently in finding and prosecuting other criminals.

Medical as well as recreational marijuana should be legal in all US states The matter of legalizing medical marijuana is an important issue for several reasons. From the data observed in the link below [1] there are currently 23 states with laws legalizing marijuana, some still more restrictive than others. This of course is a significant step in the right direction. However, I believe that all states should follow the examples of Alaska, Colorado, Washington and Oregon to legalize not only cannabis for medicinal usage but also for recreational consumption. I will list my reasons further below. Before doing so I would like to specifically define the meanings of marijuana itself and respectively medical and recreational cannabis to avoid any confusions or misunderstandings. Marijuana is defined as "a commonly used illegal drug made from dried leaves of the hemp plant" and "a strong-smelling plant from whose dried leaves a number of euphoriant and hallucinogenic drugs are prepared." Marijuana goes by many other names such as cannabis, hemp, weed etc. [2] Medical marijuana is defined as the usage of marijuana for medical or medicinal purposes. [3] [4] Recreational marijuana is defined as any other recreational drug which is described as "a drug (as cocaine, marijuana, or methamphetamine) used without medical justification for its psychoactive effects often in the belief that occasional use of such a substance is not habit-forming or addictive." [6] I acknowledge the many different types of marijuana that exists for different purposes, most, I understand, are hybrids made for different specific medical needs. However I do not know enough on the subject of them, their effects and upsides as well as downsides. I would therefore appreciate if this debate could be exclusively on the matters of the aforementioned descriptions of cannabis, medical and recreational. Now I will present my arguments as to why I believe medical and recreational marijuana should be legalized in all US states.R32;R32;First of all I would like to point out that there is no scientific background with evidence as to exactly why marijuana was classified as a Schedule I drug in the first place. The definition of a Schedule 1 drug from the Drug Enforcement Administration itself clearly states, that "Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse."[6] This definition leaves no room for doubt that no Schedule 1 drug has any medical use. However it has been a known fact for centuries that cannabis has been used for medical purposes with positive effects. This can easily be found true when looking at many different sources. Here I have merely linked one. [7]R32;The National Institute on Drug Abuse also states that there are medical benefits from marijuana. [8] R32;There can be many reasons as to why marijuana was classified the way it was and still has not been re-classified but that is a completely different debate. Here are links with possible explanations that no matter what do not justify why it was classified so harshly. [9] [10] R32;All in all, there can be no doubts that this classification of marijuana is deeply illogical and misleading. Second, I would like to stress that America would merit tremendously from the economic profits caused by legalizing marijuana. It can be no surprise to any logical thinking creature that America spends enormous sums of money on dealing with and prohibiting crime related to illegal marijuana sales and consumptions. All of this money would of course not be spent if marijuana was legalized. In stead I propose that all states start off like Oregon, Alaska, Washington and Colorado by legalizing recreational marijuana as well. These states all have different laws that specifically suits them and I believe this is a good way to start. R32;R32;The legalization of medical as well as recreational marijuana would be the only solution to properly profit economically from the marijuana businesses that are currently not legal. This is because these businesses will probably still exist if only medicinal marijuana was legalized. [11] [12] Third and last I believe, as mentioned, that marijuana should be legalised for recreational use. This is because I believe in every individual"s right to care for him or herself"s own health and decide what is best. Especially when it comes to smoking tobacco or marijuana for pleasure. I am aware of the fact that marijuana has other effects than regular tobacco smoking. However tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable death here in America and I do not see how it in any aspect is justifiable, that tobacco smoking has no legal restrictions when a harmless plant such as cannabis is classified as a schedule 1 drug and illegal in most states. [13] I believe that cannabis should be legalized for medical and recreational use. Of course all sale should be done by an approved salesperson to ensure and uphold a certain safety. This will still leave room for illegal sales but not in the same measure as it is now. I am not trying to say that tobacco smoking should be classified as a schedule 1 drug as well. I am saying that the laws making marijuana illegal are so illogical that I am astonished this can happen in a well educated country in the 21st century. http://www.governing.com... https://www.vocabulary.com... http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com... https://www.leafly.com... http://www.merriam-webster.com... http://www.dea.gov... http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com... https://www.drugabuse.gov... http://www.ibtimes.com... http://www.drugwarrant.com... http://www.dailydot.com... http://www.huffingtonpost.com... http://www.cdc.gov...

Marijuana should be legal for recreational use Contention 1: Marijuana should not be legal for recreational use because the side effects that are brought by it can be life endangering. One statistic suggests that smoking marijuana can increase one's heart rate by as much as two times for up to three hours.[1] The recreational use of marijuana could endanger the lives of those who may have heart conditions. Another side effect found in marijuana would be from the aspect of smoking the drug. The smoke will cause the lungs to be irritated and may lead to respiratory issues in the future.[2] It can be claimed that marijuana may lower pain of certain cancers and diseases, or even to be used as a medical substance, however I ask that this claim is not brought in as a contention due to the fact that this debate's main focus is regarding the recreation use rather than the medical use. If a doctor feels marijuana can be a healthy medicinal supplement, then that would be a different story. The claim that marijuana can be taxed and help our country make some much needed capital is also invalid given the fact that the health risks behind marijuana are by far much more important to worry about rather than allowing the focus to be upon tax revenue.

Should recreational use of marijuana be legal in the US The use of marijuana should be legal in the United States because there are little to no arguments based on scientific fact to say why it shouldn't be. Many people in the United States use marijuana whether it be legal via prescription or illegal, there are no statistics to show a death toll from marijuana use. If marijuana were legal in the same way that alcohol is it may take it out of the category of "illegal drugs" therefore somewhat nullifying the "gateway drug" argument.

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. Thanks again to Kozu for this debate should be fun! Harm caused from Marijuana use.Marijuana can alter the user’s sense and mood. It can impair body movement, alter memory, and decrease the ability to problem solve. It is known to affected brain development negatively. It can cause breathing problems, hallucinations, and paranoia. It can cause anxiety, depression, and has been shown to induce suicidal thoughts in teens. (1) It is not a stretch to assume that someone who’s mood is altered, having hallucinations, is paranoid, and having suicidal thoughts poses a threat tothemselves and others. Justified LawMy opponent says I “will need to show that marijuana itself creates a significant enough harm to others, in order to justify marijuana’s illegality.” This is inconsistent with the quote he has cited from Mill. "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others" Thus by pro’s own standard if I can show that Marijuana creates harm to others then power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community… Ergo if harm to others can be demonstrated, a law to outlaw such is justified.Unfortunately for pro, his second contention concedes such harm exists. Per his own source, and demonstrated in the graph provided, Marijuana poses not only self-harm, but harm to others. Thus Pro concedes that Marijuana creates harm to others. Therefore, from his own source and criteria we see that a law to outlaw marijuana is justified.Consistency of LawPro argues “If the U.S government accepts these risks of harm, it is only reasonable that we should allow another substance who's risks are significantly less; that being marijuana.” I have a few responses to this. First I would note that this debate is about marijuana specifically and thus I do not have to justify the status quo of all U.S. laws, I only need justify the illegality of marijuana. Secondly, if we to accept that all the laws must be consistent, it is just as reasonable to argue that the evidence provided is as much support to outlaw all the listed substances as it is to legalize all the substances. RC1. Freedom of Autonomy: While freedom of autonomy is generally valued in society, it is not carried to an extreme. There has always been a limit to the amount of freedom the individual has in society. Obedience to laws in society requires autonomy to necessarily be limited. RC2. Low Level of Harm to Self and Others: Up to this point in the debate we have concluded that a) The outlawing of marijuana is justified and b) Arguing consistency supports evenly the status quo and legalizing and thus is a non factor.RC3. Benefits from Regulation: a) Taxation: I conceded that taxing this market could bring in revenue, though so could taxing child prostitution. Thus revenue alone is not sufficient of a reason to allow the harm that marijuana brings. I give this same response to C3b “Safety and Reduction of the Black Market” C3c “job creation.”Conclusion:Pro’s C1 affirms that outlawing marijuana is justified. C2 concedes the harm marijuana poses, I have added sources and examples of specific harms that marijuana poses. C3 are generic arguments that could be made about any topic good or bad. None of these contentions address the harm caused. because the outlawing of marijuana is by my opponents standard shown to be justified, and as the use of Marijuana clearly causes harm it should remain outlawed.Sources:(1) http://www.drugabuse.gov...

Marijuana should be legal for recreational use I am assuming rebuttals in Rd 3, so I will make my own contentions in this round. 1. Marijuana is a non-lethal drug. Virtually no one has died from smoking marijuana. Stephen Sidney, MD, associate director for research for Kaiser Permanente, Oakland, Calif., in the Sept 20 issue of The British Medical Journal states that "the current knowledge base does not support the assertion that it has any notable adverse public health impact in relation to mortality," No one dies from a 'fatal marijuana overdose'. Since it cant kill you, why make it illegal? 2. Marijuana has relatively mild side effects. It is also non-toxic to humans. Dr. Mark Sircus says this in regards to marijuana use, "...a low risk profile is evident from the literature available. Serious complications are very rare...". 4. Marijuana is almost never addictive. 'In 1944, New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia commissioned research to be performed by the New York Academy of Science. Among their conclusions: they found marijuana did not lead to significant addiction in the medical sense of the word. They also did not find any evidence marijuana led to morphine, heroin or cocaine addiction.'- CNN News .In fact, tobacco is three times as addictive, according to Dr. Sanjay Gupta. 5. Alcohol and cigarettes are addictive, but they are legal. If we want to be consistent in our values, then its a no-brainer that marijuana should be legalized. 6. Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. If we can have guns, and cigs, and beer, and play football (linked to CTE and fatality), then why not?

Legal Recreational Marijuana Revisited I negate: Legal Recreational Marijuana Revisited [Contentions] Contention I: Marijuana is a Gateway Drug. According to the Surgeon General (Year 2007) Marijuana is a gateway drug. This means that once a given high is established the user would seek a larger high from more harmful drugs. This includes Cocaine (the most common step drug from marijuana), LSD, and Heroine. Marijuana creates a high different from substances like Alcohol, which increases the urge for a greater high that can only be achieved through more harmful drugs. With marijuana more readily available, teens would more likely be hooked on it now, and thus make them want harder substances. Contention II: Increased Criminal Activity Since we have established that marijuana is a gateway drug we will now look to one major disadvantage to society, Criminal Behavior. Since marijuana would increase the urge for harder substances, which are illegal, then people would resort to crimes to obtain them. The addiction for drugs is so great that people addicted would go to great lengths to get these substances. Allowing marijuana in society would increase the want for harder substances which in turn would lead to higher crime rates. Furthermore, higher crime rates could lead to more violent activity. For these reasons I negate. [Rebuttal] "Recreational marijuana use should be legalized. Just like any other legal drug, it comes with it's own set of responsibilities and restrictions. Sure, it is unhealthy, but no worse than many other legal drugs. I feel like every other legal prescription commercial I see, has warnings about possible side effects, even "death." My Response: Ok, universalize your action. By allowing marijuana we should then allow any other harder substance. Yes, it may come with it's own set of responsibility but that doesn't mean that government should bend down and condone it. Furthermore, legal prescrpiton drugs have medical benefits. One reason for the illegilzation of drugs is for these 2 reasons: 1) Has no major medical benefits 2) The cons outweigh the pros Therefore, marijuana used for recreational purposes rather then medical should not be allowed for the public. Drop my opponents argument. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.

