Proposition of Value -- Policy

Proposition of Value -- Policy -- the Legalization of Marijuana The argument over the proposed legalization of marijuana is currently an issue in several states as well as in relation to the authority of the federal government over the states. Proponents of legalization suggest that there is no justifiable ethical, moral, or social reason to prohibit the consumption of marijuana by adults.

Opponents of the idea argue that legalization will lead to an increase in marijuana use and that marijuana is a so-called "gateway" drug whose use results in other types of drug abuse. Currently, several states have either decriminalized or legalized the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana by adults. Under the criminal statutes of the federal government, however, marijuana possession and use is a crime throughout the country.

In principle, an analysis of the respective arguments leads to the logical conclusion that the most appropriate social policy would be to legalize marijuana and to control, regulate, and tax it in exactly the same manner as alcohol and tobacco products. Discussion Alcohol manufacture, sale, and consumption were illegal and subject to criminal prosecution from 1920 until 1933 in the United States (Dershowitz, 2002). During that time, the public demand for alcohol supported the illegal black market for homemade alcohol products nationwide.

The lucrative market allowed the birth of several powerful criminal organizations that survive in different forms to this day. Meanwhile, the illegally produced alcohol they distributed was sometimes contaminated by methyl alcohol and resulted in the poisoning of thousands of people during the Prohibition Era (Schmalleger, 2008). Prohibition was eventually repealed because it was a failed policy that criminalized harmless behavior, deprived the government of a large source of tax revenue, and supported a very large illegal industry (Dershowitz, 2002).

The current prohibition of marijuana is a precise parallel as a failed policy to the era of alcohol prohibition of the early 20th century. The continuing public demand supports a large criminal marijuana growing and smuggling industry that increases various related crimes. The authenticity, quality, and safety of marijuana is controlled by criminals with no concern for public welfare. Tremendous public resources are wasted investigating, prosecuting, and incarcerating individuals for harmless private behavior. Finally, the government is losing valuable tax revenue at a time when the U.S.

economy is in a serious recession. Marijuana prohibition is no more effective than was alcohol prohibition eight decades ago. Opponents of legalizing marijuana argue that legalization would result in increased use and harm society in several ways, such as by increasing drug use by younger people, increasing the use of harder drugs, and increase traffic accidents caused by driving under its influence. However, a consideration of each element of that argument reveals that it is a flawed position.

The most effective way of preventing minors from obtaining marijuana would be for government authorities to regulate and control its lawful distribution. There may be now way to ever guarantee that minors will not obtain marijuana, but that problem would be comparable to the current problem of minors obtaining alcohol and cigarettes. Given the choices, it would be preferable for government authorities to do their best to control unauthorized purchases the way the government regulates alcohol and tobacco instead of allowing illegal drug dealers to determine who purchases their products.

The characterization of marijuana as a "gateway" drug is biased because it assumes that neither alcohol nor tobacco is a "drug" (Dershowitz, 2002). In fact, there is no rational basis for excluding alcohol or tobacco in that regard, particularly because, statistically, both are "gateway" substances to the use of marijuana by the same reasoning. Likewise, the argument that legalizing marijuana will lead to an increase in traffic accidents attributable to its use is equally flawed.

Legalization of marijuana would not suspend the same types of considerations currently used to control conduct that is harmful to others in combination with alcohol consumption. Those same standards and practices would apply to the inappropriate use of.