Marijuana: Why Should It be Legal?

The White House recently called for an end to the “War On Drugs” by saying the war is lost. The White house’s new drug czar Gil Kerlikowske said Wednesday, “Regardless of how you try to explain to people it’s a war on drugs or a war on a product, people see a war as a war on them,” he said. “We’re not at war with people in this country.” So the question now is, why should marijuana be legal? I will tell you a few reasons why.

For economic, medical, environmental and national security reasons are why…

FACT:

4/5 of the budget for the “war on drugs” is spent combating marijuana alone. The other 1/5 is allocated towards combating all other drugs combined.

legalizing it would cut spending on the war on drugs by 4/5 saving our tax dollars.

FACT:

Over 50% of the prison population is in prison due to marijuana related charges.

legalizing it would cut that area of spending in half of our tax dollars spent on keeping people alive in prison. And NO we can’t just fry them even though that gets some people on the right wet in the panties.

FACT:

Marijuana is America’s number one cash crop. An estimated 48% of Americans smoke marijuana and that is just those who admit it.

If the government regulated, sold, and taxed it, marijuana revenue could pay for a health care system all by itself through a perfectly Constitutional indirect tax. This also would save our tax dollars since we won’t have to pay for the highly demanded health care system that is being called for right now.

FACT:

Legalizing it would eliminate the gateway effect.

If people didn’t have to get marijuana from drug dealers they would become less likely to be exposed to other hard drugs in the black market thus eliminated the “gateway effect” which is a refuted myth since only 1 in 104 marijuana users have ever even tried cocaine, heroin, or pills.

FACT:

Marijuana is non addictive.

There is absolutely no evidence that suggest marijuana is addictive. Many would argue that most of the people in rehab are there due to marijuana addiction, which is true but they fail to understand why that is. There are four times as many people that smoke cannabis than people that do any other drug. Almost all of the people in rehab that smoke cannabis are there due to a court order because they were caught with a small amount. Most minor offenders are given this option. However some argue that a psychological addiction may occur. But the kind of people that develop mental addictions, do so because they are usually the type of person with compulsive behavioral problems and it is likely they would become dependent on almost anything that makes them feel different. It would be far worse if one was addicted to one of the more dangerous substances like alcohol.

FACT:

Legalizing it would reduce crime.

This is self explanatory. And it would also drop the price of marijuana since it wouldn’t be illegal and risky to sell on the street, which drives up the price since the further the product travels the higher the risk thus the higher the price.

FACT:

Legalizing it would start a whole new industry and market.

This would create jobs and bring in revenue. Dealers or cultivators would have to have a license just like a liquor license. And patients who use medical marijuana could be licensed to grow their own medicine which will cut health care cost.

FACT:

Marijuana is abundant, easy to cultivate, and cheap to distribute.

This would create a very efficient and productive industry since sales will be high, production will be cheap and abundant enough to easily keep up with the demands.

FACT:

Marijuana is a medicine.

Hypothetically, half of the profits of the pharmaceutical industry would be cut in half. This will create competition and bring the cost of other prescription drugs down. It also is in the process of being a proven cure for cancer. And making people healthier will also bring health care cost down saving us more revenue. With less sick people to care for, the revenue brought in by marijuana will be more than enough and we can use it elsewhere.

FACT:

Cannabis can be made into an oil that has cured cancer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEGKT6UqzFs