Legalizing Marijuana Research Paper #4

Legalizing Marijuana
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Legalizing Marijuana
The term marijuana could be elucidated as the dried stem, leaves, seeds, and flowers of the hemp plant. It is crucial to highlight that the American federal law deems it illegal for any American to possess or use Marijuana. However, Sacco and Finklea (2014) reveal that approximately 19.8 million Americans aged 12 and above reported to have used Marijuana within their last month. The authors further reveal that the number represents 7.5 percent of the American population aged 12 years and above. Comparing the statistic to the reported percentage of marijuana users (5.8 %) in 2007, the number of marijuana users is increasing. This owes to the fact that marijuana users believe the drug is not addictive and has medicinal benefits (Alford, 2014). However, critics argue that its use reduces teen educational achievement, and increases the rates of crime. Nonetheless, marijuana should be legalized in the country because it would benefit the economy, it is not addictive, has medical benefits, and is a better stress reliever than alcohol.
To begin with, legalizing Marijuana will benefit the economy by eliminating the cost of war on marijuana and increasing tax incentives to the government. Studies suggest that more than 660,000 people were arrested for marijuana related cases in 201l (Blumenauer and Plis, n.d). To add insult to injury, the same author asserts that America spends almost 5.5 billion every year to enforce the federal marijuana laws. Blumenauer and Plis (n.d) proceed to highlight that the illegality of marijuana forces its users to import the substance implying the country loses a possible source of income by illegalizing marijuana. This owes to the reality that American States that have legalized the use of Marijuana are estimated to spend close to $ 2 billion every year for importing marijuana. It follows that legalizing marijuana will benefit the country’s economy by reducing expenses and saving on the cost of importing marijuana (Ruschmann, 2013).
Fox, Armentano, and Tvert (2014) reveal that marijuana has medicinal benefits. In fact, several American medical organizations as well as American citizens recognize the medicinal benefits of marijuana. This owes to the reality that marijuana can provide relief to people who are suffering from diseases such as cancer and AIDS. However, such patients are limited by the illegality of marijuana. Further, those who choose to use the drug illegally are forced to rely on criminals who are known and unethical. Simply put, relying on drug peddlers for the supply of marijuana is risky because they could add unhealthy substance to the marijuana with an aim of making it addictive. Therefore, regulating the sale and cultivation of marijuana will ascertain that patients have access to safe, legal, and reliable marijuana for medicinal purposes. It is because such a regulation will ensure that marijuana is free from molds, pesticides, and other impurities, which are harmful to the human body.
It is also critical that marijuana is a better stress reliever than alcohol yet, alcohol is legal, and marijuana is illegal. Studies reveal that marijuana use is less harmful than ...