Should Marijuana be Legalized - Essay Example

?Should Marijuana be Legalized? One of the hot-button political questions in recent years has been the legalization of marijuana. While in the UnitedStates marijuana has been prohibited since the early twentieth century, the shifting nature of public perception in recent years has resulted in an increased willingness to examine legalization. In this contemporary cultural climate a number of states have lowered the penalties for individuals caught with marijuana, in a sense decriminalizing the controlled substance. Another trend, particularly in regions such as California and Colorado, is a movement towards medical marijuana; this is the legalization of marijuana for individuals with an approved medical condition. Still, a number of states, such as Florida, retain stringent marijuana laws and regularly incarcerate individuals for the offense. This essay examines both the pros and cons of the marijuana debate within the context of ethical theory, and then presents my own views regarding the debate. In examining the question of whether marijuana should be legalized, many of the supporting ethical arguments have emerged in terms of the classical theory of utilitarianism. As first proposed by seminal philosopher John Stuart Mille, utilitarianism contends that, “when faced with a choice, we must act to achieve the greater good for the greater number of people” (Corman 1992, pg. 43). Indeed, while there are a multitude of arguments for the legalization of marijuana, some of the most pervasive have underlining utilitarian concerns. Within this context of understanding, one such argument is the notion that the cost of legally attempting to prevent individuals from using marijuana is so large that there would be greater benefit to society to simply allow individuals to use marijuana. It’s argued that, “Law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession, especially given the additional justice costs of disposing of each of these cases” ("Top ten reasons," 2011). One notes the utilitarian concern within a number of aspects in this argument. In these regards, continuing to implement taxpayer money to persecute marijuana users goes against utilitarian principles on the grounds that a greater amount of people suffer from criminalizing marijuana than would be harmed by its legalization. Another prominent utilitarian concern within the marijuana legalization debate is the potential of reaping taxpayer rewards for individual’s purchasing marijuana. In examining this argument one notes that there are two sides to the notion. While taxing marijuana would have a significant financial benefit for the United States in terms of immediate revenue, it’s possible that the pervasive use of marijuana could potentially reduce productivity throughout the nation and in the long-term result in a decline in American tax revenue. When considering this debate, it’s noted that, “If you could collect on every cigarette and ignore the transportation, marketing, and advertising costs, this comes to over $2 billion” (Moffat, 2011). In these regards, it’s noted that statistical research demonstrates there is a significant increase in tax revenue that would be gained from instituting this marijuana tax. Other concern within this realm of understanding is the significant profit that is being gathered by underground drug dealers. In addition to directing valuable money into this aspect of the economy, the high financial gain from engaging in the drug trade results as a gateway for individuals that might otherwise not become involved in the marijuana industry (Booth 2005). This gateway results in increased crime levels and other areas of illicit use. Taking into consideration the collection of consequences of legalization against those of criminalization, it is argued that in terms of utilitarian ethical concerns society would gain the greatest benefit from legalizing marijuana. While there are substantial ethical arguments that support the legalization of marijuana in terms of utilitarian ethical theory, the approach of ethical egoism presents a case where marijuana should continue to be criminalized. Ethical egoism, “is the prescriptive doctrine that all persons ought to act from their own self-interest” ("Ethical egoism," 2011). In the context of the debate regarding whether marijuana should continue to be criminalized ethical egoism emerges in a number of contexts. One of the major arguments in terms of ethical egoism is the notion that in continuing to criminalize marijuana, those in the majority power in society are able to continue to oppress minority. Consider that, “African-Americans account for approximately 13% of the population of the United States and about 13.5% of annual marijuana users, however, blacks also account for 26% of all marijuana arrests” ("Top ten reasons," 2011). In this context of understanding, legalizing marijuana would result in a social situation where lower class and minority individuals have more potential for gaining power. Ethical egoism contends then that those in control should work to ensure that