Stop The Drug War on Marijuana

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Recommended: Positive and negative impacts of marijuana legalization

America is in a war. A drug war with marijuana.Marijuana is a hallucinogen grown naturally as the cannabis plant. Smoking pot clearly has far fewer dangerous and hazardous effects on society than legal drugs such as alcohol, yet it is federally illegal. It is established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans; marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco. But, the marijuana prohibition continues to be thriving. Marijuana prohibition causes more problems than it solves. This nation spends too much money where it could be making more money. If America were to legalize marijuana, it would cause a healthier economy, improve health care, and it would be safer than legal drugs like alcohol and cigarettes. The prohibition ruins thousands more lives than it supposedly tries to save and it should stop.

Today’s economy is struggling and it is in dire need of relief. As of 2013, the United State’s debt was $17 trillion, and if marijuana were to be legalized than it would help raise more money. It could be taxed and distributed for consumption sold like alcohol and tobacco. Taxes on cigarettes amounted to more than $43.3 Billion in 2012 (RJReynolds). The legalization of marijuana could possibly one day make that money helping to reduce this nation's debt. But, as the United States continues to prohibit the use of marijuana, it will make the taxpayers pay more money each year on the illegal usage of the drug. The marijuana prohibition costs both state and federal governments more than $20 billion a year (CATO Institute). One drug policy could change how much it wastes on the prohibition but the government has done so. A study by the CATO institute showed that...

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Acute Effects of Marijuana (Delta 9 THC). National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse,

n.d. Web. 7 May 2014.

"DrugFacts: Marijuana." National Institute of Drug Abuse, Jan. 2014. Web. 7 May 2014.

Miron, Jeffrey, and Katherine Waldock. "The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition." Cato

Institute, 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 05 May 2014.

Wolff, Madeline. "Legalizing Marijuana Can Reduce Crime, Increase Revenue for State." Daily

Sundial. N.p., 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 5 May 2014.

"Tobacco Taxes & Payments." Laws & Taxes. RJ Reynolds, n.d. Web. 10 May 2014.

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