Running head: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA

Legalizing Marijuana: Why Marijuana Should be Legal Frank Oliveras Strayer University

Running head: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA Legalizing Marijuana: Why Marijuana Should be Legal Marijuana should be legalized in the United States because over the years, laws have done nothing to deter marijuana use in the United States. If marijuana were to be viewed from a philosophical point of view, it could be stated that individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. According to Rosenthal and Kubby (1996), The government only has the right to limit those choices if the individuals actions endanger someone else (p. 88). Furthermore, it could be stated that marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco (Rosenthal, & Kubby, 1996). It could be implied that individuals should have the right to use marijuana if they want to and not let the government tell individuals what to do as long as their individual marijuana use does not harm others. No other law is both enforced so widely and harshly and yet deemed unnecessary by such a substantial portion of the populace (Nadelman, 2004, p. 28). Another factor that should be analyzed, why marijuana should be legal, is that it would save the government lots of money. According to Nadelmann (2004), in an article published in the National Review, police make about 700,000 arrest per year for marijuana offences, and enforcing marijuana laws costs and estimated 10-15 billions of dollars in direct cost alone. In the United States, all levels of government (federal, state, and local authorities) are funded billions of dollars in the War on Drugs. Furthermore, in an article written in Time magazine, according to Klein (2009), he points out that there are big issues in the war on drugs, issues of economy and simple justice. The United States is by far, the most criminal country in the world, with

Running head: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA about 5% of the worlds prisoners (Klein, 2009, p. 46). The United States spends 68 billion dollars per year on corrections, and one third of those being corrected are serving time for nonviolent drug crimes. The government also spends about 150 billion on policing and courts, and 47.5% of all drug arrest are marijuana-related. This is an abundant amount of money, most of it non-federal that could be spent on better schools or infrastructure in the United States (Klein, 2009). It can be seen by the evidence presented the American people could save billions of dollars every year as a nation if the government stopped wasting the taxpayers money by locking people up for having marijuana. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government would be able to collect tax on it and use the money for effective drug education programs and other more important causes. There is evidence of this today in the state of California. In an article published in Time magazine, by Klein (2009), he stated, It is estimated that pot is the largest cash crop in California, with annual revenues approaching 14 billion dollars. A 10% pot tax would yield 1.4 billion dollars in California alone. And thats probably a fraction of the revenues that would be available-and of the economic impact, with thousands of new jobs in agriculture, marketing and advertising. A veritable marijuana economic-stimulus package! (p. 45). It should be stated that marijuana is legal in California only for medical purposes at this present time, but there is a ballot open for vote in this Novembers elections. In an article written in the Los Angeles Times, according to Hoeffel (2010), An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear

Running head: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA On the November ballot state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nations debate over whether to soften drug laws (p. 2). Furthermore, in an article published in Newsweek, Yaret (2010) stated, Fourteen states have legalized medical marijuana. The grass is greenest in California, where last month possession limits were deemed unconstitutional. Dude! (p. 56). At least the good citizens of California have realized that marijuana should be legal. Furthermore, another reason that marijuana should be legal is because prohibition does not help the country in any way, and causes a lot of problems. There is no good evidence to support that prohibition has decreased the use of marijuana in the United States. In an on-line article posted on AlterNet.com Times (2007). This article concluded, that prohibition has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana. The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for over 75 years and yet, marijuana is now used by over 25 million people annually, and cannabis is currently the largest cash crop in the United States. Furthermore, in a book written by James P. Gray (2001), he stated, People think they can stop the drug traffic by putting people in jail and by having terribly long sentences, but of course it doesnt do any good(p. 89). Prohibition has failed to silence marijuana users despites its best attempts over the last generation. The government tried prohibition with alcohol, and that failed miserably. This nation should be able to learn their lesson and stop repeating the same mistake. The issue of marijuanas legalization is a persistent issue that, like marijuana, will simply not go away. Marijuana will be legalized because

Running head: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA marijuana users will continue to fight for it until they succeed (Times, 2007). Prohibition simply does not work.

Running head: LEGALIZING MARIJUANA References Gray, J. P. (2001). Why our drug laws have failed and what we can do about it: A judicial indictment of the war on drugs. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. Hoeffel, J. (2010, March 25). Measure to legalize will be on Californias ballot. Los Angeles Times, p. 2. Klein, J. (2009, April). Why legalizing marijuana makes sense. Time, 173 (13), 45-46. Nadelman, E. A. (2004, July). An end to marijuana prohibition: The drive to legalize picks up. National Review, 56(13), p. 28. Rosenthal, S., & Kubby, S. (1996). Why marijuana should be legal. New York, NY: Thunders Mouth Press. Times, J. (2010).The top ten reasons marijuana should be legal. AlterNet. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/story/60959/ Yaret, I. (2010, February 15). How high are you? Newsweek, 297(2) p. 56.