Aalicia Tucker
PHI-105
7/23/2014
Mr. Benjamin Perlin Legalization of Marijuana Since the 1930’s, legalizing marijuana has been an ongoing issue. Marijuana is also known as cannabis, THC, and herbs. According to Tuturo (2013), “The government classified marijuana as a schedule 1 type of drug. This means it has potential to become abused by those who consume cannabis” (pg.1). This made marijuana prohibited throughout the United States. Prohibition created a controversy between whether to permit the use of marijuana for special cases. In some research, “58% of Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana” (Rhodan, 2014, pg.1). Marijuana is already legal in Colorado and Washington, so the other two states have three years to prove to the world that a post prohibition is possible (Bacrott 2014). The United States of America should legalize marijuana for those who are legal adults because it will reduce crime, create profit, and help relieve symptoms for Americans patients suffering from medical problems. Legalizing cannabis will reduce crime involving marijuana related charges. Barcott (2014) states, “Besides the already legal states in many other states around the country marijuana related arrests are record high” (para.1). In recent studies, there were 184,000 arrests made for possession of marijuana Dueholm, (2014 pg 1.). In back fire, marijuana related arrests end up with the United States and tax payers paying billions of dollars, locking up street dealers for unlawful possession of marijuana, or illegal selling of marijuana. There are many different ways the economy could alleviate the burden of wasting the courts time with locking up dealers. Perhaps, the United States can spend time amending this prohibition to legal status. Not only will legalizing marijuana reduce crime rates, but it will also generate billions of dollars in tax revenue for the United States. Legalizing marijuana to profit the sales will help the economy with the budget crises. Khazan (2014) states, “prohibition is the only thing keeping pot expensive” (para 5). Apparently, the United States could save billions of dollars by legalizing cannabis and taxing it. Taxing the controlled substance will bring in money. According to Barcott (2014) the market for “marijuana is estimated to be a $1.43 billion industry. Once other states start to legalize marijuana, it will generate even more money, up to about $2.34 billion dollars” (para 1). So why not legalize cannabis to generate money for the economy? The money collected will go towards nonprofit organizations, education, health programs, and government agencies. This will contribute to the poverty going on in some parts of the United States. This industry is the fastest selling industry among other selling products, such as alcohol and tobacco products. Besides reducing crime and generating profit for the United States patients suffering from medical problems can also benefit from legalizing marijuana. Marijuana has been shown to alleviate many different symptoms. Citizens that have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS may use THC for pain and nausea. In addition, patients that may suffer from eye disease may benefit from legalization of marijuana. According to Ophthalmol (2004), “Cannabinoids effectively lower the intraocular pressure (IOP) and have neuroprotective actions. Thus, they could potentially be useful in the treatment of glaucoma” (para 1.). Citizens that have chronic to severe pain can benefit from THC as well. For example, cancer patients can consume marijuana to relieve the pain and nausea caused by the chemotherapy Khamsi (2013). Another example is that the author of this paper was prescribed
