LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

Legalization Of Marijuana
Tien T. Tran
American Academic Culture
Keuka College

LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

Marijuana is a common name for a drug made from a type of plant called
Cannabis Sativa. Marijuana is usually smoked as a cigarette and sometimes it is mixed in
food or used to brew tea. The legalization of marijuana has been a controversially
discussed issue for decades in the US. Many people claim that marijuana should not be
legalized because it poses health risks to users, leads to crimes and exhibits wrong moral
conduct; however, I believe that marijuana should be legalized for many reasons.

Opponents of marijuana legalization claim that marijuana should be labeled as

illegal because it causes bad effects on users health. Yet, it has been proved that
marijuana is not as harmful as alcohol and tobacco, which are legal. A clear example for
that is no one has ever died from marijuana consumption, while alcohol and tobacco have
contributed to 85,000 and 435,000 deaths, respectively1 (Marijuana News and
Information, 2009). In fact, marijuana can be used as a medicine for certain illnesses such
as cancer, glaucoma and high blood pressure. Researches have shown that there is a
substance in marijuana called delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (also known as THC) and
defined as the active ingredient; this substance has been proven to relieve the symptoms
of some diseases, mostly cancer and even the side effects of their treatment. In addition,
scientists have confirmed that this cannabis plant contains ingredients with therapeutic
potential for controlling nausea and vomiting, stimulating appetite and decreasing ocular
pressure2 (DrugFacts: Marijuana, 2010). More surprisingly, Joycelyn Elders, Former US
1 Marijuana News and Information. (2009, June 9) Retrieved June 9, 2009, from
TheWeedBlog: http://www.theweedblog.com/essay-on-why-cannabis-should-belegalized/
2 DrugFacts: Marijuana. (2010, November). Retrieved November 2010, from NIDA National Institute on Drug Abuse:

LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

Surgeon General Editorial, stated that marijuana is less toxic than many of the drugs that
physicians prescribe every day"3 (Elders, 2009).

The opponents also maintain that society will be better off when people who use
marijuana are in prison because they are more likely to commit crimes than people who
do not use. Despite all that, there is no evidence for the conclusion that people will turn
into criminals if they use marijuana at all. In fact, keeping marijuana illegal is expensive.
For example, the federal and state government spends totally $97 billion every year
fighting the Wars on Drugs4 (Brown, 2003). When pot smokers are locked up in prison,
the taxpayers, the residents of the US, have to pay for food, attorney and court fees, and
many other bills. If marijuana were legal, the government would save a lot of money and
more importantly, prosecutors could focus on serious crimes, such as murder, terrorism,
rape, and so on. Moreover, not only can the legalization of marijuana save the
government money, but it also can add a lot to tax revenues, just like alcohol and
nicotine. Maureen Brown, in "Legalize, tax marijuana to fill budget gap" mentioned,
Legalizing and taxing marijuana would not only help close the hole in the budget but
also provide much-needed jobs and help to farmers 4 (Brown, 2003). This is another

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
3 Elders, J. (2009, June 5). Medical Marijuana. Retrieved June 5, 2009, from
ProCon.Org: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?
resourceID=000141
4 Brown, M. (2003, August 13). Legalize, tax marijuana to fill budget gap. Retrieved
August 13, 2003, from Seattle Pi: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Legalize-taxmarijuana-to-fill-budget-gap-1121668.php

LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA
advantage of marijuana since unemployment is now a serious economic problem of the
US.

Another argument that the opponents of marijuana legalization give is

that using marijuana is morally wrong. However, using marijuana has
nothing to do with morals because it is an intoxicating substance just
like wine, beer and liquor, which can be consumed by adults, moral or not.
In fact, many people use marijuana as a religious sacrament, for example, according to
Dulcimer Robothom, an Africa-centered religion called Rastafaria uses marijuana "as a
part of a religious rite and as a means of getting closer to their inner spiritual self, Jah
(God) and Creation5 (Robothom, 2003). Some other religions like Hinduism and
Buddhism may choose to use cannabis as a natural spiritual exaltation. Additionally,
religious practice is a civil right given equally to all US residents by the First
Amendment to the U.S Constitution, which states that the government
cannot make laws prohibiting the free exercises of religion. Thus,
keeping marijuana illegal clearly prevents the exercises of some
religions and some civil rights.

In conclusion, marijuana is obviously not what it is said to be by the

people who do not approve of legalizing it; marijuana is not bad for
health, and it does not lead to crimes. Moreover, since marijuana can
be used for medical and religious purposes, as well as to close the
5Robothom, D. (2003, May 23) Marijuana And Other Rasta Symbols. Retrieved May
23, 2003, from Jamaicans Culture:
http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/rasta/ganja.shtml

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holes of the budget and raise the tax revenues, I strongly believe that
the government should legalize marijuana.

Bibliography
Brown, M. (2003, August 13). Legalize, tax marijuana to fill budget gap.
Retrieved from
Seattle Pi:
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Legalize-tax-marijuana-to-fillbudget-gap-1121668.php
DrugFacts: Marijuana. (2010, November). Retrieved from NIDA National Institute on
Drug Abuse:
http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana
Elders, J. (2009, June 5). Medical Marijuana. Retrieved from ProCon.Org:
http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?
resourceID=000141
Marijuana News and Information. (2009, June 9). Retrieved from
TheWeedBlog:
http://www.theweedblog.com/essay-on-whycannabis-should-be-legalized/
Robothom, D. (2003, May 23). Marijuana And Other Rasta Symbols.
Retrieved from
Jamaicans Culture:
http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/rasta/ganja.shtml