Recreational Marijuana Legalization If somebody wants to effect a change, that person need bring forward evidence. I do not want to effect a change, thus I do not need evidence. My opponent does, and so he needs evidence. As I will go on to demonstrate, he has none. I will deal with his five bits of non-evidence (for want of a better word) in order, below. First, my opponent makes the standard libertarian case - every adult should have the personal freedom to put substances into their body. This fails for three reasons. First, it ignores the fact that many substances are addictive, therefore removing the choices of the user. It is illogical to use choice as a ground for legalizing something that removes choice. Second, it ignores the cost of that liberty. Non-marijuana smokers do not want to pay for the medical bills of marijuana smokers, and that problem is compounded if cannabis is legalized. Third, why? Why should adults have the "personal freedom" to do harm to themselves? This is probably the most important causal link that my opponent needs to demonstrate in order to complete this argument, yet it is never made! Fraud is a non-violent crime, yet it is frequently associated with very high punishments. My opponent's (second) argument that non-violence is a good measure of whether something should be legal or not is quite silly. He then links this with the emotional appeal that people are jailed for simply smoking a joint. The punishment is irrelevant to the legal status. Next my opponent concedes the health risks of using cannabis. While there are safer alternatives, the fact is that people do not use them. Looking to countries with legal cannabis, smoking still remains the most popular form of cannabis use. My opponent later criticizes a few of my sources, but if he isn't doubting their overall message I guess there is no point in arguing over them. However, he denies gateway drugs are gateway drugs if they are legal. So let us take the Amsterdam scenario - legal cannabis, illegal most harder things. Amsterdam is only a small country, yet it has about 7000 addicts. Not one dollar has been raised in taxes from drug sales - indeed, with all the law enforcement costs, the drug policy is causing the Dutch a great deficit. Over the same period that drug use worldwide fell (a 75% decrease in reported cannabis use in the USA) drug use in the Netherlands increased widely (from 30 to 300 "cannabis coffee shops"). Similar statistics are obtained from almost every source. An overview of the subject is given here: . http://www.druglibrary.org... What's really interesting, though, is that in Amsterdam there is still a large and thriving "black market. " As David Raynes puts it: "There is the big lie that legalising drugs will take the criminality out of supply. What nonsense. Illegal traders who pay no taxes of any sort can always undercut legitimate traders" (see . http://www.justthinktwice.com...). Crazy fact, but it is still a gateway drug. No wonder that more arrests are made each year for drug trafficking in Amsterdam than any other European state - even among only the "hard drugs! " So drugs have been a failure when legalized. My opponent's fourth argument is comparing marijuana to tobacco and alcohol. My opponent doesn't seem to grasp the fact that marijuana is a whole order of magnitude removed in terms of the severity of effects. However, both of these are really irrelevant. That's because I actually oppose the sale of cigarettes and believe alcohol should be more heavily restricted. Obviously, arguing that would be outside the scope of a cannabis debate. In the same way, tobacco and alcohol may be legal (in some jurisdictions). However, arguing that is another debate entirely. Ultimately what it comes down to is my opponent arguing that because they are legal, they should be legal, and thus cannabis should be legal. I deny, however, that everything that is legal should be legal. My opponent's fifth and final argument was to say that it is not the user's perception of the drug that is important, but society's. All I can say to that is that society's opinion is just as subjective as any individual member of that society. It's no surprise that more people support cannabis than heroin - largely because there are more cannabis smokers in society! After all, heroin users have a tendency to die much faster than cannabis users, as my opponent eloquently argues. Does this mean that society's subjective judgment is the best way of arriving at decisions? No! Again we see my opponent missing the most crucial part of his argument and beautifully stating the rest. What this case is really about is whether society's decisions are always justified, or if, as I argue, they may be harmfully biased. In conclusion, my opponent continues to fail to prove his claim that marijuana should be legalized.

Decriminalizing recreational marijuana. I thank Con for posting an intriguing argument against the decriminalization of marijuana for recreational purposes. Before I make my arguments, however, I am going to define a few terms. I will use Oxford Online Dictionaries. Decriminalize: cease to treat (something) as illegal or as a criminal offence [1] Marijuana: cannabis, especially as smoked in cigarettes [2] Cannabis: a dried preparation of the flowering tops or other parts of the cannabis plant, or a resinous extract of it, used (generally illegally) as a psychotropic drug, chiefly in cigarettes. [3] Now, let’s start. There are multiple reasons why marijuana, for recreational purposes, should be decriminalized. My first argument, ironically, is supported by my opponent’s only argument in the last round; that consumption of marijuana, for recreational purposes, is detrimental to the consumer’s health. I argue that a result of decriminalizing marijuana, coupled with emphasizing the possibility of therapy for drug takers (instead of them being sent to jail), would lead to either less people consuming the drug, or no difference in the amount of people consuming the drug. This was similar the policy that Portugal implemented several years ago. The neuroscience journalist Maia Szalavitz, in an article written for Time Magazine writes: “Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal's drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people over 15 in the E.U.: 10%. The most comparable figure in America is in people over 12: 39.8%. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.” [4] Peter Reuter, of the University of Maryland says: “Drug decriminalization did reach its primary goal in Portugal, and it did not lead to Lisbon being a drug tourist destination. [5] The lawyer Glenn Greenwald adds: “Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success. It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does.” [6] Another country that has decriminalized marijuana is the Netherlands. Even though it’s marijuana/drug policy is not as successful as Portugal’s, it is still quite successful, as the Netherlands Ministry of Health Explains: “"It has been demonstrated that the more or less free sale of [marijuana] for personal use in the Netherlands has not given rise to levels of use significantly higher than in countries which pursue a highly repressive policy." [7] A report written by Donnelly et.al also suggests that marijuana liberalization does not increase intake of the drug. They write: “There is no evidence to date that the CEN [decriminalization] system ... Has increased levels of regular cannabis use, or rates of experimentation among young adults. These results are broadly in accord with our earlier analysis of trends in cannabis use in Australia. ...They are also consistent with the results of similar analyses in the United States and the Netherlands." [8] Decriminalizing marijuana would also ensure that money is not wasted on the legal and criminal systems. According to a study by King and Mauer, the United States currently spends a significant amount of money (4 billion dollars) dedicated to minor offenses, such as possession, and $2.1 billion on the police enforcing marijuana laws. [9] Jeffrey Miron, an economist at Harvard, makes a similar point. In his paper “The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Massachusetts” he writes that prohibition of marijuana in Massachusetts results in: “120.6 million per year in government expenditure on criminal justice enforcement.” [10] Furthermore, a study by Scott Bates finds that in Alaska, $25-30 million dollars were used for enforcing marijuana prohibition laws alone! [11] James D. Austin, commenting on the study writes: “a net swing of $35 - $50 million per year would appear in the state’s coffers if marijuana were decriminalized” [12] As we have seen above, decriminalizing marijuana does not increase its usage, so surely, the money used for enforcement of laws, and throughout the criminal justice system is a waste of money; money that can be used for other, more pressing purposes, such as education, health, and social programmes. [1] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... [2] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... [3] http://www.oxforddictionaries.com... [4], [6] http://content.time.com... [5] http://www.scientificamerican.com... [7], [8] http://norml.org... [9] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov... [10] http://ukcia.org... [11] http://www.prohibitioncosts.org... [12] http://norml.org...

leagalize recreational marijuana sweet man good luck to you to! if you look at the facts marijuana is the least harmful of all drugs in comparison tobacco, alcohol, and other illicit drugs cause well into the hundred thousands deaths per year while marijuana deaths are non existent in a recent study the american deaths to drugs were as followed: tabaco.....400,000 acohol.....100,000 all legal drugs......20,000 caffine.......2,000 asprin........500 marijuana.....0 If you look at the facts above you'll see that alone to of the most abused drugs are also two of the most accessible and are the two that cause the most deaths of american per year. secondly the myths that surround marijuana myth one: marijuana leads to other drug use this is simply not true while it is true that marijuana is the most popular drug in america and therefore most likely those who have used other drugs such as LSD, meth, coke, and heroine have most likely used marijuana at some point the vast majority of users have not in other words marijuana is not a gate way drug, rather it is a "Terminus" drug myth two: marijuana causes mental illness it is true that some of the side effects of marijuana use are panic, anxiety, and paranoia. these effects are only temporary and contrary to popular belief will not last for ever, In fact marijuana can help treat mental illnesses such as distress, anorexia and other eating disorders, adhd, distress. A study conducted in Germany showed that marijuana "offset cognitive declines in schizophrenic patients." myth three: marijuana causes cancer this is simply untrue according to several longitudinal studies shown that marijuana use by way of smoking does not lead to to higher risks of cancer in subjects. including tobacco related cancer and cancer of the colorectal lung melanoma prostate breast cervix in a 2009 population-based study doctors found that it moderate smoking over a 20 year period actually reduces the risk for head and neck cancer. in a 5 year population based study it was concluded that heavy smoking doe not lead to or is associated with lung cancer or UAT (upper aerodigesitve tract) cancer. myth four: marijuana causes long term cognitive impairment The short term effects of marijuana do include changes in thought, mood and perception but long term effects show no such changes, these effects will only last for the duration of the "high". there is no evidence that concludes that even long term heavy marijuana use causes impaired memory and cognitive functions. source http://www.drugpolicy.org... take power away from the drug cartels in a recent documentary by vice that highlighted the war on drugs and the Mexican cartels that profited off it concluded that our policies here in America effect Mexico, the main drug used in america is marijuana, a good portion of that comes from Mexican drug cartels and so far The war on drugs is bloody and unnecessary one.In the past year alone the death toll of persons killed at the hands of the cartels was 34,612 innocent men, women and children. The efforts by law enforcement while noble are also futile. The only way to stop these cartel "killing machines" is to beat them at their own game. This would mean the legalization and regulation of marijuana. Cutting the Cartels main export is the only way to beat them, its time we look at legalization as a weapon to finally end the violence and save thousands of lives. p.s sorry i didn't have time to put more i will further defend my arguments in the next round

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...

Legalization of recreational marijuana in the U.S. would benefit the economy Contention 1: Employment When looking at the debate at face value, we obvious harms in employment when legalizing marijuana. We are considering the effect of drugs on one’s ability to succeed in school, as well as prospects in the job market diminishing. The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank states in 2011, we can see clear signs of drugs being highly correlated with unemployment. The article utilizes a graph showing that the most popular drug of choice for those unemployed is marijuana. The article goes on to explain that the unemployed are more likely to report having consumed some form of illegal substance within the previous month. My opponent may ask, what if the user is a casual one who does not abuse the drug and simply consumes it recreationally for the desired effect without an addiction. This idea is optimistic and deeply flawed. If we were to observe Al Jazeera in 2013, we would see that 1/6 unemployed Americans are abusers of drugs and alcohol. Given the popularity of marijuana, as shown from my last statistic, among the unemployed we can assume that is the main issue. What needs to be realized is that the working class is the backbone of our economy which creates products and services for consumers to buy. This is the basis of the economy, and with higher rates of marijuana use, we can see less productivity in the workplace, which will inevitably affect the GDP and the amount of revenue that is generated from income tax. Not only this, but there would also be another detrimental economic factor in today’s debate. The factor would be the dependence on welfare. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there has been a recent study conducted in the Netherlands that shows that drugs in that region actually led to less scholastic achievement for those with the addiction to marijuana. Less scholastic achievement means fewer people entering the workforce and more people dependent on welfare to live. Welfare is costly, considering the fact that the government is basically paying for someone to live off of. According to the Cato Institute, the amount of money spent on welfare is over 600 billion dollars. With people becoming more dependent on the drug, this number could easily rise to a huge figure. However, I do understand that my argument at this point depends on whether marijuana rates will increase by affirming the resolution, which it clearly will. Let us look at CNBC in 2010 where we see an article that describes the legalization of marijuana in a specific state, which was Alaska. What occurred next was that marijuana use jumped to twice the national average. This is a problem because if we were to see a jump like this in use nationwide, we would see mass unemployment and less productivity nationwide, which produces a sour effect on the economy. Because of the many problems associated with the employment rate, vote con. https://www.stlouisfed.org... https://www.stlouisfed.org... https://www.stlouisfed.org... http://america.aljazeera.com... https://www.drugabuse.gov... http://www.cato.org... http://www.cnbc.com... Contention 2: Health Care Health care today is a heavy price. However, if we were to legalize marijuana, we would be seeing heavier prices on the system as well. Remember, marijuana is illegal for a reason. That reason specifically being that the danger of marijuana is high. In fact, if we were to look at a USA Today article published in 2014, we would see some disturbing results. The statistics show marijuana to have nearly three times the THC in the status quo than in the 70s. This leads to complications within the body. In fact, if we look at the other graph in the article we would clearly see that the number of emergency visits has increased till today, where there have been nearly half of a million marijuana-related emergency visits to the hospital. Not only this but according to the same article cited, there are also increased chances of heart disease when one ingests marijuana. Why does this matter? Well, I will get to that quite soon. But first, I am going to guess my opponent has a clear counter-plan already. You want to regulate drugs, don’t you? If not, then pretend you do. This is because it is easier to see the cost to society estimated if we were to tax marijuana. I will directly quote it as well. “Increased consumption leads to higher public health and financial costs for society. Addictive substances like alcohol and tobacco, which are legal and taxed, already result in much higher social costs than the revenue they generate. The cost to society of alcohol alone is estimated to be more than 15 times the revenue gained by their taxation.” This quote is directly from the White House and shows exactly the amount of public costs that go into the health care system that targets drugs. If we are going to look at the debate with understanding, then we have to know exactly the costs to our government, and how harmful they will be to the everyday American. When the amount of health care needed goes up, so does the price of health care, leading to an already large price for health care to grow even bigger for the consumer. If my opponent would recall, we nationalized the health insurance industry partly with Obamacare. The reason for this was to give people health care who were unable to afford it. However, the program is paid through taxes which cover all of the costs for people who do not have health insurance, as according to CNS News in 2015. What we see by this is that increasing the amount of people who need health care for actions such as using marijuana would mean that everyday Americans are paying more for the medicine and care of others through taxes and premiums. To prevent this, we have to incentivize the private health sector, yet leave enough of a social safety net for those who cannot make it on their own. After all, according to the Keynesian system of economics, more taxes mean less money in our consumers pocket to buy things with, decreasing the purchasing power of the American citizen with unneeded taxes. Negate. http://www.usatoday.com... https://www.whitehouse.gov... http://cnsnews.com... Rebuttal 1: Taxes I have already used a statistic directly refuting that notion in my second contention where I sight the White House stating the following: “Increased consumption leads to higher public health and financial costs for society. Addictive substances like alcohol and tobacco, which are legal and taxed, already result in much higher social costs than the revenue they generate. The cost to society of alcohol alone is estimated to be more than 15 times the revenue gained by their taxation.” Even if we were to accept my opponent’s plan for taxing and regulating marijuana, there would be harms. Rebuttal 2: Incarceration This is where my counter plan comes into play. Why don’t we decriminalize the use of marijuana instead and try to prevent use through education and therapy for those who need it? We would decrease incarceration this way while still not having the poor effects on other things I have mentioned. Rebuttal 3: Crime/ Corp. My opponent is under the assumption that there are no other ways to decrease drug crime. We could end it with my counter plan by making drugs seem less attractive to people. Post your sources.

