Legalization Of Marijuana - Research Paper Example

? Sebastian Legalization of Marijuana Marijuana is a shredded mix of dry flowers, stems and the seeds of a plant called cannabis and people usuallysmoke it in the form of cigarettes for relaxation. Ever since marijuana hit mainstream America over 30 years ago, government prohibition of it has been the subject of an ongoing debate. Should marijuana be legalized? Proponents of marijuana legalization argue that it has numerous medical benefits and that the drug is not more harmful than tobacco or alcohol. Therefore, prohibiting it intrudes on one’s personal freedom. On the other hand, opponents argue that marijuana is too dangerous; its legalization would increase the chances of the drug falling into the hands of kids and that marijuana use often progresses to the use of other more dangerous drugs, like heroin and cocaine. In the past decade, a number of movements to legalize the use of marijuana gained momentum. According to the 2011 Gallup survey, a record high 50% of Americans say that marijuana should be legalized and this figure marks a 4% increase compared to the previous year. Support for legalizing marijuana was 30% in 2000, 40% in 2009 before reaching 50% last year. This shows that despite government efforts to eliminate its use, marijuana is becoming more popular. More and more people realize that legalizing marijuana brings a host of benefits. It not only offers medical benefits to terminally ill patients but it could also be a source of tax revenues and could save the tax payers’ billions of dollars that are otherwise spent on enforcement costs. The majority of the doctors would agree that marijuana is not harmful if used in moderation. It is only when people abuse the drug that problems arise. Moreover, marijuana is less addictive and less dangerous than tobacco and alcohol. If a person abuses alcohol and tobacco, he will Sebastian 2 definitely suffer health problems. However, the government does not prohibit the use of both of these products. It is unfair to treat marijuana users more harshly under the law than the users of alcohol or tobacco. Prohibiting its use intrudes on personal freedom. Besides, legal prohibition will not prevent users from consuming the drug. Neither does it stop traffickers from producing and selling it. The U.S Centers for Disease Control reports that every year in the United States, approximately 79,000 deaths are attributable to excessive alcohol use, making it the third leading lifestyle-related cause of death for the nation (“FASTSTATS – Alcohol Use”). For marijuana, the number of “marijuana-induced deaths” is zero. This clearly shows that alcohol is far more dangerous than marijuana. If no restrictions are placed on the consumption of alcohol, why should the sale and consumption of marijuana be restricted or prohibited? Since marijuana is not a lethal drug, not toxic to human beings and not as addictive as alcohol or tobacco, and since marijuana overdoses are almost impossible, it should be legalized. Legalizing marijuana will reduce the use of alcohol and tobacco which are far more dangerous than marijuana, since they have a major impact on morbidity and mortality in the US. It is a known fact that alcohol is a contributing factor not only in a great deal of traffic accidents and traffic deaths but also in murders, assaults and other crimes, while tobacco use causes over 400,000 deaths. In 2008, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a report drafted by its Council on Science and Public Health entitled as “Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes” that confirmed that marijuana has therapeutic benefits and is called for further research. The report states that “smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake, especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients Sebastian 3 with multiple sclerosis” (“ASA : AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana”). In doing so the AMA has reversed its long-held position that marijuana is to be retained as a substance with no medical value. Presently, with marijuana known to relieve nausea suffered by cancer patients and by patients with multiple sclerosis and AIDS the possession of marijuana for personal use should no longer be considered as a criminal offence. Prohibition harms public health because patients suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS cannot use marijuana under the laws of the majority of states. Doctors too may refrain from prescribing marijuana to terminally ill patients despite the evidence of its efficacy as they fear prosecution by the Drug Enforcement Division. Legalization of marijuana would free police and court resources giving an opportunity to concentrate on more serious crimes, like rape, murder, arson and terrorism. In their book Why Marijuana Should Be Legal, co-authors Rosenthal and Kuppy say the following: “Enforcing marijuana laws drains resources that should be properly used to fight crime. Nationwide, there were more arrests for marijuana than there were for arson, manslaughter, rape, stolen property, vandalism and sex offences combined.” According to the report by the Department of Justice, in 2007 there were 1,841,200 drug arrests in the United States and marijuana arrests accounted