Legalizing Marijuana Essay

The legalization of marijuana is a much debated and discussed issue in politics today. I believe that the pros of decriminalization far outweigh the cons. Because it is a cash crop, jobs and money are sitting, waiting to be made. Prisons are filling with marijuana users, costing huge amounts in tax dollars, all of which could be alleviated through legalization. Were cannabis federally regulated, it would be far safer. The current war on drugs is not working and, were it legalized, a different, more effective approach could be taken. Finally, the potential tax revenue from the market is enormous. All of these reasons add up to one definitive answer: marijuana should be legalized in Utah. To start, I would like to address the current war on

If marijuana is legal, more people will use it. Pot is a gateway drug, so users will move on to more dangerous things and suffer because of their choices. Right? Actually, based on what we have seen in other countries, wrong. Portugal decriminalized all drugs and treat addiction as a public health concern instead of a crime in 2001 and the results have been astounding. Their marijuana users actually dropped to 10%, which is lower than America’s 39.8%. Also, heroin users ages 16 to 18 dropped as well, from 14.1 to 10.6%, so the legalization did not lead to an increased number of people doing more dangerous drugs. If, by legalizing marijuana, fewer people become dangerously addicted, shouldn't we do it? Would we not be saving lives and bettering

That is only the basic marijuana, not including the other applications of the plant such as hemp textiles. This is an obviously enormous market that could be taken advantage of only if marijuana were decriminalized. There are hundreds of thousands of jobs just waiting to be created in this industry. Farmers would be needed to grow it, manufacturers would be needed to purify and separate the parts of it, and distributers needed to sell it. Thousands of Americans would receive legitimate careers from the legalization, all but eliminating street dealers and foreign drug cartels that distribute the cannabis. The jobs are not the only aspect of the economic aspect of decriminalizing marijuana in Utah. Instead of huge sums of American money going into the hands of South and Central American drug cartels, it would stay here, in the United States, being put right back into our economy. Thirty five point eight billion dollars that would stay in circulation here in our country instead of funding highly illegal and extremely dangerous crime rings in another country. Thousands of Americans would be put to work, reducing tax burden, and our money would stay right where it should: the United