Resolved: The possession, use, and sale of recreational marijuana should be legalized in the U.S. I accept.

Legalization of Marijuana for Recreational Use in the United States First off I would like to say that even though I support Marijuana's legalization, I discourage its use. The purpose of the ban on Marijuana was to limit its consumption and sale in the United States. If you fail to see the logic behind my argument maybe I can elaborate now. Clearly this ban is not working the way it was originally intended to work. If the ban was working, I would have a hard time purchasing marijuana and we wouldn't even be discussing this issue today. I can go to my local high school, find a dealer, and purchase marijuana very easily. That alone means that the ban has failed and the government is creating a new problem because of the ban. However, I am going to agree with you that our society should not be trusted in having an unlimited supply of marijuana. There are many alternatives to an all out ban that the government can implement. For example, alongside the legalization of marijuana, the government would have the ability to restrict its use to persons over the age of twenty one. The government could also fund programs that could alleviate stress in the areas where marijuana is used. Support groups could be created to support individuals who use marijuana and these groups would help the individual "quit". If all of these steps were implemented, the demand for marijuana in the United States would be much smaller than what it is now. Speaking of supply and demand, that is how the Mexican drug cartels operate. The bosses of the cartels recognize that there is a high demand for marijuana in the United States and because they are career criminals, they want to capitalize on that to make more money for themselves. If marijuana was legalized, yes there would be "new interested users" however we are debating the fugitive effect of marijuana of these users. If there was a legal option to buy marijuana in their city or town, I am sure that the new users would rather go through the legal process of buying marijuana rather than buying illicit marijuana for which, they or the dealers could be jailed. One more thing, if Mexico and the United States decided to legalize Marijuana, legitimate marijuana companies in Mexico would sell to marijuana companies in the United States. Such trade could boost the economy in Mexico as well as the United States and the U.S would not have to spend as much money as they are on searching for illicit marijuana coming across the border although, harder drugs such as cocaine would still come in. If you haven't looked up the statistics on marijuana use yet then why are you debating this? Studies have shown that marijuana is less addictive and harmful than two other drugs legalized by the United States Government, alcohol and tobacco. Everyday you find people smoking and drinking if you go to bars and street corners in a busy city. This is very dangerous for their own health. Of course, nobody wants to see them doing that but replacing the tobacco with marijuana would be a little bit safer for the individual. Now alleviating the individuals stress would lead to him not harming himself at all, but such a drastic change would take to much time, debate and effort than the reward. According to UCB current marijuana users are more likely to avoid picking up heavier drugs than their peers in other countries, including the United States. This hints at a culture where cannabis is used only for recreation, with people fully aware of the effects stronger drugs have. The study also confirmed that Dutch citizens consume considerably less cannabis now that they have unlimited access to it. I think that speaks for itself.

Marijuana Legalization Pro I think marijuana should be legalized. For the purposes of the debate, let's assume laws under legalization would make pot similar to alcohol (21 age limit, no driving under the influence, etc.) 1. Other substances Alcohol impairs you more, yet is legal. Cigarettes offer all of the same health concerns, but offer no significant benefit (high) and most cigarette smokers smoke more than marijuana users on a daily basis. Also, marijuana has been medically proven to be non-habit-forming, unlike cigarettes and alcohol. 2. Tax revenue The government could tax and regulate the marijuana industry, generating state revenue at a time when it is needed. Also, the birth of a high demand industry would foster jobs and economic growth. 3. Criminals With the ever growing popularity of marijuana, middle-class people who are not drug or street savvy are having to deal with dangerous people and frequent the more suspect areas of town to procure their product. Legalization would stop this. Also, legalization takes away a large portion of criminal funds, without the cost of policing. By offering the legal sale of marijuana, the criminal organizations who deal it now are out that revenue. 4. Quality The medical purposes of marijuana (while they may be suspect) would be improved with improved quality. If people are able to grow it freely, it can be privatized professionally and developed at lower cost and higher quality yield. 5. Civil Liberties The political history of marijuana is suspect. Many believe it was outlawed under false pretenses (i'll go into detail if so requested). Also, in a free country, a citizen should be able to indulge/harm themselves in any way they see fit as long as they do not infringe upon or danger the rights of others. While other harder substances may offer this risk, the private consumption of marijuana doesn't. I'm looking forward to hearing from someone on this topic. Thanks in advance.

Recreational Marijuana should be Legalized in all 50 States. There was pretty much no argument there... I think it was supposed to be about medicinal purposes, but Cannabis has over 80 cannabinoids that help people. That's all besides the fact though because this debate is specifically about recreational marijuana (it's in the issue statement). Can I just point out the fact that prohibition *never* works. The United States prohibited alcohol for 13 years (1920-1933), and people drank through the entire thing. This is something I hold near and dear to my heart, being a Wisconsinite where they teach us specifically how stupid it was during social studies classes. So now, we've been in the War on Drugs for almost 40 years. Seems a little silly, doesn't it?

Resolved: The possession, use, and sale of recreational marijuana should be legalized in the U.S. I will spend this time refuting them and then highlighting the impacts of the arguments I provided. My opponent starts out by claiming that cannabis is dangerous. Just because a chemical is dangerous does NOT mean that it should be illegal. Legality and morality do not inform one another. One could argue that prostitution, excessive alcohol, and fatty food are all "dangerous" in some sense, but no American citizen has ever argued to make all of these activities illegal. Being an American means having the discretion and liberty to take risks and to choose activities that the moral actor is comfortable with and agreeable to. This is going to be an issue with my opponent's case for the rest of this debate. Then, even if the voter still believes that morality (whether it's dangerous/harmful) should dictate legality (whether it becomes legalized), my opponent does not successfully show the dangers of cannabis. There are none. He/she states that cannabis can make you panic or give you anxiety. This is a negative side effect called paranoia, but not all strains (varieties) of marijuana result in this effect. Furthermore, the smoker has to use a large amount of marijuana in order to experience these effects. Much more frequently, people claim using marijuana because it REDUCES their anxiety and provides medical BENEFITS. My opponent says that cannabis can kill you. However, to the contrary, there have been no deaths due to marijuana use. His/her argument is not only speculative but also a slippery-slope, as he/she first needs to prove that marijuana substantially increases the rate of heartbeat and THEN that an increase in the rate of heartbeat leads to death. Neither of these have been proven. Please do not believe this ridiculous statement. My opponent brings up some more speculative arguments about what cannabis COULD do to a moral actor (i. e. someone who chooses to use it), but the problem is again that just because something is harmful does not mean that it should be illegal. He/she keeps using words like "can" and "could" and then "can" again. These arguments are speculative and are not substantiated with the evidence that my opponent tried to provide. Marijuana does not create these harmful consequences, and even if it did, these effects would not develop until decades of heavy marijuana use had occurred. My opponent also attempts to compare marijuana to tobacco and says that marijuana is five times as unhealthy, however this is nonsense. Marijuana does not have the carcinogens and nasty chemicals that comprise a regular cigarette, and while 400,000 people die from tobacco each year, zero die from marijuana use. My opponent continues with speculative arguments that might have been proposed by some biased, anti-drug group, but they are not rooted in true empirical statistics. The only other argument that my opponent tries to form is that marijuana increases crime rates. Evidence to the contrary shows the opposite. In fact, when Washington D. C. legalized cannabis in 2015, the crime rate decreased by 99% (so was just about eliminated). Why? First of all, when marijuana is legalized, police officers spend their time fighting serious crimes like murder and rape, rather than nonviolent crimes like marijuana use. This allows more violent crimes to be deterred, and therefore their rates are reduced. Perhaps a more convincing refutation is that, under my opponent's world, marijuana is ITSELF a crime. So, if marijuana were legalized, then no one who smoked pot ever again wouold be committing a crime. Quite obviously, this would reduce the crime rate, since the action in question is no longer a crime. So, in summary, here is what is wrong with my opponent's contentions:1. Just because something is harmful does not mean that it should be illegal.2. Marijuana is not harmful, and consumers use it for medicinal or at least stress-relieving reasons. My opponent's speculative claims should not be considered substantial evidence.3. Legalizing marijuana reduces or eliminates the crmie rate rather than increases it. The evidence can be substantial but is also simply intuitive: if marijuana is no longer a crime, then the "crime" goes down. I will now highlight my arguments and explain how they tie back to the framework of this debate, which is net benefits to society. Recall that the side that better demonstrates whether legalizing/criminalizing marijuana is better to society should win this debate. Contention 1: Economic benefits. Legalizing pot would create money and jobs, because we would be able to collect valuable tax revenue on something that people will use regardless of whether or not the laws allow for it. This revenue is used for health care and education. Furthermore, legalizing pot saves money, because there will be fewer prisoners that drain tax dollars due to long years of imprisonment. Contention 2: Social benefits. Legalizing pot means that police officers channel their time and attention on violent crimes, such as rape and murder, rather than silly nonviolent crimes like smoking weed. This clearly reduces the crime rate and allows for a safer society in which citizens can enjoy freedoms rather than be locked up in jail for much of their lives. Contention 3: Racial benefits. The enforcement of marijuana laws has been extremely racist and discriminatory. Author Michelle Alexander calls it "a new Jim Crow", meaning that blacks continue to have it much harder than whites when it comes to the criminal justice system, even though they are no more likely to use pot than their white counterparts. Legalizing pot prevents police officers from being able to continue with and conduct these racist enforcement procedures. Contention 4: Safer marijuana. Kepeing cannabis illegal DOES NOT DETER citizens from using it. This will be the most challenging argument for my opponent to respond to. He/she says that cannabis is harmful; even if it were, keeping it illegal does not stop people from its use. At least, with legalizing pot, we can verify that the cannabis is as safe as possible and that no sketchy drug dealers or cartels are entering the country with weed that could be laced with PCP or some truly dangerous chemical. Contention 5: Freedom of choice. Americans should be able to do whatever they want so long as their actions do not infringe upon the rights of others. This is the nation that the Founding Fathers intended, and to the most extent we let people make their own decisions. Since we let people smoke cigarettes and eat unhealthy food, they should also be able to smoke cannabis. Nothing about cannabis is harmful to the user, let alone to those who do not use it. My opponent will be expected to refute all five of these contentions with substantial evidence and reasons to believe otherwise. It is hard to argue against a legalization procedure that would create money, save money, reduce violent crimes, incerase health and safety, reduce racism, and promote the freedom of choice that responsible Americans deserve. My opponent also needs to return to his/her contentions and show why my refutations of them do not hold. Finally, he/she must tie his/her arugments back to the framework of net benefits to society. Unless my opponent is successfully able to show that the disadvantages to society of legalization overwhelmingly outweigh the advantages, the voter should vote Pro. My opponent has 48 hours to accomplish these tasks. Evidence:. http://www.drugpolicy.org...http://people.wku.edu... . http://www.drugpolicy.org...http://www.huffingtonpost.com...https://www.mpp.org...;

Marijuana should be legalized for both Medicinal and Recreational use I believe that Marijuana should be legalized for Recreational use. I will let my opponent go first.

