Legalization Of Marijuana

The legalization of marijuana would greatly lower crime and could be beneficial to some. Marijuana, also know as Cannabis, is the psychoactive part of the plant called Cannabis Sativa. The Herbal form of this drug is made up of the dried leaves. The resinous form of it, which is known as Hashish consists primarily of glandular trichomes collected from the same plant material.

Now there are four ways of consumption. There is smoking, vaporization, eating, and can be made in a tea. The most common ways of smoking marijuana are in smoking pipes or bongs, or rolling joints or blunts. The methods differ by: the preparation of the cannabis plant before use; the parts of the cannabis plant which is used; and the treatment of the smoke before inhalation.

A vaporizer heats the marijuana to 365вЂ"410 Ð'oF, which turns the active ingredients in the marijuana into a gas without burning the plant material. Although hashish is sometimes eaten raw or mixed with water, THC and other marijuana chemicals are more efficiently absorbed into the bloodstream when dissolved in ethanol, or combined with butter or other lipids which are fats.

The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, the act that effectively made marijuana illegal in the US, was based on the fact that "marijuana caused violent crime and sexual excess." (Grinspoon. 139) These theories have been thoroughly discredited and proven to be unsubstantiated. If marijuana was legal crime would decrease, dealers would be driven out of the market by lower prices, and the government would benefit from the sales tax on drugs. Moreover, "Legalization would give the government more control over the purity and potency of drugs." (Grinspoon. 3)

Drugs are a not talked about subject or a taboo in America, and that is mostly because people are uneducated or misled by government education. Because of this most people feel that someone who uses drugs is a danger to society. When in fact, drug abuse for the most part is only affecting the user and the user's body and therefore should be the user's choice. It is clear to see how Anti-Drug laws eliminate personal responsibility and free choice, leading to government infringement on individual rights.

The War on Drugs has lead to the erosion of our civil liberties by the use of "informers and entrapment, mandatory urine testing, unwarranted search and seizures, and violations of the Posse Comitatus Act (which outlaws the use of military forces to police for civilian law enforcement) are becoming more common. It is clear that our society cannot be both drug-free and free." (Grinspoon. 142) The war on drugs is not only eroding our civil liberties but is also wasting our tax money at a rate of almost "18 billion dollars a year"(Lynch.153). In addition, more than "300,000 people a year are arrested on marijuana charges, contributing to the clogging of our courts and overcrowding prisons." (Grinspoon. 142) All this is also costing tax payers' money on top of the 18 billion a year.

From the early 1970's until present we have heard that marijuana "destroyed brain cells, caused psychoses, lowered testosterone levels ad sperm counts, led to breast development in males... caused chromosome breakage and birth defects." (Ginspoon. 139) However not one of these claims could ever be proven and more and more people have grown to resent the governments deceiving propaganda. So far, "not a single case of lung cancer, emphysema, or other significant pulmonary pathology attributable to cannabis use has been reported." (Grinspoon. 139).Furthermore, Marijuana has many medical benefits and has been proven to help those suffering from "Chemotherapy nausea, glaucoma, chronic pain, epilepsy, migraine, and AIDS wasting syndrome." (Grinspoon 138)

Also "some people find it so useful in gaining new perspectives or seeing problems from a different vantage point that they smoke in preparation for intellectual work." (Grinspoon. 138) Clearly these people have learned to make us of there altered states of mind. Often our greatest songs, poems, novels, and works of art were made under the influence of marijuana. Also, marijuana can "enhance the appreciation of food, music, sexual activity, natural beauty, and other sensual experiences. Under the right setting it can promote emotional intimacy." (Grinspoon. 141)

There are many economic benefits to the legalization of marijuana. The economic benefits that producers and consumers would receive are numerous, the tax that could be placed on a product would make the government a main money maker as well, as well as the money saved on the enforcement of marijuana prohibition.

Farmers would be the most likely to start producing marijuana because it is easy to grow and maintain. One source estimates that "marijuana would currently cost on $1.35 lbs. to grow with the sale being anywhere from $30 to $700 per ounce." (Grinspoon page 164). This is a huge profit margin that the producers could in turn receive.

In an economic view, the legalization of marijuana would attract entrepreneurs to the new market, thus flooding the market with more growers and more product. An increase in product would drive the cost of a product down, thus saving the consumer a large amount of money. So the economic savings for the consumer are very clear, and the profit for the producers would be very large too.

"There have been over seven million marijuana arrests in the United stated since 1993. Approximately 77,000 marijuana offenders are in prison or jail right now. One person is arrested for marijuana every 42 seconds." ( MPP.org). These numbers show just how outrageous the war against marijuana users has gotten. With an all time record breaking number of 755,186 arrests in 2003 (MPP.org), it is clear just how outrageous it is.

The next strong reason to legalize marijuana would be the benefit the government would receive at all levels through savings on enforcement of marijuana prohibition. Currently the government spends nearly $12 billion annually on marijuana prohibition enforcement ( MPP.org). This $12 billion annually is spent on the Drug Enforcement Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, border control, prison systems, and many other programs. If the government were to legalize marijuana all of the people employed by the government could be placed elsewhere doing things like investigating murderers, terrorists, rapists, and other criminals that cause harm to society. Or this $12 billion annually could be spent towards things like: improving our school systems, concentrating on drugs that are dangerous to our society like methamphetamines or heroin, or it could be put toward eliminating our nation's debt. Also, the National

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