Time to Legalize Marijuana

Time to Legalize Marijuana

The war on drugs failed. The government spent billions of dollars fighting drug use to no avail. Statistics shown in The Boston Globe state overall drug use among children ages twelve to seventeen had actually gone up from 5.7% in 1993 to 9% in 1999(Health Central). Other statistics reveal areas of decreased usage; however, the same statistics do not show the vast numbers of addicted people abusing Methamphetamines or popular club drugs like Ecstasy. Ending drug usage is likely impossible. So why are we spending billions of dollars on a lost cause? Legalization of drugs would decrease tremendous amounts of wasted money, money that could be spent on treatment for addiction. Although many people feel that legalizing drugs would increase the amount of use, marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce massive amounts of money spent on enforcement, increase our country's revenue, and provide some relief from chronic pain caused by diseases like multiple sclerosis and others.

Making drugs legal will reduce massive amounts of money spent on enforcement every year. The MPP (Marijuana Policy Project) estimates that marijuana consumers cost taxpayers more than $7 billion dollars annually (MPP). Year after year, money is thrown away trying to stem the flow of illegal drugs into our country. When one drug lord is caught, two show up somewhere else to take their place. For every drug bust, four more make it through to the United States. For example, in his book Intoxication, Ronald K. Siegel talks about the very first significant international anti-drug campaign: Operation Intercept, the first major assault on marijuana use. This operation captured 493 drug runners at the Mexican border. Very few drugs were confiscated, and no change in marijuana use inside the United States was recorded (280). Today, billions of dollars are spent each year to combat drug use, but no real concise victories are evident. Drugs are still bought, sold, and used everyday. The National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that the number of first-time marijuana users in 1998 was 2.3 million. This number increased significantly compared to 1.4 million in 1989 (DEA). These figurers alone show that money spent on enforcement has had no effect. President Ronald Reagan said it best, "Despite continuing expressions of determination, America's war on drugs seems nowhere close to success.