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. For my final round I will sum up this debate and explain why the resolution has been negated. Burden of proof and pro’s case:Pro accepted the burden of proof in this debate. First he argued Freedom of autonomy. Mill’s quote explains when a law is just. By applying this quote we find that the status quo regarding marijuana is a just law. I also provided ample evidence referencing the CDC on the inherent and likely harms marijuana presents. Lastly I provided a link to an occurrence in Colorado that shows these harms not hypothetical, but incredibly real. This was a point that pro ultimately conceded as his second contention admits the harm posed by marijuana. Thus Pro’s first contention is soundly refuted. Next my opponent argued that Marijuana poses a Low level of harm to others. This is again shown to be false via the data I have provided. Pro’s chart does indicate that there are more harmful substances than marijuana but solidifies the harm that marijuana poses. Pro attempts to argue that because more dangerous substances are legal marijuana should also be legal. This is refuted easily as we see that those substances (alcohol and tobacco) have become an even greater threat to society legal than illegal. Thus we can conclude that legalizing marijuana will result in an increase in harm. Pro’s argument does show inconstancy in current laws. Though, this is a moot point as consistency could sway in support of legalization of marijuana or outlawing of other substances. Finally Pro claims benefits from regulation. He claimed 3 benefits. He claimed we can increase tax revenue by regulation. This is true, though it monetizes a human life for profit. This is clearly immoral. He claimed legalization would make marijuana safer. This is hard for him to prove, and if we observe tobacco and alcohol we see that these substances are still dangerous perhaps more so as they are accepted in society. He claimed that Job creation would occur is legalized. This is true, though then we allow businesses to make profits off harming society and causing death. Conclusion of debate:Pro’s case has a few points that stand.1: Legalization would result in tax revenue2: Legalization would result in job growthThis is clearly outweighed by the harm demonstrated. My contentions remain intact1: Outlawing marijuana is just2: Marijuana poses harm3: Legalization monetizes a human life. Unless readers feel it benificial to allow corperations to exploit and profit off of human suffering Pro has failed to fill his burden of proof, we see that the status quo in relation to marijuana laws is justified and should remain intact.

Marijuana Legalization I think marijuana should be legalized. For the purposes of the debate, let's assume laws under legalization would make pot similar to alcohol (21 age limit, no driving under the influence, etc.) 1. Other substances Alcohol impairs you more, yet is legal. Cigarettes offer all of the same health concerns, but offer no significant benefit (high) and most cigarette smokers smoke more than marijuana users on a daily basis. Also, marijuana has been medically proven to be non-habit-forming, unlike cigarettes and alcohol. 2. Tax revenue The government could tax and regulate the marijuana industry, generating state revenue at a time when it is needed. Also, the birth of a high demand industry would foster jobs and economic growth. 3. Criminals With the ever growing popularity of marijuana, middle-class people who are not drug or street savvy are having to deal with dangerous people and frequent the more suspect areas of town to procure their product. Legalization would stop this. Also, legalization takes away a large portion of criminal funds, without the cost of policing. By offering the legal sale of marijuana, the criminal organizations who deal it now are out that revenue. 4. Quality The medical purposes of marijuana (while they may be suspect) would be improved with improved quality. If people are able to grow it freely, it can be privatized professionally and developed at lower cost and higher quality yield. 5. Civil Liberties The political history of marijuana is suspect. Many believe it was outlawed under false pretenses (i'll go into detail if so requested). Also, in a free country, a citizen should be able to indulge/harm themselves in any way they see fit as long as they do not infringe upon or danger the rights of others. While other harder substances may offer this risk, the private consumption of marijuana doesn't. I'm looking forward to hearing from someone on this topic. Thanks in advance.

Resolved: The Use of Marijuana for Recreational Purposes Should Be Prohibited I will begin my first argument by discussing the negative effects of cannabis on its users. With this being said, I wish the best of luck to my opponent and am glad to actually be doing this debate. The Dangers of Marijuana on Its Users Marijuana has a variety harmful effects on its users. In this part of my argument, I will discuss the short- and long-term effects of using this drug. Some of the short-term effects of using marijuana include, but are not limited to, the "high" feeling, altered senses (e. g. seeing brighter colors), an altered sense of time, mood-swings, impaired body movement, difficulty with thinking and solving problems, and impaired memory. [1] Also, let it be known that hallucinations and anxiety/panic attacks can occur with short-term usage of marijuana if the dosage is high enough. [2] Some of the long-term effects of using marijuana include, but are not limited to, suppression of the immune system, reduction of male sex hormones, destruction of lung fibers and permanent brain damage, reduced sexual capacity, and severe mood-swings. [3] Clearly marijuana is too dangerous of a drug to be legalized for recreational purposes. Its effects can be long-lasting and severe. The Dangers of Marijuana on Others According to researchers at Columbia University, marijuana has contributed to 12% of traffic deaths in 2010. [4] In addition to this, according to Russia Today, marijuana-related deaths, school suspensions, traffic incidents, and poisonings have spiked in Colorado (a state which legalized the drug back in 2012). [5] Once again, we clearly should not legalized cannabis. It has been shown that legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes causes a spike in crime, traffic incidents, school suspensions, and more. Legalizing Marijuana for Recreational Purposes Has Failed in the Past I believe, the marijuana debate all boils down to one city: Amsterdam, Netherlands. This city is a popular tourist attraction (especially for marijuana-users), but has definitely seen better days before legalizing the drug. According to the Daily Mail, schools have been forced to ban smoking pot because there have been a significant number of students showing up to school high. [6] In addition, Amsterdam has seen higher crime near the coffeehouses which sell pot. [7] Conclusion I conclude in this first argument that marijuana is too dangerous for recreational purposes for three main reasons: it is harmful to its users, it's harmful to others, and legalizing it has not worked in the past. Footnotes 1. "Marijuana. " DrugFacts:. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016. 2. "Short and Long Term Effects. " Of Marijuana. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. 3. "Short- & Long-Term Effects of Marijuana - Negative Side Effects of Weed - Drug-Free World. " Short- & Long-Term Effects of Marijuana - Negative Side Effects of Weed - Drug-Free World. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. 4. Schmitz, Matt, Cars. com Chris Woodyard, and Usa Today. "Marijuana Playing Larger Role in Fatal Crashes. " USA Today. Gannett, 09 June 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. 5. "Marijuana-related Deaths, Suspensions & Problems Spike in Colorado – Report. " RT International. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. 6. . http://www.dailymail.co.uk... 7. . http://rightwingnews.com...

Resolved: Recreational marijuana use should be prohibited I will begin my first argument by discussing the negative effects of cannabis on its users. With this being said, I wish the best of luck to my opponent and am glad to finally be doing this debate. The Dangers of Marijuana on Its Users Marijuana has a variety harmful effects on its users. In this part of my argument, I will discuss the short- and long-term effects of using this drug. Some of the short-term effects of using marijuana include, but are not limited to, the "high" feeling, altered senses (e. g. seeing brighter colors), an altered sense of time, mood-swings, impaired body movement, difficulty with thinking and solving problems, and impaired memory.1 Also, let it be known that hallucinations and anxiety/panic attacks can occur with short-term usage of marijuana if the dosage is high enough.2 Some of the long-term effects of using marijuana include, but are not limited to, suppression of the immune system, reduction of male sex hormones, destruction of lung fibers and permanent brain damage, reduced sexual capacity, and severe mood-swings.3 Clearly marijuana is too dangerous of a drug to be legalized for recreational purposes. Its effects can be long-lasting and severe. The Dangers of Marijuana on Others According to researchers at Columbia University, marijuana has contributed to 12% of traffic deaths in 2010.4 In addition to this, according to Russia Today, marijuana-related deaths, school suspensions, traffic incidents, and poisonings have spiked in Colorado (a state which legalized the drug back in 2012).5 Once again, we clearly should not legalized cannabis. It has been shown that legalizing marijuana for recreational purposes causes a spike in crime, traffic incidents, school suspensions, and more. Conclusion I conclude in this first argument that marijuana is too dangerous for recreational purposes for two main reasons: it is harmful to its users and to others. Sources 1. "Marijuana. " DrugFacts:. N. p. , n. d. Web. 09 Feb. 2016. 2. "Short and Long Term Effects. " Of Marijuana. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Feb. 2016. 3. "Short- & Long-Term Effects of Marijuana - Negative Side Effects of Weed - Drug-Free World. " Short- & Long-Term Effects of Marijuana - Negative Side Effects of Weed - Drug-Free World. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. 4. Schmitz, Matt, Cars. com Chris Woodyard, and Usa Today. "Marijuana Playing Larger Role in Fatal Crashes. " USA Today. Gannett, 09 June 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. 5. "Marijuana-related Deaths, Suspensions & Problems Spike in Colorado – Report. " RT International. N. p. , n. d. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. I accept! GL my friend.

Recreational Marijuana should be Legalized in all 50 States. Rebuttal 1My opponet says that it will lower crime, and boost the economy, that's the biggest load of BS I have ever heard. First regarding crime. Just because you legalize something won't lower crime. All you are doing is not calling it a crime anymore. We might as well legalize breaking and entering and grand theft auto, this way everyone will have a car and we'll have less crime. It's absurd. Second, the economy will not get a boost. Imagine how many lazy people there will be. They won't be able to work, because they're completely stoned. Pot heads barely have the energy to get off the couch to do anything. And third, medicinal purposes, so instead of finding the chemical or whatever it is in marijuana that helps people get better, why not just extract that or synthesize it and give that to people who need it... not smoke pot. What saddens me is how much time is wasted on debating this topic. It's no where near as important and so many other things. You want to lower crime, stop doing drugs. There will be no more drug dealers if you educate people to not use but stay away. You want to help the economy, don't throw your money away on drugs. Buy good things for your body, like healthy foods. Which then leads to medicinal purposes, eat well, live well, stay healthy, use money to make better medicine. This whole argument is to justify the unhealthy, addictive, lazy pot smokers so that they don't get arrested or feel guilty that they are stupid enough to smoke marijuana.

