Abstract Marijuana has been illegal for more than 70 years in the United States, but there still is nothing to show for it. Cannabis remains the country’s greatest cash crop and marijuana, the drug with the highest number of teenage users, despite the harsh penalties that the law imposes upon those found in possession of it. This text explores this, and other concerns, to prove why the legalization of marijuana would yield more benefits than those possibly derived from its illegalization.
¶ … Marijuana Legalization
I have no doubt in my mind that a majority of Americans hold a stand similar to mine; that the criminalization of marijuana is indeed costing us more than its legalization would. Those sitting on the fence, or holding a contrary opinion have probably not thought of it this way; marijuana is the country's largest cash crop, and legalizing it will do nothing but yield a streak of economic benefits including job creation and economic opportunity expansion in the formal rather than the underground market, the diversion of the scarce resources that go to marijuana-related law enforcement efforts to more productive activities that could better the society's well-being, etc. (Ruschman, 2004) . It is time marijuana was taken off the system of criminal justice, and brought into the legal arena in a manner similar to tobacco and alcohol.
One may ask; to what extent has the criminalization of marijuana controlled its production and use? To a very small extent, the answer would be, because there is not much to show, in terms of tangible effect, for the 75 years that criminal penalties aimed at preventing its use have been in place. Not only is marijuana grown all over the world today, but has higher prevalence rates than cocaine, alcohol, and tobacco, attracting more than 25 million new users every year (High Times, 2014). The effectiveness of marijuana as a prevention policy, as has been claimed by proponents of its criminalization, is ludicrous and lacking of factual support, and the thought, therefore, that marijuana will be eliminated soon, is nothing but a ridiculous fantasy (High Times, 2014).
Black Americans make up about 13% of America's population today and approximately 13.5% of the country's marijuana users (High Times, 2014). Of significance is the fact that the number of arrests for possession of the drug is not representative of these figures. On average, 26% of marijuana-related arrests made each year involve Black and non-Hispanic-Americans (High Times, 2014). From the population statistics, it goes without saying that whites, more than blacks, ought to account for the bulk of marijuana-related arrests; this is, however, not the case - especially not in New York City where most black and Hispanic marijuana arrestees were taken in primarily for public smoking (Rosenthal & Kubby, 2003). Such statistics do not demonstrate, even to the smallest extent, that "marijuana laws can be enforced fairly without regard to race" (High Times, 2014).
People should perhaps picture just how much a regulated marijuana market would reduce the sale and use of the same, in addition to reducing teenagers' exposure to illegal drugs with more harmful effects. The prohibition of marijuana makes it highly valuable and provides avenues "for teenagers to make easy money selling it to their friends" (High Times, 2014). Legalization would end the excessive profits acquired through such avenues, and consequently reduce the incentives that attract this kind of underground trade (High Times, 2014).
Marijuana legalization would cause a significant reduction in the amount of money that flows annually from the economy into the hands of notorious criminal gangs within and without the United States (DPA, 2014). Currently, the smuggling into America and foreign cultivation of the drug make it a highly profitable business opportunity that sends a substantially large amount of "dollars overseas in an underground economy while diverting funds from productive economic development" (High Times, 2014).
One thing is for sure; the proponents of marijuana illegalization, like any other rational American citizen, support the replacement of oil fuels with the more environmentally-friendly bio-fuels. What they intentionally fail to recognize is that hemp, a fundamental source of bio-fuel, stems from the cannabis plant, and that "the legalization of marijuana will greatly simplify the regulatory burden on prospective hemp cultivation in the United States" (High Times, 2014).
Research has proven that in comparison to marijuana, alcohol is much more harmful. Why then should the lethal drug marijuana remain illegal if alcohol, which is more harmful, is legal (High Times, 2014)? Science has established that marijuana, unlike alcohol and tobacco, is neither toxic to the human body, nor is it even half as addictive (DPA, 2014). The claim that marijuana adversely harms an individual's health and well-being is outdated and has no factual basis. It is, therefore, unjust and unfair that the law treats its users as harshly as it does on the basis of such outdated perspectives (DPA, 2014).
It goes without saying that the justice system "has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession, especially" with the high cost the state incurs in disposing of each of these (High Times, 2014). Such cases do nothing but add up on the case backlog, clog jail space, and divert the system's attention from the critical issues of terrorism, and child abuse. Legalization would increase revenue by the amount of tax imposed on regulated marijuana sales, and would, in this way, be a major source of federal and state revenue (Rosenthal & Kubby, 2003).
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