Personal Opinion Essay: Should Marijuana be Legalized?

1242 Words3 Pages

Right now in this country (and many other countries for that matter) we are experiencing a transitional period that is dependent on legislation, legislation that is bound to reinforce or oppress marijuana legalization. It’s not every day that states have policy that conflicts with federal laws and everyone seems to have an opinion. There are many options on the table for law makers. We could see the federal government enforce their current marijuana laws by cracking down and increase their raids on dispensaries, or they could make marijuana a higher priority with agencies from the DEA to local law enforcement. Another option is to loosen up on what some would deem a “futile” war on drugs; the end result would be each individual state deciding if medicinal marijuana would be ideal for their state. Last but not least there is the route that the states Colorado and Washington took which is to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Every option has their pros and cons. However I believe the option where the pros most heavily outweigh the cons is legalizing recreational use.
Before I address the possible courses of actions the government could take it is important that we understand the positive and negative consequences people have recognized with the use of marijuana. Some of the major concerns include: marijuana being consumed by the youth, cannabis users smoking and driving, and the adverse effects it could have on pregnant or breast feeding women. Some of the beneficial aspects are the medicinal aspects of the herb, it is a safer alternative to alcohol and other drugs, and it could generate a tremendous amount of revenue for the government through regulation and taxation.
First is the option to crack down and enforce the fed...

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...only could marijuana be utilized to treat a variety of illnesses, but patients would no longer have to take pharmaceuticals with side effects and they could treat their ailments in a pleasurable way. With recreational marijuana legal dispensaries would no longer have to fear raids from the DEA, which would lead to more dispensaries opening and businesses thriving. Instead of having a few dispensaries making millions there would be many dispensaries making a decent profit, so employees can make a decent salary as opposed to six figures which would certainly help lead the state into prosperous times. One might say that drugs are dangerous and they kill people every day; however this is not the case with marijuana. According to drugfacts.org in the five thousand years of marijuana’s documented use there has been zero deaths caused primarily by marijuana. (drugwarfacts)

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