Legal Recreational Marijuana Revisited NOTE: Because it has already been established in many other debates, we know that marijuana is harmful to one's health. Unfortunately, so is alcohol, tobacco and...gasp...even the hamburgers we get from our favorite fast food chains so please don't waste your time proving that aspect. Recreational marijuana use should be legalized. Just like any other legal drug, it comes with it's own set of responsibilities and restrictions. Sure, it is unhealthy, but no worse than many other legal drugs. I feel like every other legal prescription commercial I see, has warnings about possible side effects, even "death." I am not a professional debater, and certainly not an experienced one on any level, so I know this may be unorthodox, but PLEASE list your problems with my statement with your arguments and it'd make me happy to answer/refute each one of them. :)

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use Final rebuttals:(rebuttal for "impacts americans"): If you are so strongly against the use of this drug because it effects other people - please explain how you jumped to that conclusion. If you are trying to say that it impacts innocent bystanders on the road for example if the person is driving stoned, you have a point. HOWEVER, then why is alcohol legal? Alcohol kills more people on the road then marijuana does - so unless you are willing to give up drinks then do not be so willing to ban marijuana when it is actually LESS DANGEROUS then drugs ALREADY LEGAL.(rebuttal for "over the counter"): Techinaclly not, I reffered to over the counter drugs as prescription drugs for people that are ill or have issues. Marijuana does not fall into that category - legal or not. Marijuana does not kill people - it is IMPOSSIBLE to die from taking it yourself because it is IMPOSSIBLE to consume an overdose. So before you jump conclusions - prove to the viewers of this debate that marijuana is "utilized as a prescription drug," because it is not.(rebuttal for "tax"): But how does what you presented have anything to do with this debate? It does not matter than some Americans are not fond of taxes because that is just the way our economy works - we buy something, we are taxed. That is COMPLETELY different subject, you might as well want to debate if we should ban taxes or not if you want to pull that card. There will be drug dealers either way - with marijuana legal or not legal. There will always be some type of drug that is not allowed and people sell illegally. That is just the world we live in - of course drug dealers are continuing to go behind the backs of our government. Becausr that is just what they do - wheither this drug is legal or not, there will always be a black market and illegal sales. The sooner you accept that, the sooner you will not make that argument again in a future debate.(rebuttal for "rehabilitation"): I will not take back what I have stated because it does not contradict any of my arguments. America is suppost to be LAND OF THE FREE, A FREE COUNTRY. One of our freedoms is to CHOOSE what we want to do with OUR OWN BODIES. Why should the government try to stop us from making decisions that could effect us - they should just let us face the consequences. And even though America wants to protect its citizens - there are some things the country can just not protect us from - and drugs are one of them. If someone is addicted to a certain drug, he/she will find a way to get that drug weither it is legal or not legal - that is just the way it is. And currently you are not addressing the people who are already addicted to illegal drugs - making the drug legal or harder to get will NOT STOP THEM. If someone is addicted, they will do ANYTHING to obtain their craving/needs. So why go through all the trouble when the people with just get what they want in the end? It is a waste of time and money to keep funding people to stop others from consuming or selling / having possesion of the drug/s.(rebuttal for "accessibility"): I will like to include a quote from J. Wesley Boyd, Harvard University, he answered the question: If marijuana is legalized, will addiction rates rise. Here was a PROFFESSIONAL'S responce: "I believe the answer is no. Despite these legitimate concerns, thus far there are no compelling data to suggest that drug use has increased in Colorado where recreational cannabis is currently legal. Even though it’s only recently that Colorado legalized marijuana, I don’t expect this to change going forward."(Thank you for your kind words. I appreciate the effort you put into this debate as well).

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use 1. Logic: We already have far more dangerous drugs such as Tobacco and Alcohol legalized. Did you know that it is NOT POSSIBLE to consume a marijuana overdose? It, however, IS POSSIBLE to consume a dangerous alcohol or tobacco overdose. And if those two drugs are legalized and are more dangerous, and marijuana is banned, what kind of logic is that? If marijuana is not legal then neither should be many other drugs that are far more dangerous than marijuana and are legal anyway. 2. Profit: When you buy a product, there will be a tax - we all know that. So if people are allowed to buy this substance, of course there will be a tax on it. The government will gain profit and BENEFIT from this legalization - it is a win-win for everyone!3. Choice: We all have the freedom of choice, weither it is to take a shot, smoke a cigarette, or make a huge decision. We all know that Marijuana is dangerous - we all get it, drugs are bad (and so are tobacco and alcohol); but we should let people have the CHOICE if they want to consume such substances or not. After all, we are in the United States of America; and isint FREEDOM what being an American citizen is all about?4. Prisons: Check out this data table: US Arrests As Reported By FBI UCR Program Year Total Arrests Total Drug Arrests Total Marijuana Arrests Marijuana Trafficking/Sale Arrests Marijuana Possession Arrests Total Violent Crime Arrests Total Property Crime Arrests 2012 12,196,959 1,552,432 749,825 91,593 658,231 521,196 1,646,212 2011 12,408,899 1,531,251 757,969 94,937 663,032 534,704 1,639,883 2010 13,120,947 1,638,846 853,839 103,247 750,591 552,077 1,643,962 2009 13,687,241 1,663,582 858,408 99,815 758,593 581,765 1,728,285 2008 14,005,615 1,702,537 847,863 93,640 754,224 594,911 1,687,345 2007 14,209,365 1,841,182 872,720 97,583 775,137 597,447 1,610,088 2006 14,380,370 1,889,810 829,627 90,711 738,916 611,523 1,540,297 2005 14,094,186 1,846,351 786,545 90,471 696,074 603,503 1,609,327 2004 13,938,071 1,746,570 773,731 87,329 686,402 586,558 1,644,197 2003 13,639,479 1,678,192 755,186 92,300 662,886 597,026 1,605,127 2002 13,741,438 1,538,813 697,082 83,096 613,986 620,510 1,613,954 2001 13,699,254 1,586,902 723,628 82,519 641,109 627,132 1,618,465 2000 13,980,297 1,579,566 734,497 88,455 646,042 625,132 1,620,928 1999 14,355,600 1,557,100 716,266 85,641 630,626 644,770 1,676,100 1998 14,528,300 1,559,100 682,885 84,191 598,694 675,900 1,805,600 1997 15,284,300 1,583,600 695,201 88,682 606,519 717,750 2,015,600 1996 15,168,100 1,506,200 641,642 94,891 546,751 729,900 2,045,600 1995 15,119,800 1,476,100 588,964 85,614 503,350 796,250 2,128,600 1990 14,195,100 1,089,500 326,850 66,460 260,390 705,500 2,217,800 1980 10,441,000 580,900 401,982 63,318 338,664 475,160 1,863,300 Total 1996-2012 236,438,421 28,002,034 12,318,682 1,549,101 11,427,813 10,421,804 28,750,970 - See more at: http://www.drugwarfacts.org......As you can see, many people are being arrested for possesion of marijuana which is a NONVIOLENT crime. Isint prison a place for people who commited violent crimes? Why are we putting people in jail for doing something that is only going to be harmful for themselves in the long run - and not for innocent bystanders?I rest my case for now and I am looking forward to your follow-up arguments ~ Sara :)Evidence citations:http://www.drugwarfacts.org......http://www.antiwar.com......http://whylegalizemarijuana.com......http://theweek.com......https://www.change.org......

Marijuana Should be Legalized for Recreational Use Our younger society has developed a sub-culture of what "cool" is. This involves the use of drugs, sex, and other unhealthy activities that have developed a large niche in school systems, especially those attempting to show a sense of "cool." If marijuana were to be largely legalized, the accessibility of cannabis would hugely increase for these kids.

Marijuana should be fully legalized The government recognizes a woman's right to choose when it comes to her own body, so it should recognize a person's right to smoke pot if they so choose. Smoking pot causes minimal harm and only affect one's self. If one smokes pot from a vaporizer, virtually all physical harm is eliminated. http://www.iflscience.com... Marijuana is safer than alcohol which is legal. Alcohol causes more destruction to the self and has worse repercussions for society. Driving while intoxicated from alcohol is worse than driving under the influence of marijuana. https://www.mpp.org... In fact marijuana is known to have peaceful effects, not harmful or violent effects. http://bigthink.com... If someone does not harm another person, their actions should be legal. Criminalizing pot smokers gives people an arrest record which costs them thousands of dollars in legal fees, and interferes with their ability to find jobs. A lot of people smoke pot and these people do not deserve to be criminals. Police arrest someone for pot once every 51 seconds. These laws do not deter smokers because smokers know it is not harmful. http://www.huffingtonpost.com... Pot has a lot of medicinal and social benefits. It reduces pain and anxiety, and helps people be more creative and social. http://www.businessinsider.com... http://greenflowermedia.com... http://herb.co... The effects of pot don't last long and do not impair people significantly. https://en.wikipedia.org... Legalizing pot would add so much revenue to government funds. Taxing pot and legalizing the sale has generated billions of dollars in states where it has been legalized, without throwing society into chaos or danger. http://norml.org... In fact Colorado raised more tax money from weed than alcohol, which was part toward a lot of helpful government programs like schools. http://time.com...

Recreational Marijuana Legalization OK, so this is our present position: pro concedes that cannabis is dangerous but believes education will solve the problem. Pro also concedes that cannabis legalization hasn't worked so well in the past, but he thinks the law enforcement cost would be reduced. Pro's major two ways in which he believes he has met his burden of proof is in his analysis that the harm does not correspond to the punishment, and in his resolute belief in personal liberty. In this final round, I will answer all of pro's arguments. Because I'm a bit strange, I'll do so in reverse order from that listed above. Personal liberty People's personal liberty is restricted by government all the time. Seat-belts or bicycle helmets also harm nobody but the user, but they are (often) restricted by the government. Why? Because ultimately, it's in the government's interest not to have people die. I gave three good points of analysis in round two as to why personal liberty must often be restricted. The first was that marijuana removes personal liberty because it is addictive. While my opponent may assert that it is only mentally addictive, this doesn't matter. The liberty is still removed. Second, I said that all liberties must be weighed against the price of that liberty. My opponent ignored this analysis. Third, I said that there is no reason why any particular liberty should be a fundamental right. My opponent still has offered no reason. Overall, my opponent ignored two out of three pieces of my counter-analysis, and didn't really engage with the third. Therefore, I think I can safely claim that this point falls to me. Harm vs Punishment My overall argument is that we're not talking about the punishment at all - rather, this is a debate about legalization. Nonetheless, my opponent writes: "Would anyone prescribe the death penalty for shoplifting? This would be outrageously unfair." I agree that it would be. Ultimately I think the punishment should be proportional to how big a problem marijuana is in that particular country. However, I think most countries have the balance right. Most countries currently impose a small fine. This can hardly be called a "severe" punishment. My opponent claims that there is no harm to others. This would only be true if medical care was completely privatized, because the cost of medical care is bourne by all of society. Medical care costs increase when Marijuana smokers increase. Thus there is a harm to others. Thus my opponent has not met this facet of his burden of proof either. Reduced Costs My opponent claims cost of policing would decrease, and taxes would increase. First, taxes would not increase. Many places, like Amsterdam, have been unable to raise any taxes at all. Further, look at cigarette taxes. Do they completely offset the extra medical costs incurred by smokers? Of course not! They never do. The net effect on the governments books would be a clear decrease. The cost of policing is about the same. People under the influence of cannabis are more likely to commit other crimes, such as damage property. Police must therefore transfer to doing other duties instead of cannabis policing. The reduced costs argument therefore doesn't stack up. Education Education can only go so far. We teach kids about safe sex, yet we still have HIV. Most countries already do have education about cannabis, but people use it anyway. Most people are aware of safer alternative methods, but then again, the most frequent form of use is the joint. I think it is a little silly to say that education will really mitigate the danger of cannabis any more than it already does. I predicted, right from the start of this debate, that my opponent could not meet the burden of proof: to show one good reason why cannabis should be legal. My opponent has failed in this respect. Therefore I should win this debate. Vote con for a drug-free society!

