Introduction There has been a raging debate for a long time about the legalisation of marijuana. Most countries banned private use of marijuana in the mid 20thcentury and efforts to legalise it since then have not borne fruit. However there are few countries and jurisdictions that allow for the full or controlled use of marijuana (Thibodeaux & Beddow, 2010, p.11). In the US, 16 states notably California have in place mechanisms facilitating controlled use of marijuana especially for medical purposes. Countries including Netherlands, Israel and Canada have lenient laws regarding the use of marijuana, cases in point that proponents of its legalisation have used to highlight the merits of legalising it. Many medical and legal personnel have attested to the fact that limited use of marijuana is no different from the use of alcohol and cigarettes (Atkins, 2011, par. 2). In fact some doctors claim that the latter two do more damage to the human body than the former (Cermak, 2003, p. 78). It is fair to say therefore that objectively, legalisation of marijuana will bring forth both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages The most prominent advantage of legalising marihuana will be the easy access to its medicinal benefits. It is medically proven that marijuana is crucial in the treatment of cancer especially on patients undergoing chemotherapy ()Minanmide, 2006, p. 37). Currently, use of marijuana is generally illegal in most of the countries. Sociologists have cited the illegality as the genesis of related crimes such as theft. The reasoning is that legality will bring down the price of the substance to levels that everyone will afford effectively enabling users and addicts to access it easily without engaging in law breaking to have it. Given that the substance is wildly popular, legalisation will likely be a major source of revenue for authorities. Currently, tonnes of the substance are transacted in the black market every year with dealers pocketing all the proceeds. This can also be a source of ‘sin’ taxes that governments impose on alcohol and cigarettes (Ruschmann, 2003, p. 47). There is an argument that law enforcement agencies spend way too much on fighting marijuana use and have little to show for it. If anything, the losses outstrip the benefits of law enforcement ventures concerning marijuana. Legalisation will therefore free law enforcement personnel and resources to focus on more serious crimes such as money laundering. Besides, legalisation will most likely push out of business some of the most wanted people effectively denying them an important source of revenue (Staley, 2007, p. 239). Disadvantages While there are more advantages of legalisation of marijuana, there are also disadvantages that could result out of such a move. Legalisation will increase access to the drug and it could provide a platform for addition that is likely to lead to more addition to harder drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Most sociologists conceded that more often than not, most marijuana users end up becoming abusers of harder drugs (Gottfried, 2004, p. 7). Use of marijuana is likely to increase stoned driving just like there is drunk driving. Additionally, it will