Laws and policies in the United States that are theoretically intending to protect the social order are causing chaos and disorder in Mexico, and for some reason the U.S. government thinks dead Mexicans are not a big problem. To have no soul or compassion for the victims of this prohibition is simply evil.
The worst part is that the entire prohibition against marijuana is not even working. Anybody can get marijuana if they want. Studies have shown that teenagers find it easier to obtain marijuana than alcohol (Armentano, 2009). The plant's usage for recreational, religious and medical uses has become mainstream in music and movies, and the majority of Americans are if favor of legalizing it (Hartman, 2012). Even members of law enforcement see that the demand and supply of marijuana are unchanged as the result of its illegal status (LEAP, 2012).
Simply put, there is no intelligent case that can possibly be made to continue the ridiculous prohibition against marijuana. The prohibition policies came about as the result of some misguided moral crusade, but never made sense even then. We are smarter now. We know that these policies do not work. All they do is the take money out of the hands of government and out of the hands of entrepreneurs and puts the money into the hands of criminals. These laws bloat our prison system with people who did nothing more than grow and sell a plant, or even just possess that plant.
For all the costs associated with law enforcement and prisons, the prohibition is also costing the American government billions of dollars in potential tax revenue...
The people in Congress are arguing over cutting things like medical benefits because they have a budget problem, and they are leaving billions of dollars of revenue in the hands of
criminal by failing to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana. This is fiscal insanity and a great disservice to taxpayers who must pay the cost of this absurd policy.
Worse yet, there never was a good case for the prohibition against marijuana. There is no religious rationale. Though many wanna-be moralists have cloaked their values in
religion the Bible -- the word of God -- does not call for the prohibition of marijuana. If we understand America as a
land where religion and state do not mix, then we must look to the country's philosophical leaders for guidance. America is a land where human beings can enjoy unprecedented
freedom in the world. As long as we do not do harm to others, we should be able to avail of ourselves of that freedom. The evidence shows there is no harm caused by marijuana, but there is cause done by its prohibition. Clearly, this prohibition is un-American. It is a bad policy, driven by bad ideology that is entirely unsupported. It leads to the appalling empowerment of criminal gangs, and the needless deaths of people in Mexico, putting blood in the hands of the American government. And none of this has any effect, nor is it supported by the majority of Americans. It is high time to end the prohibition on marijuana.
Works Cited:
Armentano, P. (2009). Study says it's easier for teens to buy marijuana than
beer. NORML. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://blog.norml.org/2009/08/28/study-says-its-easier-for-teens-to-buy-marijuana-than-beer/
Gordon, D. (2012). The
war on
drugs is a war on freedom. Lew Rockwell.com
Hartman, R. (2012). Number of Americans who support legal marijuana. Yahoo! News. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/number-americans-support-marijuana-legalization-reaches-high-183326193.html
LEAP. (2012). Why legalize drugs? Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://www.leap.cc/about/why-legalize-drugs/
Schabner, D. (2012). Religious groups call drug war immoral. ABC News. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://abcnews.go.com/U.S./story?id=91004&page=1
Smith, a. (2012) Marijuana legalization passes in Colorado, Washington. CNN Money. Retrieved November 29, 2012 from http://money.cnn.com/2012/11/07/news/economy/marijuana-legalization-washington-colorado/index.html