Recreational Marijuana should be Legalized in all 50 States. Like i said in my first speech it may bring more money but there are risks that follow i gotta ask the voters Do you wanna get a phone call from the Juvnile detention center saying your child was caught with marijauna? Do you want to gamble children's education? Do you want your child not to beable to support themselves because there high all the time and have minor in possestion on them?

marijuana should be legal for rec use I think marijuana should be legal because it has an effect like alcohol and it better health wise than cigarettes. I will further my argument in the next round

The United States Should Legalize Marijuana for Recreational Use R1: AcceptanceR2: Opening Arguments (no rebuttals)R3: RebuttalsR4: Defense & Conclusion (no new arguments)Definitions:Marijuana: cannabis, especially as smoked in cigarettesLegalize: make (something that was previously illegal) permissible by law.Recreational Use: used without medical justification for its psychoactive effects

Marijuana Legalization I think marijuana should be legalized. 1. Other substances Alcohol impairs you more, yet is legal. Cigarettes offer all of the same health concerns, but offer no significant benefit (high) and most cigarette smokers smoke more than marijuana users on a daily basis. Also, marijuana has been medically proven to be non-habit-forming, unlike cigarettes and alcohol. 2. Tax revenue The government could tax and regulate the marijuana industry, generating state revenue at a time when it is needed. Also, the birth of a high demand industry would foster jobs and economic growth. 3. Criminals With the ever growing popularity of marijuana, middle-class people who are not drug or street savvy are having to deal with dangerous people and frequent the more suspect areas of town to procure their product. Legalization would stop this. Also, legalization takes away a large portion of criminal funds, without the cost of policing. By offering the legal sale of marijuana, the criminal organizations who deal it now are out that revenue. 4. Quality The medical purposes of marijuana (while they may be suspect) would be improved with improved quality. If people are able to grow it freely, it can be privatized professionally and developed at lower cost and higher quality yield. 5. Civil Liberties The political history of marijuana is suspect. Many believe it was outlawed under false pretenses (i'll go into detail if so requested). Also, in a free country, a citizen should be able to indulge/harm themselves in any way they see fit as long as they do not infringe upon or danger the rights of others. While other harder substances may offer this risk, the private consumption of marijuana doesn't. I'm looking forward to hearing from someone on this topic. Thanks in advance.

should marijuana be legalized for recreational use I'm for marijuana to be legalized for recreational use, because marijuana can be as dangerous as "food" that we put into our body's. Most people are scared of marijuana and parents, grandparents and other adults tell us that marijuana can kill us. First if alcohol and cigarettes are legal then why marijuana can't be legal too. Alcohol affects on people are scary and unhealthy. People with alcohol addiction are unstoppable they can't control their actions and because of this many life's were lost even of innocent people. To ppurchase marijuana legally you need to visit places like Washington or Colorado to buy a joint, which is far safer then a bottle of vodka. I have seen the affect on people when they are drunk and when they are high, so I rather see high person walking on the street chasing birds, then shouting young man with a vodka or bear bottle in their hands.Second marijuana can be used in medical world, as it shows good potential. Once I had broken my chest and experience is not the best. Pain killers never helped, but as I know marijuana can be used to stop that pain for good. Marijuana can even help in other situations like: mitigates multiple sclerosis and Tourette Syndrome symptoms, and may reduce dystonia. So if marijuana is so bad and its a devils gift to world why some countries, states allow it, maybe its not that bad after and some people should stop worrying about marijuana and start looking how it could help us.

Legalization of recreational marajuana Con begins by suggesting that pot cannot be legalized, because people might smoke and drive. First, extend my argument that drinking and driving is infinitely more dangerous than smoking and driving [1] yet alcohol remains legal. For Con's argument to have merit, he would have had to argue that we ban alcohol (which has been tried and failed) though he did not. Second, studies show that driving under the influence of marijuana is not that dangerous, and that it could be more dangerous to drive while tired [2]. Nonetheless, smoking and driving should be illegal. Con is arguing that people might break the law to smoke and drive -- yet this defeats his own argument, as people could just as easily break the law and continue to smoke weed (and drive) now. My opponent's second argument is that smoking pot is dangerous because pot smokers inhale more smoke. There are several rebuttals to this (especially in regard to freedom) that I have already addressed and Con has ignored. However pot can be ingested which completely bypasses every single one of the dangers of smoking in terms of tar or other impacts on your lungs [3]. People can also smoke weed through vaporizers, which is another way to virtually eliminate all of the harm from smoking [4]. In conclusion, I would like to repeat my dozen arguments below. The ones in bold are the ones that my opponent has dropped. 1. Smoking pot does not infringe on anybody else's rights.2. Comparatively, smoking weed is minimally harmful.3. Legalization of pot would save a ton of money.4. Legalization would also be great for creating jobs,5. And adding a significant amount of revenue to alleviate tax payers.6. It's not fair to make pot smokers criminals and pay a lot of fines.7. Criminalization leads to arrests and records, making it harder to get jobs.8. Prohibition is ineffective and disproportionately targets minorities.9. Legalizing pot keeps money out of the hands of gangs and drug cartels.10. Pot has a lot of medicinal benefits and social benefits. 11. People become desensitized to pot's mild side effects. 12. People have the right to relax in a way that is not dangerous. These contentions, especially the ones in bold, must be awarded in my favor. I have proven that legalizing drugs is more just, fair and reasonable than criminalization. Thanks! [1] . http://www.techtimes.com...[2] . http://time.com...[3] . https://www.leafly.com...[4] . http://www.leafscience.com...

AAN: Marijuana should be legalized recreationally. For this round, I'll go ahead and rebut each of my opponent's claims.The Commerce Clause:Here my opponent basically explains that marijuana can be illegal, and that states have a right to prohibit the use of cannabis (and other drugs). It is important to remember that just because a state can do something, doesn't mean they should. Throughout my constructive, I have shown that keeping marijuana illegal works against the common good and takes away from freedom of the people. Though my opponent's point may be correct, this is not what we are debating today. I aim to prove that prohibition of cannabis is wrong on both a pragmatic and moral level and whether or not marijuana can be illegal has no effect on that.The FDA:I think what my opponent is trying to say with this point is that marijuana is not going to be legalized under the status quo because marijuana will not ever be found as "safe and effective." The first thing to realize is that this point is clearly talking about medical marijuana. That is not what this debate is over. Never once in my constructive did I list marijuana as a "cure" to some diseases. Rather, I explained that marijuana is less harmful than cigarettes and alcohol, therefore it can be seen as a less harmful alternative to currently legal (and more dangerous) drugs. Now, if the FDA has approved tobacco and alcohol for recreational use, why should they not approve marijuana? Even if the FDA would keep marijuana illegal, within this argument, my opponent assumes that the legitimacy of the status quo to attempt to keep cannabis away from the public. If this indeed is the status quo, it works against the common good (as I have shown in my case).Laetrile:For this point, my opponent talks about a drug known as "Laetrile," explaining that Laetrile was advertised as a potential cure for cancer, but ended up being completely ineffective. My opponent then goes on to explain that the Laetrile situation is similar to Marijuana situation. This simply is not true. NPR notes, "nnobody argues that marijuana is the new laetrile. For one thing, nobody's claiming it cures any fatal diseases. But it is a departure from the usual rules of evidence for drugs (1)." If marijuana indeed is the new Laetrile as my opponent claims, evidence must be provided that shows similar properties between the two drugs. Moreover, this debate is not over medical marijuana, rather it is over recreational marijuana; I'm not trying to argue that marijuana should be legalized for medical use in this given debate so so my opponent's point ultimately proves nothing.Tobacco:My opponent proceeds to explain how the FDA used to exclude tobacco from the law, and later on began to regulate it. This point has absolutely nothing to do with the given debate. One cannot compare two drugs with almost no similar properties. I'll get more into the tobacco point in my next rebuttal.Marijuana and Making it legal:My opponent's last two points are definitely the main argument he is making in this case. He explains that, "Bbefore marijuana can be legal for consumers it must be shown to be a “safe and effective” drug because marijuana use is often confounded by other drugs or studies." Looking at the sources supporting this contention, it is quite obvious that this argument pertains to medical marijuana; obviously recreational drugs are not meant to be "effective" in any way. Even if this argument did pertain to recreational marijuana, I have proven in my constructive that marijuana is not a harmful drug, especially in comparison to alcohol and tobacco. If the FDA approves both alcohol and tobacco, why not marijuana (as I noted above)? Even if my opponent is correct and it is within the status quo to keep marijuana illegal, my opponent has provided no evidence that suggest marijuana should be kept illegal.ConclusionMy opponent's arguments pertaining to the actual negative health impacts of marijuana are very weak. I have shown in my constructive that marijuana does not harm mental health, physical health, or the well being of non smokers, and in some cases actually positively impacts it. Marijuana positively impacts the economy, and the drug will ultimately become less dangerous when bought from a reliable source. The problem with my opponent's case is that he includes no facts that actually prove society would be better of by keeping cannabis illegal.On the other hand I have shown how car accidents go down by nine percent through the legalization of marijuana, how the tax revenue will benifit the people in any area that legalizes marijuana, how cannabis legalization positively impacts the economy, and how in the end over 750,000 unneccessary arrests can be prevented.Therefore, I am pro. On to con...(1) http://www.npr.org...

Marijuana should be legalized for recreational use Thank you as well - I am fully aware that this is a debate about recreational marijuana. You make some very good points as well.Rebuttals:(Rebuttal for your first paragraph): I am fully aware of that. According to this map: https://en.wikipedia.org...Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Hawaii are the only four states so far to legalize recreational marijuana. Pennyslvania, which is the state currently pending for legalization - used to not have it allowed at all. States such as: New York, Nevada, California, Minnesota, Mississippi, Maine, Vermont, Maryland, Deleware, Conneticut, Rhode Island, and Massachussetts; all have marijuana decriminalized. Most other states have marijuana legal in some form or for a certain purpose. The only states who outright ban marijuana completely are: Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming, Kansas, Indiana, West Virginia, and Pennyslvania. That means that only 11/50 states are in SUPPORT of marijuana in some way, shape, or form. And many more states in 2015 are pending for legalization such as California and Pennsylvania (as mentioned). The point I am trying to make is that most states are in suppport of marijuana, and it is not just a random group of people who support it somewhere in the united states. "As Gallup shows, support for legalization is at 62 percent among adults under 30, 56 percent among those aged 30 to 49." This piece of evidence means that a majority of adults beliebe marijuana should be legalized.(Rebuttal for second paragraph): While that may be true - over the counter drugs actually cause more fatalities then (more dangerous) drugs you have mentioned. I understand that this debate souly focuses on marijuana but take a look at this statistic: CAUSE OF DEATHS FROM DRUGS PrescriptionDrugs Street DrugsCombined: 39% 45% (Amphetamine + Heroin + Methamphetamine + Cocaine) ~http://www.drugfreeworld.org...This statistic shows how perscription drugs kill more people then a drug like marijuana would (you cannot overdose on marijuana, but it does kill like any other drug, when hollucinating and driving especially). Making marijuana legal would give people an OPTION to use it very often or not so, THE SAME CHOICE people make with prescription drugs. So what are we going to do? Ban over the counter drugs now? No, we cannot do that, and neither can we keep this from people as a choice (you stated how this argument was not for medical purposes, but this paragraph you mentioned was on that topic - I am becoming confused).(Rebuttal for "responce to second rebuttal"): "In 2014, Colorado retailers sold $386 million of medical marijuana and $313 million for purely recreational purposes. The two segments of the market generated $63 million in tax revenue, with an additional $13 million collected in licenses and fees." ` so far from Colorado's legalization of the drug, they already made MILLIONS of dollars in sales of the drug - a tax profit of $76 million total. THAT IS ONE STATE ALONE. For theoretical purposes, lets pretend that all 50 states had it legalized and all made a $76 million dollar profit. That would generate a three billion eight hundred million dollar tax revenue to go towards drug rebab etc. This would COMPLETELY outweigh the cost needed for drug rehab - and the government will still make a profit in the end. While that may be true, as you have mention, nuclear weapons are illegal because they can KILL soo many people if given to the wrong hands. They can affect INNOCENT BYSTANDERS. But marijuana cannot do that, it only effects the person consuming the drug and IN RARE CASES some of their peers - not killing hundreds of people at once for someone else's mistake. That is why the government has banned those kinds of weapons. As you have mentioned, the USA IS A FREE COUNTRY; and with freedom, comes freedom of choice. Think of ammendments such as 1, 11, etc. with freedom laws;(http://constitution.findlaw.com...).(Rebuttal for final paragraph): Only 9% of people who try marijuana become addicted - that is a SMALL percentage compared to the 91% who do not get hooked. Making marijuana legal for recreational use will NOT INFLUENCE the statistics of the drug as they are right now. That is because the goverment is not going around making commertials saying; "Marijuana is soo cool, you should try it!" etc. The government would simply be dicriminalizing the drug and making it legal and NOT PROMOTING it in ANY WAY. Even though the government wants to protect us the best they can, we all know they cannot protect us from EVERYTHING, that is just common sense and logic. But giving people freedom of choice in another form (because there are so many in this country already), in my opinon, would be something to be thankful, happy, grateful, and supportive of (as you have mentioned yourself).Citations:http://prospect.org...;http://www.drugfreeworld.org...;http://www.washingtonpost.com...;http://constitution.findlaw.com...;

