"In any civilized society, it is every citizen's responsibility to obey just laws. But at the same time, it is every citizen's responsibility to disobey unjust laws.
" Martin Luther King Jr. Many people ask “why should marijuana be legalized”? when the real question that we should be asking is “why shouldn’t marijuana be legalized”?. Marijuana also known as hemp is a naturally grown plant that has been around for decades dating back to around 2697 B. C. , when the Egyptians would use it to cure many common ailments, and the Chinese would use it for therapeutics.Using marijuana not only to cure common illnesses but for your pleasure as well should be up to you the free citizens of California and not to the government.
The first major reason why marijuana should be legalized is because the cost to keep it illegal is too expensive. Another major reason why it should be legal is because the hemp plant is a valuable natural resource. Legalizing marijuana would eliminate the confusion surrounding hemp and allow us to take advantage of hemp's agricultural and industrial uses.Thirdly the punishment for possessing or intent to sale marijuana shows no hard evidence of stopping dealers from dealing, buyers from buying, or even users from using.
Last but not least the use of marijuana should be legalized because individuals deserve the right to decide whether or not they should or want to use marijuana. We are all granted life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and if using marijuana is what makes people happy then we should have the right to use as we please.In the United States, all levels of government being federal, state, and even the local authorities participate in the "War on Drugs. We are currently spending billions and billions of dollars every single year to chase and punish people who happen to like to use marijuana because they enjoy effects from smoking the plant. These people get locked up in prison and the taxpayers have to foot the bill. We not only have to pay for food but, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses as well just to lock these people up, and for what we ask? all because they were doing something harmless that they enjoyed using marijuana.
This is extremely expensive!We could save billions of dollars every year as a nation if we stop wasting money locking people up for having or even using marijuana. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government would have a lot more money to pay for effective drug education programs on the more serious drugs such as cocaine, crack cocaine, or even meth and other important causes. Law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession, especially given the additional justice costs of disposing of each of these cases. Marijuana arrests make justice more expensive and less efficient in the United States.The legalization of marijuana would simplify the development of hemp plant as a valuable and diverse agricultural crop in the United States. Hemp products offer environmentally friendly alternatives for a variety of everyday applications.
Hemp fibers cannot only be used to make rope but, clothing, and paper as well. Hemp foods, such as Hemp Nut, contain beneficial nutrients, including essential fatty acids. Hemp oils have many applications, such as bio-fuels, industrial lubricants, and soaps. With the hemp plant we can use it as a new bio-fuel to reduce carbon emissions.Canada and European countries have managed to support legal hemp cultivation without legalizing marijuana, but in the United States opposition to legalize marijuana remains the biggest obstacle to development of industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural crop.
As the US energy policy continues to embrace and to promote the development of bio-fuels as an alternative to oil dependency and a way to reduce carbon emissions, it is all the more important to develop industrial hemp as a bio-fuel source, especially since use of hemp stalks as a fuel source will not increase demand and prices for food, such as corn.Legalization of marijuana will greatly simplify the regulatory burden on hemp and the cultivation in the United States. Prohibition hasn't stopped the use and domestic production of marijuana so it's time everyone faced the facts. Marijuana should be legal because punishment such as prohibition or incarceration does not help the country in any way shape or form but in return causes a lot of problems.
There is no true good evidence that prohibition or even incarceration decreases the use of drugs or drug dealing.Actually there are many theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use i. e. the "forbidden fruit" effect, and easier accessibility for the youth. Prohibition and incarceration has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana.
The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for more than 75 years and yet marijuana is now being used by over 25 million people every year. Marijuana is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and marijuana is grown all over the world whether it is grown legal or illegal.Claims that marijuana prohibition is a successful policy are outrageous and very much so unsupported by the facts. Arrests for marijuana possession mostly affect blacks and Hispanics and reinforce many people’s perception that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities. Blacks account for approximately 13% of the population of the United States and about 13. 5% of annual marijuana users, blacks also account for 26% of all marijuana arrests.
Law enforcement has failed to demonstrate that marijuana laws can be enforced fairly without regard to race.There are far too many minorities that are arrested for marijuana use while the white or non-Hispanic Americans face a much lower risk of arrest. The idea that marijuana will soon be eliminated from America and the rest of the world is a ridiculous fantasy. Looking at it from a philosophical point of view, all individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual's actions endanger someone else.
This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so because he or she wants to use.The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the individual. But this argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and the most popular tobacco. Marijuana is not a lethal drug and is safer than alcohol. It is established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans. While you can overdose from other serious drugs marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is no where nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco.
It is unfair and unjust to treat marijuana users more harshly under the law than the users of alcohol or tobacco. Choosing to use marijuana is one’s own free choice and should be solely left up to the individual to decide whether or not they can or cannot use. Many American adults prefer marijuana to the use of alcohol as a mild and moderate way to relax. All Americans use marijuana because they themselves choose to, and one of the reasons for that choice is their personal observation that the drug has a relatively low dependence liability and its easy-to-manage side effects.Most marijuana users develop tolerance to most of marijuana's side effects, and those who do not, choose to stop using the drug. Marijuana use is the result of informed consent in which individuals have decided that the benefits of use outweigh the risks, especially since, for most Americans, the greatest risk of using marijuana is the relatively low compared to the risk of smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, or using any other drug.
Marijuana users are determined to stand up to the injustice of marijuana probation and accomplish legalization, no matter what it takes or how long it takes to succeed.Despite the threat of arrests and a variety of other punishments marijuana users have been persistent in their support for legalization for over a generation. They refuse to give up their long quest for justice because they believe in the fundamental values of American society. Prohibition has failed to silence marijuana users despite its best attempts over the last generation. The issue of marijuana's legalization is a persistent issue that, like marijuana, will simply not go away.
Marijuana will be legalized because marijuana users will continue to fight for it until they succeed.
