Persuasive Speech On Legalizing Marijuana

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Senior citizens.

According to Pew Research Center for the Press & the Press, 65 percent of Americans over the age of 65 think that marijuana should remain illegal. I am here to change your minds. Although many people believe marijuana use is dangerous to your health and a gateway drug, if people are properly educated it’s legalization could be beneficial for our whole country. Marijuana should be legalized and regulated in a manner similar to the way alcohol is regulated meaning that only people of age can obtain it legally. If it were to become legalized, it would still be against the law to consume in a public environment. Today I am going to explain how legalizing marijuana could lead to a thriving economy and a safer environment for everyone. What exactly is marijuana? According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, marijuana is “the dried leaves and flowering tops of the hemp plant that yield THC and are smoked in cigarettes for their intoxicating effect.”

First I am …show more content…

Like I mentioned before, there were roughly 660,000 arrests in 2011 related to marijuana possession. Many of these arrests were of people who had small amounts of cannabis and only recreationally used marijuana. Is someone who chooses a different lifestyle meant to be in jail surrounded with murderers, rapists, and thieves? According to NORML possessing any amount of marijuana up to 50 pounds can get you up to two years in jail. If you have more than 50 pounds you could face up to 15 years. The number of arrests for marijuana possession is higher than the number of arrests made for violent crimes in 2011 according to information from the FBI. That means we spend more money hunting down people who want to smoke a plant than people who commit violent, dangerous crimes. Law enforcement should take that time and money used to control marijuana and use it to pursue dangerous

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