Legalizing versus Decriminalizing Marijuana - Essay Example

1. Legalizing versus criminalizing Marijuana- do the benefits overweigh the negatives?
2. Are the beliefs about marijuana crime truths or myths?
3. Is Marijuana use truly criminal? Is it fatal or harmful?
1. Criminalization of Marijuana usage
i. The enormous number of arrests connected with Marijuana use and possession
ii. The impact of the arrest on their families
1. The smokers to are humans with family and commitments
2. Growing public support
i. Survey reports show that the truth about Marijuana is being spread widely. For example, “Gallup's October Crime poll finds 44% of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal (Saad, Lydia, 2009).
3. Economic issues

i. Arrests and sentencing not only impact the acquitted but also the government which spends a significant amount of money on the court and prisons. But the significant amount is overwhelmingly high due to the huge number of arrests!
“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. That is an awful lot of money, most of it nonfederal, that could be spent on better schools or infrastructure — or simply returned to the public” (Klein, Joe, 2009)

1. Legalizing versus criminalizing Marijuana- do the benefits overweigh the negatives?
2. Are the beliefs about marijuana crime truths or myths?
3. Is Marijuana use truly criminal? Is it fatal or harmful?
1. Criminalization of Marijuana usage
i. The enormous number of arrests connected with Marijuana use and possession
ii. The impact of the arrest on their families
1. The smokers to are humans with family and commitments
2. Growing public support
i. Survey reports show that the truth about Marijuana is being spread widely. For example, “Gallup's October Crime poll finds 44% of Americans in favor of making marijuana legal (Saad, Lydia, 2009).
3. Economic issues
i. Arrests and sentencing not only impact the acquitted but also the government which spends a significant amount of money on the court and prisons. But the significant amount is overwhelmingly high due to the huge number of arrests!
“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. That is an awful lot of money, most of it nonfederal, that could be spent on better schools or infrastructure — or simply returned to the public” (Klein, Joe, 2009) Read More