Legalize Marijuana
Tags: Marijuana, Legalization, Marijuana Legalization

Vincenzo Di Benedetto

Composition 1

Mrs. McBride

04 April 2021

Essay 3

Marijuana should be legal and be allowed in all states for medicinal and recreational use.

Marijuana is not yet legal in all the U.S

Marijuana has been illegal in the U.S ever since the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, and ever since then it has been deemed and represented as this evil gateway drug that is addicting and ruins people’s life. But this could not be further from the truth as not only could marijuana be used medicinally to treat multiple symptoms across various people, but it could also be used recreationally proceeding to help create jobs and a new successful business and market.

The Solution Heading

Marijuana should be legalized and be placed as a legitimate business for both medicinal and recreational purposes. “Legalization would replace illicit market production and distribution with an aboveboard industry. There could still be rules and regulations, just as there are rules and regulations governing production and distribution of alcohol, or for that matter of automobiles and avocados. But the bulk of the trade would be conducted by farmers and merchants and retail clerks, not by criminals.” (Caulkins, Jonathan P, Beau Kilmer, Mark A. R. Kleiman)

Legalizing marijuana would not only make the lives of so many easier and safer, but it would also create a new market and with that jobs for multiple people who would no longer be seen as criminals, but as hard-working farmers. With the legalization, there would then be rules and regulations that would make the production and distribution easier and safer for everybody just like with alcohol and food. This could become such a successful business that even the government itself would start supporting it.

The Justification Heading

Marijuana could not only open a whole new market and industry worth a lot of money, but it would also help a lot of sick patients by treating several sicknesses. “Considerable anecdotal evidence suggests that marijuana may be effective in treating a number of medical conditions. This perspective has been an important force behind efforts to change the legal status of marijuana. Marijuana has been touted as ameliorating chemotherapy induced nausea, wasting and anorexia associated with AIDS, intraocular pressure in glaucoma, and muscle spasticity arising from such conditions as multiple sclerosis. (Joffe, Alain and W. Samuel Yancy) Not only that, but the people supporting the legalization of marijuana have noticed that people who use it have not been harmed in any way shape, or form in contrast to other substances such as alcohol or heroin. “Advocates of legalization observe that the majority of people who have used marijuana have not been harmed by it in any meaningful way, that intoxication does not produce violence, and that (in contrast to heroin, prescription opioids, and even alcohol) lethal overdose is almost unknown.” (Caulkins, Jonathan P.) Marijuana could help solve many medical problems whilst also having virtually zero risks as not only does it not harm you or intoxicate you into violence, but you cannot overdose on it even if you wanted to.

The Objections and Rebuttal Heading

If marijuana were to be made legal medicinally there would be people that would take advantage of it as they could fake being sick or bribe the physicians. This has been observed in the past where medical programs involving marijuana were introduced but people took advantage of them. “Three decades ago, large-scale production for profit was banned essentially everywhere. But that, too, began to change. In the 1990s, several states introduced “medical marijuana” programs. Though marijuana use was made legal only for medical purposes, the regulations were often so loose that essentially anyone could get a physician’s “recommendation,” authorizing that person to purchase marijuana. (Caulkins, Jonathan P) This is where legalization would come into play. By helping marijuana become a legal business, rules and regulations would make it easy and simple for people to medicinally acquire it and discourage those who lie to get it by simply buying it for recreational purposes. I believe people will stop seeing marijuana as an evil thing as not only do people who have and have not tried it stopped seeing it as a gateway drug, but most people now believe that alcohol is more harmful. “One possible explanation for the shift is a sharp decline over the past generation in the proportion of Americans who see marijuana as a “gateway” to harder drugs. That decline has been steepest among those who have never tried marijuana. In addition, some surveys have found that a slim majority now believes that alcohol is more harmful than marijuana to both individuals and society. The implicit syllogism: if we long ago ceased regarding alcohol use as morally wrong, why should we continue to think this way about marijuana use?” (Galston, William A. and E.J Dionne Jr.) Lost are the times when people saw marijuana as a drug that rivaled heroin and meth in terms of danger and addiction, now it is argued that alcohol, a drink regularly used throughout the world in both casual and adult settings, is more dangerous for both the individual and the people around them.

The Advantages Heading

An extra advantage that legalizing marijuana would bring would be multiple ones including jobs, a new industry, and the amount of money saved by stopping the law enforcement on it. “Legalization would replace illicit market production and distribution with an aboveboard industry.” (Caulkins, Jonathan P, Beau Kilmer, Mark A. R. Kleiman) With how many advantages marijuana has if legalized, it is hard to even find or put together a case towards keeping its criminalization. So much so that half the states have already decriminalized small possessions of it. “As I researched the topic, the arguments were overwhelmingly in favor of legalization, and it was difficult to put together a credible case for continued criminalization. Over 45 years have passed and the law has finally begun to change. An increasing number of states now have legalized or decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. As a result of initiatives in the November 2016 election, Colorado, Alaska, Oregon and Washington are now joined by California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada in legalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. Nearly half of the states allow medical use of marijuana.” (Chemerinsky, Erwin)

The Discussion Heading

Ever since 1937 marijuana has been illegal and thousands of dollars have been spent trying to criminalize and jail anyone who dares to use it, even for legitimate medicinal purposes. As time passes though, many people have begun realizing the truth about marijuana: it does better than bad, and by a mile. Not only will legalizing marijuana help treat a great number of sicknesses, but it will also create a new market and jobs for people who have previously been deemed criminals for being farmers. I hope this essay makes you think about the pros and all the good legalized marijuana will bring, and that when the time comes for choosing whether it becomes legal or not, you make the right choice.

Word Count: 1272

Works Cited

Caulkins, Jonathan P. “The Real Dangers of Marijuana.” National Affairs, 2016. http://www.covenantcc.co/sovlib/external_articles/real_dangers_of_marijuana.pdf

Caulkins, Jonathan P, Beau Kilmer, Mark A. R. Kleiman. “Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know.” Oxford University Press, Google Books, 2016. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6dsmDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=marijuana+should+be+legalized&ots=Ed3CUB1U47&sig=KAsIkjI9WGB0yAz-JInv55etAzQ#v=onepage&q&f=false

Chemerinsky, Erwin. “Introduction: Marijuana Laws and Federalism.” HeinOnline, 2017. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/bclr58&div=23&id=&page=

Galston, William A. and E.J Dionne Jr. “The New Politics of Marijuana Legalization:

Why Opinion is Changing.” Governance Studies at Brookings, May 2013. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Dionne-Galston_NewPoliticsofMJLeg_Final.pdf

Joffe, Alain and W. Samuel Yancy. “Legalization of Marijuana: Potential Impact on Youth.” AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS, June 2004. https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/113/6/e632.full.pdf

My Inspiration-https://youtu.be/zNT8Zo_sfwo