Legalizing Marijuana Arguments Abound

¶ … Legalize Marijuana An examination of the arguments about the legalization of marijuana indicates that this substance should be legalized. Quite simply, the benefits of legalizing marijuana outweigh its detriments. Were marijuana legalized, individuals could widely use it as a form of medication. Additionally, they could utilize it as a source of revenue that could potentially improve the economy in the United States. When considering these boons against the perceived negative effects of legalizing marijuana, it becomes clear that this country should legalize it.

Perhaps the most advantageous benefit of legalizing marijuana is medical utility it serves. Marijuana is prescribed for a number of medical conditions. It helps to calm people and to sooth individuals who otherwise might have tendencies to get nervous or overexcited; it helps with seizures (Klas). Additionally, marijuana helps to stimulate the appetite, which could prove useful to people who have issues with weight and with eating hardily. There are some medical conditions in which marijuana is wholly beneficial, such as glaucoma.

When one considers all of the positives associated with this substance, it becomes apparent that it is merely an herb, like most other ones. As such, it has numerous medicinal benefits, which is why American citizens should legalize it so it can improve the health of the many people in this country which could potentially use it. There are also some definite economic benefits that legalizing marijuana could produce.

Were it legalized, it could provide a readily available means of people to make money through the growing and the selling of this plant (De Avila). This cash crop is relatively easy to grow, which would make it a viable means of earning money for a number of U.S. citizens who might lack the skills, education, and requirements to earn money in other ways. This country was founded on free enterprise, and the legalization of marijuana could produce a positive impact on it by helping people generate revenue.

This effect in term could boost the economy, and abet the country in the process. The principle reason that marijuana is not legalized is because of moral reasons. Opponents to legalizing marijuana posit the notion that this herb is actually a drug. The perception behind such a viewpoint is that marijuana can intoxicate people, drastically altering their perception of reality. The implications are that people who are intoxicated on marijuana are dangerous and could possibly menace society There are links between drug abuse and criminal activity (Klein).

Nonetheless, this perception of marijuana is largely false. There are other substances that are known to alter one's perception, such as alcohol, which are legal in the U.S. Those imbibing marijuana are no more dangerous than those imbibing alcohol. The fact that alcohol is legalized vastly undermines this particular argument against the legalization of marijuana, and helps to establish a precedent by which marijuana should become legalized. Another reason that opponents of marijuana cite for the prohibition of this substance is that it leads to a degenerate lifestyle.

People against this herb's legalization associate it with the degenerate lifestyles of those in the 1960's who used it -- hippies, who were viewed as counter cultural and advocated taking psychedelic drugs and having unprotected sex. In contemporary times, such perceptions are widely associated with drug dealers and their degenerate lifestyles of crime and quick cash. The criminality of marijuana was reinforced with a Supreme Court decision on this issue in 2005 (Rosenbaum).