College freshman essay on Marijuana Legalization

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Why marijuana should be legalized

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Marijuana should be legalized for many different reasons. One reason is that legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol are far more dangerous in comparison to cannabis. A second reason explains how prohibition is an utter failure and the war on drugs has done more harm to our country than good. A third reason explains how having marijuana illegal in the United States makes billions for Mexico's drug cartels and other underground criminal organizations that grow the marijuana. Marijuana also has hundreds of medical benefits that date back to 2700 BC. Lastly, the United States spends so much of our tax dollars on keeping marijuana illegal when the country could gain trillions if it were legalized, taxed, and regulated.

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Marijuana should be legal because prohibition doesn't help the country in any way, plus, it causes a lot of problems. There is no scientific evidence that suggests prohibition decreases drug use, but there are several theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use. One effect of marijuana prohibition is that it makes the drug available to minors. Marijuana dealers usually don't care how old a buyer is, as long as they have the money. It is actually easier for high school students to obtain marijuana than it is alcohol; this is because alcohol is legal and therefore regulated to keep it away from teenagers. If marijuana were legal to people above the age of twenty-one like alcohol, then it would be harder for teenagers to obtain it. Prohibition is not working and I believe that education and treatment are better ways to address the drug problem.

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The two most deadly drugs in America are legal. Marijuana should be legalized because it is safer than alcohol and tobacco both. Marijuana is not a dangerous drug and has never killed anybody. Alcohol and tobacco accumulate over 675,000 American deaths each year. Over the counter drugs and aspirin kill over 35,000 Americans each year. Alcohol and cigarettes are highly addictive and can cause an endless amount of health problems. Alcohol alone can cause gastritis, pancreatitis, ulcers, liver cancer, cirrhosis, and other liver diseases. Tobacco contains at least nineteen different types of cancer and is the major cause of cardiovascular disease. Despite the known health risks of these drugs they remain legal and available almost anywhere. If the government wants to have drug policies that are logical and effective, then marijuana should be regulated and taxed similar to alcohol and tobacco.

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Marijuana should also be legalized because of its medical benefits. Written references to the use of marijuana as a medicine date back nearly 5,000 years. Well documented studies show that cannabis can relieve minor pain, nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, movement disorders, and can help with insomnia. The active ingredient in marijuana is called THC. Studies at Harvard University show that THC has been found to reduce tumor growth in common lung cancer by fifty percent, it also reduces the spread of cancer in some patients. Cannabis is also a very powerful appetite stimulant, especially for patients suffering from HIV or eating disorders such as anorexia. Studies also show that marijuana helps with multiple sclerosis, depression, headaches, labor pains, and menstrual cramps. Despite all of these documented records of marijuana being a significant medicine the government classifies marijuana as a schedule one drug. Other schedule one drugs include heroine, meth, crack, PCP, and LCD. In order for a drug to be schedule one, the substance has to have no medical uses, and the drug also has to have a high potential for abuse. Marijuana is not physically addictive and when compared to legal drugs, abuse problems with marijuana are far less severe. Marijuana is also legal in fourteen states for medical use, and over 2,500 different physicians have recommended it for use by their patients. I don't get it, marijuana has been proven to have medical uses and doesn't have a high potential for abuse, yet it is still classified in the same category with some of the deadliest drugs on this planet. Prohibition causes massive crime and suffering, causes government/police corruption, causes America to have the highest prison population of any country, causes the waste of trillions in taxpayer dollars, causes wars, and causes violence and death in other countries.

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Drug cartels are the criminal organizations that control drug trafficking operations across the world. The Cartels in Mexico have so much power and wealth that they are usually above the law. Corruption is so prevalent in Mexico that it is not unusual to see Mexican military, or those posing as military, to protect traffickers and drug gangs in fear that they or their family will be killed. According to the United Nations, drug trafficking is almost a half a trillion per year industry. Cartels smuggle illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin across the border into the United States to gain tremendous profits. Mexico is the leading source country for importing marijuana, cocaine, and now meth. But, with all of the drugs and money flowing in and out of Mexico, there is bound to be a lot of violence. Mexico has been wracked by murders connected to the drug trade. Since 2006, it is estimated that over 28,000 people have died directly from drug-related violence. There have been 7,000 victims murdered this year alone.

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Marijuana is the most valuable crop in the United States, at a value of over 35 billion dollars; it creates more revenue than corn, wheat, and soybeans combined. But it's not the states or government that is getting income, its criminal organizations and drug dealers that are profiting. Legalizing marijuana would benefit states by providing them with much needed tax revenue. Not only that but legalized marijuana would also put criminal organizations out of business. Legalized marijuana would give parole officers more serious offenders and prisons would not be as overcrowded. It costs a lot of money to prosecute each marijuana smoker that is arrested every forty-five seconds in America and that adds up fairly quick. The war on drugs has cost taxpayers and civilians hundreds of billions of dollars, and there is nothing to show for it. Drugs are still easy to obtain, still being used, abused, and sold.

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In conclusion, marijuana should be legalized because it is very useful in the medical profession. It will also allow for money spent on enforcement to be spent more wisely thus increasing revenue. Marijuana could generate billions annually if it were taxed and sold in regulated shops. Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States, the demand for it is so high that there will always be a supply for it because of the profits that can be made. But why should the supply be an underground black market led by criminals? If America were to have a legitimate supply that would meet the demand of use; then Mexico's marijuana importers would have competition that they couldn't compete with. It is the demand of the drug that allows criminals to keep selling it. As long as there is a demand for marijuana there will be someone supplying it, but ask yourself who is more responsible.

Positive feedback is appreciated, let me know what I can improve on or remove from the essay, thank you so much for reading, I hope you learned a thing or two. Educate our youth, give awareness to the people you love and care about!ONE LOVE