Should Marijuana be Legalized for Medical Purposes - Essay Example

There are many who argue that this drug does not cause death and when something as dangerous as tobacco can be legalized then why not marijuana? Tobacco is legal in many countries; several people smoke tobacco and consume it in other forms. Tobacco is consumed by several people in Asia and Europe, one can find so many people on the streets in India and Pakistan smoking and consuming tobacco in several other forms. It is a proven fact that smoking causes lung damage and it is also a proven fact that chewing tobacco over a prolonged period results in mouth cancer but in spite of this it is very legal and very widely used by several people in several countries.

Marijuana on the other hand causes brain damage but it is yet to be proven that this drug is capable of taking lives away but it surely affects the overall functioning of the brain and this is something which most people are really scared of. Marijuana should not be legalized because it is drug which can easily be abused and it has been abused by several people, the results of drug abuse have been devastating, one can go on a rampage should he be drugged and marijuana is certainly a very powerful drug and this is why it should not be legalized, legalizing it would have serious ramifications and it can easily put the lives of others in serious jeopardy.

“At the same time, it is estimated that pot is the largest cash crop in California, with annual revenues approaching $14 billion. A 10% pot tax would yield $1.4 billion in California alone. And that's probably a fraction of the revenues that would be available — and of the economic impact, with thousands of new jobs in agriculture, packaging, marketing and advertising.” (Why Legalization Makes Sense) Marijuana should be legalized because it is really helpful in treating a few diseases but it should be ensured that it is not abused because abusing a drug can have very serious ramifications on the health of the abuser, the abuser may have to be checked into a rehab should he abuse marijuana.

“But there are big issues here, issues of economy and simple justice, especially on the sentencing side. As Webb pointed out in a cover story in Parade magazine, the U.S. is, by far, the most "criminal" country in the world, with 5% of the world's population and 25% of its prisoners. We spend $68 billion per year on corrections, and one-third of those being corrected are serving time for nonviolent drug crimes. We spend about $150 billion on policing and courts, and 47.5% of all drug arrests are marijuana-related.

 (Why Legalization Makes Sense) To conclude it is very fair to say that marijuana is like a double edged weapon, no harm in legalizing it but it is really harmful when people start abusing it and there have been cases in the past where people who have abused this drug have landed themselves and others in serious trouble, considering the fact that it can easily cause a lot of ruckus it is safe to conclude that marijuana should not be legalized and if it legalized there must be procedures to ensure that it is not abused by people who are consuming it.