Should Marijuana Be Legalized Essay

Should Marijuana Be Legalized?
William Moyer
EN1420
ITT Technical Institute
Mr. Horne

Should Marijuana Be Legalized?
Marijuana legalization offers an advantage to the United States. Taxation would create much needed revenue just like alcohol and tobacco does for the United States. This taxation would create a quality control over the product. For the first time 52 percent of Americans support legalization of marijuana. (Majority Now Supports Legalizing Marijuana, 2014)
Since 1996 over 12 million people has been arrested for marijuana. Over 3 billion is spent yearly on the war on pot which has done little or nothing to keep it out of the hands of youth. Surveys conducted on 2010 on Drug Use and Health says that 17.4 million of Americans used marijuana 30 days prior the survey.
Education is the key. Many had been asking questions about marijuana because is currently an illegal drug for casual consumption yet, many Americans are not well informed when it comes to the medicinal use of marijuana. Currently twenty states and the District of Columbia use marijuana for medicinal purposes and two states Washington and Colorado legalized marijuana for occasional use.
Reasons for the United States to Legalize Marijuana
Marijuana use in the United States has been rising in recent years especially among teens. Today, many Americans think it is only a matter of time before marijuana becomes new trend just like tobacco was between the 1930s and 1980s.
What is Marijuana?
Marijuana is an herb that contains chemicals called cannabinoids that affect the central nervous system. The highest concentration of these cannabinoids is found in the leaves and flowers of the marijuana plant. Cannabinoids from the marijuana plant appear to be similar to codeine. When medicinally used, marijuana is smoked for multiple sclerosis, nausea, glaucoma, appetite stimulation, mucous membrane inflammation, leprosy, fever, dandruff, hemorrhoids, obesity, asthma, urinary tract infections, cough, anorexia associated with weight loss in AIDS patients, and pain. It is also inhaled to weaken the immune system after kidney transplant to lessen the chance of transplant rejection (WebMD, 2009). Like everything else there are side effects when using marijuana. Some of these are: heart disease, weakened immune system, lung diseases, and seizure disorders (WebMD, 2009).
Why should the United States take advantage of legalizing marijuana?
After all, twenty states and Washington, D.C. have legalized the use of medicinal marijuana in the United States with Colorado and Washington State voters passing laws legalizing marijuana for recreational use at the state level. Also, the United States legalized and imposes heavy taxes on items that are not necessarily good for planet Earth or for every single being living on this planet. Nonetheless, they are a great source of revenue for the United States.
Alcohol is a source of revenue for the United States that is not good for the human body. According to the Centers for Disease Control, alcohol is an intoxicating ingredient found in beer, wine, and liquor. Alcohol affects every organ in the body. It is a depressant that is rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. Alcohol is then metabolized in the liver by enzymes; however, the liver can only metabolize a small amount of alcohol at a time, leaving the excess alcohol to circulate throughout the body. The intensity of the effect of alcohol on the body is directly related to the amount consumed. Approximately 80,000 deaths due to excessive alcohol use each year in the United States making it the 3rd leading lifestyle related cause of death (Fact Sheets - Alcohol Use and Health, 2012). Prohibition in the United States started as moral issue nonetheless it ended as a business decision due to the United States government having no money to operate (Solomon, 2012).
From 1996 to 2011, over 12 million people were arrested in the United States on account of marijuana. In 2010, the

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