Resolved: The possession, use, and sale of recreational marijuana should be legalized in the U.S. My opponent starts off Round 3 by mentioning that the U. S. spends $193 billion on illicit drugs. However, he misses the aboluste crux of his own statistics. This $193 billion is BECAUSE the drugs are ILLICIT in the FIRST place. If we were to legalize pot, a huge percentage of this $193 billion would be taxed and therefore would be fueled back into America's economy. All my opponent says is that the economic costs outweigh the benefits. This is due to a misinterpretation of his own statistic. Furthermore, he fails to refute my own contention about economic benefit. The point is that we can tax marijuana to create bilions of dollars in revenue in every single state of the United States. Furthermore, we will save hundreds of billions of dollars by not locking up nonviolent offenders. This is a costly expense that is not worth it. It is not my fault that my opponent completely misunderstands my second contention. As I stated in the 2nd round and reiterated in the 3rd round, police officers can solve other crimes if they do not make "smoking pot" their first priority. If police officers spent their time solving true crimes, like muder and rape, then there would be less danger and violence in society. My opponent has not refuted this contention, either because he misunderstands it or refuses to address it. He goes on about these speculative arguments about why people might or might not be purchasing cannabis, but there is no evidence and no logic. Please let my 2nd contention hold for the rest of the debate. I already presented a statistic from the Drug Policy Alliance, stating that even though blacks are no more likely to use cannabis than their white counterparts, they are 4 times as likely to be arrested for it. My opponent finally comes back with some statistic saying that blacks commit more crimes per capita, but these crimes are not specific to marijuana infractions. They could come from other crimes, such as murder or rape. This makes my opponent's refutation non-topical. My opponent might show that blacks commit more crimes than whites, but he does not show that this is true for marijuana arrests. Clearly, our system of incarceration and criminal justice is very racially skewed against black people, and the only way to fix this is to legalize cannabis so that police officers no longer have an excuse for "going harder on" African-Americans. My opponent actually supports my 4th contention without even knowing that he is doing so. YES, marijuana from drug cartels is certainly more dangerous than marijuana from a licensed recreational store, and that is PRECISELY the point of my argument. By legalizing marijuana, the government can watch after marijuana and take away the incentive of violent drug cartels to enter the country and sell sketchy weed. Keeping it above the counter, in the eyes of doctors and enforcement officials, leads to safer weed The only question that the opposition could ask now is: why legalize it in the first place? And, as my opponent has failed to respond to for now 2 rounds, keeping marijuana illegal does NOT deter consumers from using it. I'm not sure why my opponent fails to refute this. As will be a challenge for my opponent for the rest of this debate, just because the government says that something is illegal does not mean that people will not use it (examples: illegal production of alcohol in the 1920's, while it was still prohibited). So, none of my opponent's initial contentions about the health risks of marijuana hold: even if marijuana was unhealthy, keeping it illegal does not solve for this. My opponent again tries to bring up this ridiculous idea that marijuana can kill you. I already struck down this contentoin when I mentioned that marijuana has led to zero recorded deaths in all of human history. It is not dangeorus as my opponent wants voters to believe. Quite to the contrary, marijuana has powerful medicinal benefits, such as its ability to cure anxiety, pain, stress, insomnia, and the symptoms of cancer. My opponent's claim that any kind of smoke contanis carcinogens is blatantly untrue. I would ask voters to hold him accountable to irrefutable evidence for the next round, however it is too late in the debate for that. My opponent also has no meaningful response to my last contention. Americans should be able to do whatever they want, provided that what they are doing does not infringe upon the rights of others. All my opponent says is that "it goes against the rights of others". There is not a single reason, let alone any piece of evidence, to believe that this is true. Private marijuana use within one's own home should not be the concern of anyone else, because it does not harm anyone else (and, as I have shown, it doesn't even hurt the person who is using it). My opponent makes some speculative argument that cannabis can lead to other crimes, but he has still not shown any viable evidence for this. I appreciate my opponent's effort, however he has failed to maturely or convincingly refute any of my 5 contentions. Legalizing weed creates money, saves money, solves other crimes, reduces institutional racism, creates a safer society, and promotes basic freedoms to which responsible Americans should be entitled. Even though my opponent tries to say otherwise, marijuana is not harmful, and it does not lead to increased crime.

Legalizing Marijuana for recreational use. Well my reasoning for the use of marijuana as a recreational drug is that weed could most likely fix the economical problems by taxing weed.And also everyone says its a gateway drug but to be honest in my experience most people who smoke weed dont go on to do cocaine and heroin.

Marijuana should be legalized Being that its illegal is appealing to people looking for a rush just from doing this. Also legalizing it will take plenty of drug dealers off of the street. Once these dealers are off the street they can finally be productive citizens. Also less crime would take place from this and there will be less people in jail for petty marijuana possession. Overall legalizing marijuana would benefit our country as a whole. Less money spent by drug task force, more money will be generated through taxation. Also there will be more people off the street selling drugs and they could contribute to society and be productive citizens.

Legalisation of Recreational Marijuana in New Zealand Prisoners 12% Of people in prison in NZ alone are in prison because of drugs. This is costing the government millions of dollars per year. The government could have another 3 million dollars up their sleeve if these people were no longer in prison as their crime would no longer be illegal. Tax If Recreational Marijuana becomes legal then the government could earn a lot of money on tax. If Marijuana is highly taxed then all of the extra money that we earn from these taxes could go to important things such as education. And that would benefit everyone. Health effects Marijuana is not actually as addicting as alcohol and tobacco.and it also promotes brain cell productivity. overall it would make New Zealand a happier and more free country.

Marijuana should be legalized 1. Marijuana is still a schedule 1 drug despite overwhelming evidence that it has no place being listed that way. According to the DEA, the definition of a schedule 1 drug is as follows: Schedule I Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Some examples of Schedule I drugs are: heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana (cannabis), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy), methaqualone, and peyote (1) The DEA has made the claim that marijuana is as dangerous a drug as heroin and LSD without providing any proof whatsoever that it should be listed as a schedule 1 drug. 25 states have legalized medical marijuana which is a direct contradiction to the definition of schedule 1 drugs. These states have recognized that marijuana does indeed have legitimate medical use (2) 4 states have went so far as to legalize it for recreational use. When you look at the drugs in the schedule 1 category it is true that 99% of them have no legitimate medical use as of right now. This is simply not the case for marijuana. According to WEBMD, It is used to treat conditions such as: Muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis Nausea from cancer chemotherapy Poor appetite and weight loss caused by chronic illness, such as HIV, or nerve pain Seizure disorders Crohn's disease (3) Cancer is becoming one of the more common diseases in which patients are being prescribed marijuana. There has been little to no evidence to support the claim that marijuana is anywhere near as dangerous as drugs like heroin or even alcohol which is completely legal. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism nearly 88,000 people die from alcohol-related causes whether it be from drunk drivers, diseases, or from alcohol poisoning. (4) "Alcohol-Related Deaths: Nearly 88,0009 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women9) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the fourth leading preventable cause of death in the United States.10 In 2014, alcohol-impaired driving fatalities accounted for 9,967 deaths (31 percent of overall driving fatalities).11" I challenge Con to provide some reliable evidence that marijuana has claimed anywhere near as many lives. Despite the devastating loss of life directly linked to alcohol consumption it is still legal in every state. Alcohol was once prohibited in the 1920's but it was quickly legalized again due to the devastating failure of the prohibition. In 1920 the 18th amendment was ratified to the US constitution that banned the manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol until Congress adopted the 21st amendment to counter it (5). 2. Prohibition does not work: The prohibition was a complete failure and only managed to push the demand for alcohol underground. Bootleggars became the only suppliers and they made enormous profits from their illegal operations. Today they would be drug dealers, supplying an overwhelming demand for something deemed too dangerous for the public by the government. It is simply impossible to keep marijuana out of the hands of the public when the demand is so high. This is a plant that can be grown very efficiently in nearly any environment and many people now take their nurseries indoors. This makes detecting these people extremely difficult which becomes a burden on the taxpayers. Marijuana is far easier to grow than alcohol was to produce. According to NORML.org: Marijuana remains the third most popular recreational drug of choice in the United States despite 60 years of criminal prohibition. According to government figures, nearly 70 million Americans have smoked marijuana at some time in their lives. Of these, 18 million have smoked marijuana within the last year, and ten million are regular marijuana smokers. The vast majority of these individuals are otherwise law-abiding citizens who work hard, raise families, and contribute to their communities. They are not part of the crime problem and should not be treated as criminals. (6) The fact of the matter is when something is prohibited, those that wish to obtain it will find a way to do so. The prohibition has done far more harm than good. It's created tens of thousands of criminals whom would otherwise be law-abiding citizens. This in turn creates a burden on law enforcement, the legal system, the prison system, and especially the taxpayers. It is becoming more and more common to see members of law enforcement speaking out against the prohibition of marijuana because it simply does not work. Furthermore it only helps to create the dangerous criminal element that aims to make a profit. Many of these dealers will defend their operation violently. Many people that are opposed to legalization state concerns about marijuana being easier for children to obtain were it legal. Lets look at this concern from a logical position. How many dealers sell alcohol? The answer is none but why is that? It's because dealers are not going to sell something that is perfectly legal and sold in every gas station and liquor store in the country. They would not make any profit from selling a legal substance and they would also likely be arrested for selling without a license. So they would not make a profit and they would go to jail. It would make virtually no sense at all to sell alcohol illegally. Any teen can travel within 5 miles of their residence to obtain marijuana, it is the most common illegal drug today. What's more, drug dealers do sell marijuana because it is illegal. There is an underground market for it and I can assure you that drug dealers are not going to card a 16 year old trying to purchase pot.

Should Marijuana Be Legalized Pro"s arguments in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana greatly overstate the case. First, pro claims that marijuana is not addictive. According to Psychology Today* the most that we can say is that marijuana is not as addictive as some other substances. Between 10 to 30% of regular marijuana users develop dependency. 9% develop a serious addiction. Comparatively, only 23% of heroin users develop an addiction. While it is true that marijuana is not as addictive a heroin, that is not the same as saying that it is not addictive. Second, it is true that since marijuana was legalized in Colorado crime in Denver, the state"s largest city, has decreased by roughly 10%**. However, a large part of that drop can be attributed to the fact that an activity which was once illegal has been legalized. If theft were legalized we would also see a decrease in illegal activity because an action which was once a crime would no longer be considered illegal. Beyond this, it is difficult to give the legalization of marijuana full credit for the decrease in crime. For instance, homicide in Denver has decreased by almost 50%. It would be an extremely difficult to make a case that a full 50% of homicides in Denver were marijuana related. Third, anorexia has nothing to do with appetite. It usually centers around body issues in which a person feels hungry but chooses not to eat. Increased appetite through drug use or medication is not considered a valid treatment for anorexia.*** Beyond all this, there are some strong reasons for keep marijuana illegal for the time being. First, legalization is likely to increase overall marijuana use. This is bad for the country. Even if we ignore the negative effects of marijuana, I think that we can all agree that recreational marijuana has little to no positive effects on a person. Increased availability of marijuana would not benefit the country overall. Second, we have yet to have a long-term test of the societal effect of legalizing marijuana. Yes, crime has decreased in Denver. However, the legalization is less than a year old. Before we should even consider the success or failure of this experiment, more time needs to pass. To base any action on the results we have seen thus far would be exceedingly premature. Finally - I grant that I am going out on a limb with this last one but I think that there is some truth here - it is unlikely the marijuana sellers will suddenly become model citizens. Selling marijuana is not a crime of convenience. To sell marijuana regularly requires a consistent choice. However, small time dealers will not be able to compete in the long run with major corporations that see the money making potential of selling marijuana. When these small time dealers find that they cannot compete it is unlikely that they will find honest work. They will more likely move on to a different form of illegal activity. There will always be people out there willing to ignore the law to make a quick buck. I want that person selling marijuana. While they are harming society, if they were not selling marijuana then they will most likely be doing something that is even worse. While recreation marijuana use might not be as destructive as some other kinds of illegal activities, on the whole legalizing recreational marijuana at this point in time would be the wrong choice for our country. *Source: http://www.psychologytoday.com... **Source: http://rt.com... ***Source: https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org...