for 47.4% of the drug arrests - 5.3% for sale and manufacture and 42.1% for possession (“Bureau of Justice Statistics Drugs and Crime Facts: Contents”). In other words, there were about 872,729 persons arrested for marijuana offences. As Rosenthal and Kuppy observe, marijuana prohibition is costing taxpayers billions Sebastian 4 of dollars each year in enforcement costs and that federal taxpayers spend about $23,000 to house one inmate charged for marijuana-related offences, far more than the money needed to educate one child (Rosenthal & Kuppy). The total cost of taxes spent on marijuana-related incarceration would definitely reach billions, if the costs of investigating, arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning of the hundreds of thousands of marijuana users are taken into account. Besides, prison overcrowding is a huge problem facing the country today. By introducing laws aimed at keeping prolific offenders off the street, the government has ensured that even those convicted of possession of small amounts of marijuana are put into prisons and are given longer sentences. Moreover, when young people are arrested for mere possession of marijuana, they are trapped in a flawed system that turns them into lifelong criminals. These fiscal and organizational resources, if devoted to other public safety goals, will certainly reduce the number of violent crimes. In their article “Making an Economic Case for Legalizing Drugs”, both Jeffrey A. Miron, senior lecturer on economics at Harvard University, and Katherine Waldock, professor of economics at New York University, provide two convincing reasons to legalize drugs, including marijuana: firstly, it reduces expenditure on law enforcement and, secondly, it increases tax revenue from legalized sales. The reasons I have named estimate that legalizing drugs would save the government approximately $41.3 billion annually on expenditures related to the enforcement of prohibition laws and about $8.7 billion of instant savings would result from the legalization of marijuana. It is estimated that tax revenue generated by the legalization of drugs Sebastian 5 would be around $46.7 billion, if drugs were taxed at the same rate as alcohol and tobacco. Thus, the same government that spends $41.3 billion annually to enforce prohibition forgoes $46.7 billion in tax revenue (Miron, and Waldock). Expressing concern that the national debt, which now stands at 60% of the GDP, will soon rise to 75% by 2020, the duo alleges that several quarters, including politicians, interest groups and citizens, are now seeking unconventional approaches to ease the national debt and this includes the legalization of drugs. “Legalization would reduce state and federal deficits by eliminating expenditure on prohibition enforcement – arrests, prosecutions and incarceration – and by allowing governments to collect tax revenue on legalized sales” (Miron, and Waldock). With prohibition enforcement laws, only the drug cartels or drug dealers stand to gain because illegal drugs are higher in price due to the increased risks in the production and distribution of the drugs, thus, legislation would lower prices, and would keep those who want to buy marijuana away from criminal drug dealers who often offer to buy hard drugs from them as well, such as heroin or cocaine. In addition to the tax revenue, legalizing marijuana would also create jobs. Marijuana production would create jobs at every level of its production - in growing, harvesting, processing, distributing and selling marijuana. Moreover, it would create jobs in the research field, for instance, in the creation of higher yielding species. The illegal import of marijuana into the country is a multi-billion dollar industry, with all the profits going to drug traffickers and criminals. The legalization of marijuana would eliminate the Sebastian 6 marijuana black market. The huge expenditure involved in waging the war on the possession, distribution and sale of marijuana could be channeled to reduce other more serious crimes. Legalizing marijuana would make it easier to control and keep it out of the reach of those under the legal age. In addition, the increased revenue and taxes would benefit the economy. It would also provide relief to the terminally ill persons. In conclusion, as with alcohol and tobacco, every adult American should have the right either to consume marijuana or not to consume it. The right policy, in my opinion, is to legalize marijuana while using regulation and taxation to check irresponsible consumption and behavior. Sebastian 7 Works Cited Miron, Jeffrey A., and Katherine Waldock. “Making an Economic Case for Legalizing Drugs.” Cato.org. 2010. Web 15 Mar. 2012. “Record-High 50% of Americans Favor Legalizing Marijuana Use.” 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2012. “FASTSTATS – Alcohol Use.” 2009. Web 15 Mar. 2012. “ASA : AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana…” www.safeaccessnow.org (Press Room › Press Releases) 2008. Web 15 Mar. 2012. Rosenthal, Ed., and Steve Kuppy. Why Marijuana Should Be Legal. 2003. Pp. 20-75. Print. “Bureau of Justice Statistics Drugs and Crime Facts: Contents.” 2007. Web 15 Mar. 2012. “Making an Economic Case for Legalizing Drugs.” 2010. Web 15 Mar. 2012. Read More