Despite the opposition to the legalization of marijuana, this substance carries a lot of benefits. To begin with, legalizing it would bring a much needed boost to the economy through sales, tax, permit fees, and the money that will be saved from attempting to enforce the law. The health benefits, such as pain management and psychiatric benefits, also make this substance a powerful one. Lastly, legal substances such as tobacco and alcohol are already legal and have proven negative effects. Legalizing marijuana would only alleviate a lot of the outstanding problems.
Legalization of marijuana has been a controversial topic in the media as of lately. Completely legalizing marijuana would mean allowing just about anyone to have access to it -- of course with some government regulation. However, opponents of this process argue that the health detriments are enough to merit harsher punishments and the complete ban of this substance. Despite opposition to marijuana's legalization, there are many more benefits that need to be taken into consideration before rushing to any particular judgment. Marijuana should be legalized because it will bring a much needed boost to the economy, it has documented health benefits, and it is a safer drug than alcohol and cigarettes, which are already considered to be legal substances (ABC 20/20). In order for the welfare of all of the aforementioned entities to be established, marijuana needs to be legalized.
As of 2012, the states of Colorado and Washington have agreed to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. This means that anyone over the age of 21 can legally purchase a certain amount of pot without any criminal repercussions (Robesonian.com). Some states have already allowed the use of marijuana in cases where it is medically necessary. However, the complete legalization of pot will increase the economic revenue that the country is missing out on because of marijuana's illegality. The United States is in an economic crisis. There is no money to get the necessities done, nor is there any money to fight unnecessary wars on drugs. Instead of spending money on getting rid of marijuana, by making it legal, not only will all of those millions of dollars be saved, there will be millions more in revenue from taxing pot (robesonian.com). Marijuana earns about 1.3 billion dollars a year in the United States. This is from the legal drug sales alone (Robesonian.com). If one were to consider the illegal sales that are currently going on because of this prohibition, then millions more dollars could be made. The efforts made by the government to raise money for education, safer neighborhoods, and cleaner streets, can all be attained by the legal sale of marijuana. In Colorado, the potential money that will be made from the legal sale of pot has already been distributed. $40 million will go to school improvement (Robesonian.com). This alone states a lot about the potential economic boost that will be given to the country if the sale of marijuana would be legalized.
Despite the detriments cited by opponents of marijuana's legalization, the health benefits associated with this substance are undeniable. Since the 1960s, researchers have been pointing out the psychiatric benefits of marijuana usage, reporting that the calming, uplifting effects of this substance can aid in depression and anxiety disorders (Astaiza). It can also slow down the progression of dementia and Alzheimer's disease (Astaiza). Aside from psychological afflictions, marijuana has been proven to prevent the blindness that many times comes as a result of glaucoma and it can also be used to control chronic epileptic seizures (Astaiza). Although in its early stages, marijuana has been proven to be effective in preventing the spread of cancer (Ferner; Astaiza). The pain and discomfort associated with arthritis and multiple sclerosis can also be eased by the use of marijuana, by allowing for the muscles to relax and for inflammation to be decreased (Astaiza). Inflammation that also causes skin diseases and chronic pain can also be treated by the use of marijuana as well as chronic illnesses such as hepatitis C, which have demonstrated benefits from the marijuana usage (Astaiza). By denying sick people the right to legally use beneficial medicine, more moral and ethical harm is being done. The legalization of marijuana will allow millions of individuals to live pain-free and stress-free lives.
Many other drugs on the market right now are plenty more harmful than marijuana. To begin with pot is considered a much safer drug than alcohol. There have been no documented deaths attributing cause solely to marijuana. About 37,000 people die annually as a direct result of alcohol poisoning -- not including those individuals that die because of driving drunk or as a result of another person driving drunk (YES on 64). There is no case of marijuana overdose ever recorded. Alcohol causes more damage to the body than marijuana ever has. Liver damage, brain tissue loss, and cancer have all been linked to chronic alcohol usage, while marijuana has been cited as being beneficial to all of the previously mentioned ailments (Ferner). Alcohol is remarkably more addictive for people than pot is (Ferner). Aside from the dangers associated with alcohol, another legal substance that causes a lot more damage is tobacco. Tobacco usage is associated with decreased lung capacity and function, while marijuana has shown no negative effects on this front (Robesonian.com). In the Netherlands, 75% of all marijuana users do not even touch other drugs, including cigarettes and alcohol because pot can be legally used; this has attributed to the overall healthier state of the Dutch, compared to the health risks that Americans constantly deal with (ABC 20/20).
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