Debate over Legalization of Marijuana

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The legalization of marijuana is a smoldering topic that sparks a debate anytime someone brings up the controversial subject. It is listed on the top of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) drug schedule listing as a controlled Schedule I substance. According to the DEA, “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. Schedule I drugs are the most dangerous drugs of all the drug schedules with potentially severe psychological or physical dependence.” Yet, the United States has allowed 20 states to legalize it for medicinal purposes; and, two of those states are legally allowed to use it recreationally. That makes 40% of the country obtain a prescription, while the other 4% are stoners. Why such a discrepancy? Because someone always has to make the rules, while others are just trying to break them.
I am in favor of the legalization of cannabis for many reasons. I am not the only one who favors legalization—slightly half of my classmates agree to hope for dope. Marijuana has numerous uses that trump being quashed as an illicit drug. I, along with several classmates, will dispel the lunacies of forever banning a natural substance that has not been chemically altered, nor manufactured, like the pharmaceuticals that are legally on the market. By the end of my spiel, I am sure you will agree with me.
To smoke it or not. A good majority of my classmates say that marijuana should not be legal, yet they agree that it would alright if it was legalized for medicinal purposes only and not for recreational use. Ben Lindstrom states, “It should not be legalized, only used with a prescription from a doctor.” That sounds like forked tongue...

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...ription and over the counter drugs. Boosting and being financially helpful to the economy, with taxable revenue for the state or federal government, is another valid point, circulating $$$$, knowing darn well that people will pay the price for a hooter. I think that it will only be a matter of time before marijuana is knocked from the ladder of a controlled schedule I drug and put on the shelf with the intent of legal purchasing. Call it what you will—Cannabis, Mary Jane, Blunt, Wacky Weed, Reefer, Schwagg, Kush, Pot, Herb, Ganja, Dope, Dank, Bud, or Marijuana—people are going to smoke it legal or not!

Sources Cited: http://www.justice.gov/dea/druginfo/ds.shtml http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/01/06/marijuana-legal-states-medical-recreational/4343199/
The opinions of several critical thinking college classmates—names states in the essay

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