Why We Should Legalize Marijuana
We should legalize marijuana because it would be a great tax source for the government, it would help out farmers, it would create many jobs, it would eliminate a good majority of the jail population, it would lessen the amount of tension that we see around us, and it is a safe drug. Although there are many good reasons that we should legalize marijuana, there are also some good reasons that we should not legalize it. These include it would increase the amount of lazy people, it might be hard to tax and control it, and it would increase the availability of marijuana to underage people. Herb is the healing of a nation, alcohol is the destruction. ” 1 This quote comes from internationally acclaimed Jamaican singer, songwriter, and musician Bob Marley. In this quote he is trying to tell us that herb (aka marijuana) is not a bad thing, but instead it is a good thing. It is recognized as a healing herb because of its many calming effects. Marijuana has what are called psychoactive chemicals, the main one being ‘tetrahydrocannabinol’ or THC for short. This is what causes the calming or healing effect of marijuana.
Some of the medical uses for marijuana include cure or prevention of Glaucoma a serious eye disease, used by Aids and Terminal Patients to ease nausea and delirium, a natural Sedative and sleep aid if you use the Sativa instead of Indica, a natural nontoxic tranquilizer depending on dosage, and strain, and lastly it improves creativity in some for writing, speaking, drawing, painting, song writing, poetry, and has been used by very many college students to make typically boring subjects and professors interesting.
Enables many students who have problems studying the ability to retain information and make it more interesting. Another reason that marijuana should be legalized is because it would vastly increase the amount of money that our government would have available. Our government spends around $7. 7 billion per year on the “war against marijuana”. If it were to be legalized then our government would make around $6. 2 billion per year, just from taxes. Even the poor would be able to afford marijuana as prices would drop considerably if it were to be legalized.
It is estimated that inmates incarcerated on marijuana related offences costs our prison system about $1 billion annually. Legalizing marijuana would also relieve some of the taxes that taxpayers have to pay. Marijuana Prohibition Costs Taxpayers $41. 8 Billion A Year, according to a report from Forbes. It would also help the farmers that farm it. In California, marijuana is its most valuable crop. It brings in roughly $14 billion per year. California’s zip tie program aimed at regulating medical marijuana growing by charging permits for each plant raised $600,000 in revenue in for the Sheriff’s department in 2011.
Legalizing marijuana would not just help the farming business. The city of Oakland, California raised $1. 3 million in tax revenue from medical marijuana dispensaries in 2011, 3 percent of the city’s total business tax revenue. The Sacramento News and Review saw a big boost in ad revenue when it offered advertising space for more than 60 medical marijuana dispensaries, enabling the publication to hire three additional employees. Illegal marijuana is estimated to be a $36 billion a year industry, which could increase to a $100 billion a year industry if it were to be made legal.
One of the main reasons that marijuana is illegal is because of the safety concerns of it. Some people consider marijuana to be what is called a “gateway” drug. A gateway drug is a drug that once taken, leads to the user taking harder drugs such as crack, meth, and heroin. Although there is neither evidence to prove or disprove this theory, the so called “gateway” effect has only been observed in a small quantity of marijuana users. The high from marijuana might make some people lazy, but it exponentially increases their creative capability.
Marijuana is also said to be very harmful to the children of pregnant women. Studies show prenatal exposure to marijuana can cause impaired neurological development in the unborn child. Because marijuana causes Distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch), problems with memory and learning, loss of coordination, trouble with thinking, and problem-solving it is harmful to drive after consuming it. Within a few minutes after smoking marijuana, the heart begins beating more rapidly and the blood pressure drops.
Marijuana can cause the heart beat to increase by 20 to 50 beats per minute, and can increase even more if other drugs are used at the same time. Because of the lower blood pressure and higher heart rate, researchers found that users’ risk for a heart attack is four times higher within the first hour after smoking marijuana, compared to their general risk of heart attack when not smoking. It is also said that marijuana has a negative effect on your brain cells. But, a Harvard study showed that the negative effects of marijuana on your brain cells was nill.
