FREE ESSAY ON MARIJUANA

MARIJUANA

William Holmes
Miss Pettinato
Eng 015- 099
Legalize
Pot, marijuana, hash, joints, blunts, green trees, etc., the list goes on and on.
Whatever you want to call it, marijuana is currently illegal in the United States.
Whenever marijuana is brought up, it becomes the cause of much commotion and debating.
Many people feel it is the gateway drug, and have heard of the negative side effects that
are greatly overblown. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase
the amount of drug use, I feel that it should be legalized. It will greatly reduce the
amount of money spend on enforcement, and will increase our options for spending our tax
dollars and lessen crime, and it will also be useful in treating certain medical
conditions. 
Many people feel that legalization is unnecessary, and they fail to see the possible
benefits of legalization. However, one possible benefit of legalization is that it will
be profitable to the global economy. It will allow money that is spent on drug law
enforcement to be spent on other programs. There have been escalating costs spent on the
war against drugs and countless dollars spent on rehabilitation. Every year in the United
States, ten billion dollars are spent on enforcing drugs alone. Drug violators accounted
for forty percent of all criminals in federal prisons (Schwenk 73). In 1989, a Republican
county executive of Mercer County, NJ estimated that it would cost approximately one
billion dollars to build the jail space required to house all the drug users in Trenton
alone (Schwenk 98). All of this money could be spent on things of greater importance. 
Drug violators are a major cause of extreme overcrowding in US prisons. We currently have
close to one million inmates nationwide, and a high percentage of these prisoners are in
because of drug related incidents. Since 1982, there has been about a 160% increase in
inmate population. Most of this increase is attributed to drug violators, and sadly this
number will only continue to rise. Police have also estimated that about 40% of all
homicides are drug related (Ford 45). Legalizing hemp and other drugs would deter future
criminal effects and therefore effectively and perhaps slowly lessening crime. By making
marijuana legal, you will be taking it out of the hands of criminals and into the hands
of businesses. The government will also then be able to regulate marijuana much better
than they do now. Also, the legalization of marijuana will free up more prison space for
the real criminals, such as rapists, murderers, and burglars.
In addition, legalizing drugs would also increase countries revenue. During prohibition,
alcohol use was still rampant. People were still drinking only it was illegal. The 21st
amendment annulled prohibition and alcohol taxes were increased. The same thing could be
done with marijuana today. Marijuana could be heavily taxed to help increase revenue like
with what our government does with cigarettes today. Additionally, marijuana could be
produced by big companies that are currently regulated by the government, that way the
quality will be assured and will not contain any unnecessary poisons. Legalizing alcohol
never increased alcoholism, so why would legalizing marijuana increase drug abuse. The
fact is if you really want to do drugs, you will find a way to do it, whether it is legal
or illegal. 
Another argument as to why marijuana should be legalizes is because medical professionals
have found several applications for the hemp plant. Until 1937, marijuana was legal in
the United States for all purposes. But, as of the fall of 1995, only eight Americans
were legally allowed to use marijuana as a medicine (Rosenthal 134). Hemp is considered a
controlled substance, and therefore if you posses it you can be fined or jailed,
depending on the amount that you posses. This is true even if you are smoking marijuana
to help cure an illness. It has been proving that marijuana can help ease glaucoma and
multiple sclerosis. For example, a woman in New York was busted for growing a ten-foot
tall weed plant in her front yard. She was growing it for her son, who suffers from
multiple sclerosis, but police arrived at her home, ripped the plant from the ground, and
she wound up serving six months probation (Ford 137). A recent Harvard survey of
oncologists showed that almost half would prescribe marijuana if it were legal. Marijuana
is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known (Joy 45). 
Nobody has ever died from an overdose of marijuana. Yet there have been many instances of
death concerning other legal substances. For example, tobacco is responsible for
340,000-395,000 deaths a year. Alcohol is responsible for about 125,000+ deaths a year
(excluding accident or crime). Also, prescription drugs are responsible for about
24,000-27,000 deaths a year. However there have never been any instances of someone
overdosing from pot (Ford 3). In fact, the only way to overdose on pot would be to smoke
three quarters of a ton of it in fifteen minutes. Now that is humanly impossible. Why is
marijuana illegal when it is much more safer than many of the substances that are out
there legally?
Marijuana also has many medical benefits. It is considered one of the safest
therapeutically active substances known. In AIDS patients, marijuana can reduce the
nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by the ailment itself and by treatment with
AZT and other drugs. When pot is used with someone with glaucoma, it can help alleviate
pressure within the eye, and help reduce the pain and the progress of the condition. It
is also useful for cancer patients. It stimulates the appetite and relieves nausea and
vomiting, which is a common side effect of chemotherapy (Bello 98). Marijuana is also
reportedly helpful for treating arthritis, migraines, menstrual cramps, itching,
depression, and other mood disorders. Even though it could be helpful for millions of
people suffering from these conditions, it remains illegal. Therefore the patients have
two choices, both continue to suffer, or obtain it illegally and risk the consequences. 
Our world is plauged by many pollutants. Alcohol, Nicotene, and a variety of other
substances continue to supress the survival and well being of mankind. Our laws are here
to protect that very fact, and I belive and have complete faith in our laws. Our laws
provide freedom. Marijuana has been proven time and time again to be harmful to our
health. Memory losses, lack of motivation, addiction are undeniable results of marijuana
use. However, Consequences occur with every bad habit, (Cigarettes, Alcohol, Cholesterol
from Red Meat). Our laws protect freedom. What is freedom without choice? While the
repercussions of choice are sometimes costly, it is still choice and freedom. I cannot
and will not advocate the use of illegal narcotics. That is not purpose. However I feel
it would be wise to make it legal. It would help solve a lot of problems that keeping
marijuana illegal can cause. 
The debate to legalize marijuana is one that has been going on for many years.
Personally, I feel that it should be legalized and it will help solve a lot of problems
if we do legalize it. It should be legalized because it is very useful in the medical
profession, will allow for money spent on enforcement to be spent more wisely and help
increase revenue, and it will take marijuana out of the hands of the criminals and into
the hands of businesses. Legalizing marijuana will also help reduce overcrowded prisons,
and will be another source of revenue for the government. It seems illogical to me to
have tobacco and alcohol legal, yet have marijuana illegal. Legalizing marijuana would be
a wise move for our country.