this does not occur. Another argument against the legalization of marijuana in terms of ethical egoism occurs in terms of general qualitative disregard for a perceived culture that surrounds marijuana use. In this context of understanding, there is a perception among members of the public that marijuana use carries with it increased crime rates, individuals willing to skip work, and a pervasive culture of apathy. In terms of ethical egoism, the reason for desiring the criminalization of marijuana is the desire to preserve the culture that they are accustomed to. Rather than considering broader social issues, this perspective holds only think in terms of the individual’s self-interest. While there are convincing arguments for both utilitarian arguments for the legalization of marijuana and ethical egoist arguments for its continued criminalization, ultimately I embrace the utilitarian approach. There are a variety of reasons why I believe that marijuana should be legalized. One of the overarching reasons is the nature of utilitarianism against ethical egoism. While ethical egoism presents strong ethical arguments for individual choices, when expanded to the nature of the entirety of society, it’s clear that utilitarianism appears to be a more functional ethical approach. Extending this argument, the nature of marijuana legalization would clearly contribute to society in a number of ways. Most prominently I believe that legalization would limit the incarcerations rates for individuals using marijuana. The amount of individuals using marijuana in safe and recreational ways greatly outweighs the amount of people using it for purposes that can be deemed criminally detrimental to social progress. Still, staggering rates of people have been jailed for marijuana use, received criminal records, and had their lives negatively affected in strong ways. In keeping the criminalization of marijuana some of the major concerns are the understanding that individuals using or dealing with marijuana are involved in criminal acts that oftentimes function as a gateway to other crimes. Through this logic the nature of marijuana use places users in contact with other potentially more serious criminals. It’s important to legalize marijuana then as a means of creating separation from more serious criminals and the large amount of Americans who regularly use marijuana. While there are some undeniable shortcomings for marijuana legalization, including mental and physical health problems, there also exists tremendous benefits in terms aiding individuals with medical conditions. For instance, marijuana has been demonstrated to aid glaucoma patients or those with sleeping conditions. One witnesses states such as California who have allowed the emergence of medical marijuana dispensaries, allowing people with doctor approved medical prescriptions to gain marijuana for a series of conditions. Rather than creating an atmosphere of criminality the dispensaries have shifted the perception of marijuana to one of beneficence. Additionally, in terms of macro-financial concerns, the process of criminalizing marijuana is such that it is costing the country a significant financial burden. In this context of understanding, the financial costs incurred by keeping individuals incarcerated for marijuana greatly outweigh any potential benefits to society. In addition, it’s possible that legalizing marijuana could actually contribute to society. While it would be absurd to argue that society should loosen their morals because of an economic recession, the nature of marijuana not being that horrendous an offense, it seems that it would correspondingly not that bad of a step to legalize marijuana and collect the substantial tax benefits. In conclusion, this essay as considered major ethical theories in regards to whether marijuana should be legalized. The ethical theory of utilitarianism was considered in terms of arguments supporting legalization, while the ethical argument of ethical egoism was implemented in demonstrating converse arguments of criminalizing marijuana. Finally, my own considerations were articulated. In these regards, the criminalization of marijuana is demonstrated to negatively affect the lives of otherwise upstanding citizens to the extent that legalization would have an overwhelming utilitarian benefit to society. Ultimately, while the essay considers both the pros and cons of legalization, it argues that it would be most ethically responsible for marijuana to be legalized. References Booth, Martin (2005). Cannabis: A History. Macmillan Publishers & Random House, Inc. Cornman, James (1992), et al. Philosophical Problems and Arguments - An Introduction, 4th edition Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co. Ethical egoism. (2011). Retrieved from http://philosophy.lander.edu/ethics/ethical_ego.html Moffat, M. (2011). Should governments legalize and tax marijuana. Retrieved from http://economics.about.com/od/incometaxestaxcuts/a/marijuana.htm Top ten reasons marijuana should be legal. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/drugs/60959/?page=2 Read More