Should Cannabis/Marijuana be legalized Right lets get this thing going on i will explain my main arguments for legalization and i hope my opponent will do so aswell in his turn . 1. Prohibition failed For over 75 years the government has used criminal penalties to stop people from using cannabis yet cannabis is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and marijuana is grown all over the planet , millions of people smoke it and never have any serious health problems because of it even the thought that cannabis prohibition is a good way to stop people from smoking it is as radicilous as the Flying Spaghetti Monster religion and is un-supported by facts and statistics which have shown that since the war on drugs started more and more people use drugs. My possible explanation is that it gives the people who use it a certain buzz or a thrill because they are doing something that society condems it's like a teenager sneaking out so he can try a cigeratte with his friends. 2. Better Quality and Possibly less use If cannabis was legalized the black cannabis market would mostly collapse because people would start buying from companies that compete against each other , No longer would people have to buy from someone in a dark alley who has no knowledge about business managament and puts stuff into his cannabis to make more profit . Marijuana is illegal therefore this is providing opportunities for teenagers to make easy money selling it to their friends most experts agree if cannabis would be legalized prices would drop down . 3. Hemp We need to change our energy policy we must embrace and promote the development of bio-fuels as an alternative to oil dependency and a way to reduce carbon emissions, it is all the more important to develop industrial hemp as a bio-fuel source . 4. It is not as harmful as legal drugs The propaganda is unbelivable Cannabis no matter what most people say is in fact much less harmful than legal drugs like alcohol and tobbaco the two most popular arguments are that Cannabis causes mental illnesses which is in fact true but quite rare and you would need to use it A LOT to actually get a mental illness from using cannabis oh and of course it is only if you have really bad genes or a family history of mental illneses and Two that Cannabis destroys brain cells which is a total lie, the idea that cannabis can cause brain damage comes from the Heath/Tulane Study of 1974 this study was done on monkies Not only were the monkeys given 63 columbian strength joints in 5 minutes, the smoke was administered through a facial mask with no additional oxygen. As you will find in any CPR or first aid manual 3 to 5 minutes of oxygen depravation will cause brain damage. The monkeys were suffocating. It was not Cannabis but the Lack of oxygen that caused brain damage no recent study shows that Cannabis has any link to brain damage. No-one has ever died out of Cannabis overdose this makes it one of the safest drugs out there . 5. Prison and Tax money In many places around the world prisons are extremely over crowded, Marijuana arrests make justice more expensive and less efficient we are wasting jail space for serious criminals and we are wasting the time of the police force , If Cannabis was legalized the government would make Millions or even possible Millions from taxing cannabis and hemp companies 6. Cannabis can be benefitual Cannabis is known to help people get through depression and anorexia it is also a way for people to socialize and meet people with similar interests , every day people are suffering from a variety of serious ailments. Marijuana provides relief from pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications. What makes it even better is that it has a relatively low dependence liability and easy-to-manage side effects for most people the greatest risk of using marijuana is the relatively low risk of arrest.

Resolved: The possession, use, and sale of recreational marijuana should be legalized in the U.S. Rebuttals: "Contention 1: Economic Benefits. Legalizing pot allows the United States to allow a wealth of economic benefits in the form of tax revenue and also in the form of liberating costly prisoners from incarceration. We have already seen examples of collecting revenue. According to the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), between January 2014 and October 2014, Colorado accrued 40 million dollars of tax revenue by legalizing marijuana and allowing 21+ citizens to purchase it. Suppose that we extrapolated legalization to the whole country. According to the Huffington Post, this would result in $8.7 billion per year in the form of state and federal taxes. Taxing any good or service allows the economy to grow, because it provides money that is uesd for other programs. In the case of marijuana legalization, these programs translate to education, health care, and drug addiction treatment, valuable impacts in our society. Furthermore, legalizing marijuana prevents costs that are associated with incarcerating individuals. According to the DPA, approximately 750 thousand citizens are arrested for an infraction of marijuana law each year. Furthermore, the cost of incarceration is $47,000 per prisoner per year. This translates to 7 to 10 billion dollars per year that are wasted on locking up stoners (rather than rapists or murderers). Clearly, not only does legalizing marijuana create money; keeping it illegal costs money. This 35 billion dollars could be used to reduce the national deficit, solve other crimes, or perhaps reduce taxes on American citizens." This is only the money the US gets from the tax revenue, and this is nothing compared to the amount of money spent on substance abuse. The U.S spends about $193 billion on illicit drugs, so the economic benefits are outshined by the drawbacks. "Contention 2: Legalizing marijuana reduces crime. Legalizing marijuana prevents police officers from wasting their time arresting harmless stoners, when they could be spending these efforts and resources fighting actually dangerous crimes, such as murder, theft, or rape. According to RollingStone Magazine, marijuana arrests are no longer real "police work";" My source says otherwise, but do not forget, Colorado is one out 4 states that have no restrictions on marijuana, so tell me, how is it known that other states won't have people committing crimes too. Lots of these cops said that they arrested the smokerrs due to possession alone, and they most likely haven't smoked enough to become depressed, anxious, or want to commit crimes, like what is happening in Colorado. As Pro, you need to prove that legalizing marijuana would be beneficial in all of those states. "Legalizing marijuana reduces or eliminates racial discrimination in law enforcement. It should be clear to the layperson that most marijuana arrests are against racial minorities, particularly blacks. A black individual is no more likely to use pot than a white person but, in Washington D.C., is over 8 times more likely to be arrested for it." Well I will lay some statistics on you, proportionally, blacks cause more crimes than whites do. Not in actuality, but mainly because there are more whites than blacks in this country. Whites make up 63.7% of the U.S population, while blacks make up 12.2%. However, annually whites have an average of 6,484,507 victimizations, and blacks have 4,091,971. Again, the whites have more people, so of course they will have more victimizations, but they have more than 5 times the population of blacks in the U.S, but don't even have twice as many victimizations, and so with the smaller percentage blacks have, they are actually more likely to commit crimes or be accused of one's than a white. Also while there have been confirmed biases against black people by cops, I don't think that nullifies every single case for it, as I don't see proof of that, and I have demonstrated blacks are more likely to commit a crime. " keeping it illegal does not deter its use. In fact, the criminal nature of cannabis provides a compelling reason for drug cartels to enter the country and sell cannabis, with no regard to whether the weed is tainted with dangerous chemicals like PCP. Since the illegality of marijuana fails to have any deterrent effect, legalizing pot will allow the government to closely control and regulate it." If drug cartels come to America, wouldn't that mean that a) marijuana use will be increased? and b) it's likely that the marijuana will be unhealthy? The Drug cartels are not our government, so I doubt they would regulate it. They just want money. And how will the regulations help? It might decrease a few deaths, however, any kind of smoke contains carcinogens, which can give you cancer and destroy your lungs. Are they going to guarantee that it doesn't release smoke? It is still dangerous and can lead to death if this isn't the case. "Americans have freedom of choice. An American citizen should be able to do whatever she want, so long as her actions do not infringe upon the rights of others." Marijuana can lead to committing a bunch of crimes, which does lead to users infringing the right of others, correct? This tramples the freedom in others, and as I have said, what makes you think it is safe to legalized pot across the U.S? If it goes against the rights of others, and marijuana is the cause, then marijuana shouldn't be legal. It is simple. Sources: https://www.drugabuse.gov... http://www.amren.com... http://www.infoplease.com...

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. Justified LawPro claims that I am taking Mill to the letter of the law. This is not true, the concept he presents is a criteria to determine if a law is just. A ban on marijuana meets this criteria. Pro says “This debate is intended to act as a policy change debate. So an idealist position is not valid…” This is amusing as my opponent opened his arguments with a quote from a philosopher. Clearly this debate is as much idealism as policy. Pro says “The quote I provided from Mill was to demonstrate a basic concept of when autonomy ought to be limited.” This further shows that my opponent started his arguments with an ideal and so arguing ideals is as valid as any other argument here presented. We can conclude that the status quo is just.Pro says “So, as much as Con would like to turn Mill’s quote against me, it simply doesn’t apply to marijuana. It only deals with “direct harms”, not potential harms.” The harms I listed are not potential harms, they are real and documented as shown by my source last round. This aside, lets take a deeper look into the likely harm that will result from the legalization of Marijuana.The harm extended:Last round I demonstrated the harms that exist. Pro said “I accept that marijuana causes harm to a certain degree. However, I don’t believe this potential harm outweighs the benefits of freedom, taxation, safety, and job creation.”"There is the Denver man who, hours after buying a package of marijuana-infused Karma Kandy from one of Colorado’s new recreational marijuana shops, began raving about the end of the world and then pulled a handgun from the family safe and killed his wife, the authorities say."[1]You tell me, Is this man’s dead wife more free? Is this man’s family more safe? Is this harm hypothetical? Pro welcomes this result as a resonable cost outeighted by benifits. In addition to the well documented harm associated with Marijuana use, we can see that legalizing it is likely to increase harm. The result of legal tobacco:The sad truth is having a legalized drug that causes harm, like tobacco, is it leads to a large industry that profits off people addicted and suffering from their product. Where jobs created… yes, what is the cost!?“Cigarette smoking is responsible for more than 480,000 deaths per year in the United States, including an estimated 41,000 deaths resulting from secondhand smoke exposure. This is about one in five deaths annually, or 1,300 deaths every day.” (2)“If smoking continues at the current rate among U.S. youth, 5.6 million of today’s Americans younger than 18 years of age are expected to die prematurely from a smoking-related illness. This represents about one in every 13 Americans aged 17 years or younger who are alive today.” (2)The result of legal alcohol“excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years. The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006 were estimated at $223.5 billion, or $1.90 a drink.” (3) By allowing harmful substances like alcohol and tobacco to be legal, our society has monetized a human life. Profits are made and jobs created but society pays the ultimate price in life’s lost. The same would be true if we legalized Marijuana. This is why the status quo should remain intact. The harms of legalizing a harmful substance far out-weigh the benefits of legalization. Conclusion:Pro accepted the burden of proof in this debate. Thus far we see that a law outlawing marijuana is just. Pro has argued that outlawing marijuana and allowing other substances like cigarettes and alcohol is not reasonable. I agree. We can see that the legal status of these substances has not negated the harm they bring. In many ways it has expanded the harm. Corporations can now profit of the addictions and lives of consumers. While this creates jobs, it costs lives. Marijuana is harmful, both to the consumer and those around them. Because of this harm, and the added harm that would come from large corporate backing Marijuana should remain illegal.(1) http://www.nytimes.com...(2) http://www.cdc.gov...(3) http://www.cdc.gov...

The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. Resolution: The U.S Government should legalize recreational marijuana. The Burden of Proof is on Pro. Con must simply refute my case and show it should *not* be legalized. The debates will be 4 rounds with 5k character limits. Ideally this will be kept under 4k characters though. ==Definitions== Legalize: Make (something that was previously illegal) permissible by law. Recreational: Relating to or denoting activity done for enjoyment when one is not working. Marijuana: Cannabis ==Rules== 1. No forfeits 2. Any citations or foot/endnotes must be provided in the text of the debate 3. No new arguments in the final round 4. Maintain a civil and decorous atmosphere 5. No trolling or semantics 6. My opponent accepts all definitions and waives his/her right to add definitions 7. No Kritiks 8. Violation of any of these rules or of any of the R1 set-up may merit a loss. ==Structure== R1. Acceptance R2. Pro's case, Con rebuttals R3. Rebuttals R4. Rebuttals and conclusion.