Go green: Why Marijuana should be legal

Frank L.

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Go green: Why Marijuana should be legal

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Abstract

Marijuana is a drug that has been around for centuries and in recent history has been a subject of much debate. Currently marijuana is classified by the federal government as a schedule 1 substance, the worst classification it can possibly receive meaning that the drug has no medical use and has a high potential for abuse. Various states such as California and Arizona have legalized medical marijuana despite the fact that it is still illegal under federal law. Whose responsibility is it to regulate this drug and what is the whole big fuss about in the first place? Is marijuana prohibition really working or is it a bust just like the prohibition of alcohol? Marijuana needs to become an over the counter drug and regulated in almost the same was as alcohol. It should be controlled and distributed in stores and shops that closely resemble the "coffee shops" of the Netherlands. Marijuana needs to be legalized for the following reasons; it has significant medical potential; is not as abused as the federal government claims; it is not as dangerous as other drugs currently on the market, it currently creates great monetary and human costs, and legalization would prevent crime and corruption.

Introduction
The cultivation and use of marijuana
The propaganda and war on drugs
The controlled substance act of 1970
Marijuana's medical potential
The theory of marijuana being medical
Drug war and the Naulls family
Conclusion
Bibliography

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[...] Marijuana should not be illegal based on the fact that it poses a health risk. Marijuana prohibition is not only an issue of public health but also of the cost of keeping the drug illegal. The government expense incurred enforcing marijuana laws is tremendous and in the current recession, taxpayers cannot afford to have their money wasted. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Police make about 700,000 arrests per year for marijuana offences roughly 87 percent of [which] are for nothing more than small amounts” (Nadelmann). [...]

[...] marijuana were taxed like alcohol and tobacco, tax receipts would be about $ 6.2 billion” (Aveni). If the government chose to legalize and regulate marijuana, there would be a $ 16.2 to $ 21.2 billion net gain that could be used for things like education and social welfare. Not only is there a monetary cost but there is a human cost as well. The Naulls Family was affected by the drug war when Ronald Naulls was caught working with the Healing Nations Collective group that provides medicinal marijuana to patients). [...]

[...] Marijuana should be made legal to avoid these social circumstances. It should not require walking down a dark alley, sneaking around, and dealing with strangers to “score some pot”. Gone are the days of rumrunners and gone should be the days of the street corner pot dealers; black market trading promotes crime and violence in an unsettling social setting. The war to end prohibition is fueled and being fought on many fronts. Marijuana should be legalized so that it can be used as medicine to treat a whole variety of illnesses. [...]

[...] Although Anslinger's case linking death and criminals to marijuana may be abrupt it helps to explain how the other stigmatisms surrounding marijuana may be false also but still caused social hysteria. The Controlled Substance Act of 1970 divided up various harmful drugs into five classifications also known as schedules. Schedule one is for the most harmful of drugs that one, have no medical value and two, a high potential for abuse. On the opposite side of the spectrum, schedule five drugs are substances with accepted medical use and a very low chance of abuse. [...]

[...] "Medicinal Marijuana: A Continuing Controversy." About Arthritis - Rheumatoid Arthritis - Osteoarthritis - Related Conditions Mar < http:>. Simmons, Michael, and Thomas Goetz. "Give Pot a Chance." Rolling Stone 26 Dec. 1997: 111-13. "Proposition 215." DRCNet Online Library of Drug Policy Mar < http:>. Bonnie, Richard J., and Charles H. Whitebread. "Virginia Law Review." Rev. of THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT AND THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE: AN INQUIRY INTO THE LEGAL HISTORY OF AMERICAN MARIJUANA PROHIBITION. Schaffer LIbrary of Drug Policy Oct MarijuanaBusinessNews.com May 2009 < http:>. "The Dangers of Acetaminophen." Harvard Health Letter 6th ser (2001). "Marijuana Report: Another approach." [...]

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