AndresGarcia

Mr.Burchett

Government6

October31,2015

ResearchPaper

LegalizationofmarijuanaisacontroversialdebateacrosstheU.S.Withmoreprosand
fewercons,marijuanawillinfactbefullylegalinthenearfuture.Theonlythinginthewayof
thishappeningistheControlledSubstanceActthatclassifiesmarijuanajustasbadasheroin
andcocaine.Eversincethefirstmarijuanalawswentintoeffectin1996inCaliforniamany
Americanshavelegalaccesstothedrug.Withagreatwayofmakingtaxmoney,Marijuanais
oneofAmericasbiggestcashcrops(Ruschmann78),fromthecannabisplantotherstates
caughtonandlegalizedmedicalmarijuana.Eventhoughmarijuanaislegalincertainstates,
anyamountofweedisconsideredafelonytothefederalgovernment.Manypeoplebelieve
thereisnobenefitsoflegalizingmarijuanaandothersthinkmarijuanacanbeusedasmedicine.
MarijuanashouldbemovedfromScheduleItoScheduleIVoftheControlledSubstanceAct
becauseMarijuanahasmanyhealthbenefits,itisamajorcashcrop,anditwillfreenonviolent
prisonerswithmarijuanarelatedcrimes.

Patientsusemarijuanaasamedicaltreatment.Peopleusuallyaskdoctorstoprescribe
themmedicalmarijuanabecausetheydontwanttotakepillsthatmayhaveaworseaftereffect
thencannabis.Itisanalternativetotreatingavarietyofillnesses.Componentsthatmakeup
marijuanalikeTHCandCBDhavebeenfoundtohelpdecreasepain,inflammation,control
epilepticseizures,andpossiblytreatingmentalillnessandaddiction(IsMarijuana).Legalizing
marijuanawouldhelppeoplewithsimilarproblemsliketheseandchangetheirlivesforthe
better.Asofrightnow24stateshavelegalizedmarijuanaformedicaluse(Theseare).Allthe
statesshouldbelegalizingweedsothatpatientshaveaccesstoadrugthatcanbenefittheir
healthandmood.Marijuanashealthbenefitswillattractbuyersandraisemillionsofdollarsfor
statesyearly.

Marijuanacanbetaxedsimilartotobaccoandalcohol.Beingamajorcashcropitcan
raisemillionsofdollarsthatcangotowardsU.S.debtandstatefunding.Analystssuggestthat
taxingthedrugcouldraisebetween$5and$22millionannually(LegalizingRecreational).
Withthatmuchprofitfromtaxesthemoneycanfundeducationaswellbutsincemarijuanaisnt
legalnoneofthisispossible.Onlyifmarijuanaislegalizedcanstatestaxthedrug.Agood
exampleofhowmarijuanacanbeeffectivewhentaxedisColoradotheymade,$63millionin
taxrevenueaccordingtothetaxdatareleasedfromthestatesDepartmentof
Revenue(ChicagoTribune).Coloradoisastatetofullylegalizemarijuanaiftherestofthe
U.S.followstheirleadAmericawillbemakinganextraordinaryamountoftaxmoney.Alongwith

makingprofitfromthedrugtheU.S.willsavebillionsfromfreeingprisonerswithnonviolent
marijuanacrimes.

Americahasthehighestprisonpopulationandsecondhighestincarcerationrate.Many
oftheseprisonersareincarceratedforadrugrelatedcrime.TheU.S.spends$68billionayear
ontheirinmateswith,onesixthofourcountrysprisonersinjailformarijuanarelated
charges(LegalizingMarijuana).MakingcannabisfullylegalwouldsavetheU.S.$11.3billiona
yeargoingtowardstheseprisoners.Alsobigcrimeorganizationsarefundedbytraffickingand
sellingdrugsinAmerica.Makingmarijuanaaccessibletothepublicwouldmean,buyerswillnot
fearitbeinglacedwithchemicals(LegalizingMarijuana).Thiswouldmakecriminal
organizationsloseafortune.AlsowiththemoneybeingsavedfromtheprisonerstheU.S.can
effectivelyfightthewaronharmfuldrugssuchascocaine,heroin,andmorphine.Therearealso
argumentsthatlegalizingmarijuanawillhavenegativeeffects.

Twopopularargumentsarethatmarijuanahaslongtermeffectsandwillincreasecrime
rate.Humansthatusemarijuanaregularlyhavebeenstudiedtoseeifthereareanylongterm
effectsandtheresultsweresurprising.Dr.FrancescaFilbeywhowaspartofthisresearch
stated,researchonitslongtermeffectsremainscarcedespitethechangesinlegislation
surroundingmarijuana(Study:Medical).Doctorshavenotconductedmuchresearchonits
addictiveorlongtermeffectsbutiftherewereseriouseffectstheywouldhavefounditbynow,
thisshouldencouragepeopletolegalizeit.Thesecondargumentisthatcannabiswillincrease
crimerate,thishasbeenbasedondispensariesbeingrobbedandjustfalseassumptions.
StudiesbytheUTDallasteamhaveshownnoincreaseincrimeratebutastonishinglya
reductionincertaintypesofcrime.Dr.RobertMorris,associateprofessorofcriminologysaid,
wefoundnoincreaseincrimerateresultingfrommedicalmarijuanalegalization.Infact,we
foundsomeevidenceofdecreasingratesofsometypesofviolentcrime,namelyhomicideand
assault(Study:Medical).Thesefindingscounterthebeliefsthatmarijuanaleadstoanincrease
incrimeratebecauseoftheamountofdrugsandcashthatarepresentindispensariesand
growhouses.Theseargumentshavebeenstudiedandcounteredmakingitbeneficialto
legalizemarijuana.

Marijuanaisbyfaranythingbutharmfulandwillhelpplentyofpatientslookingfor
medicaltreatmentandthoseusingitforrecreationalpurposeshavenothingtofearbecauseit
hasalmostnoaddictiveorlongtermeffects.Taxrevenueisgoingtobeinthemillionsbecause
marijuanaisamajorcashcrop.Includingbillionsthatwillbesavedonpeoplethatarentgoing
tobeprosecutedorincarceratedformarijuanarelatedcrimes.Legalizingmarijuanaisasmall
partofaprocessonhowwedecidewhichdrugsarebadandhowwetakeprecautionstosee
whatpositiveandnegativeoutcomeslegalizingadrugcanhave.Itsawaytomakesurethe
drugissueswehavealreadydontgetworsebutbetter.Thisiswhywemustmakesure
marijuanaislegalizedsothatthecountrycanbenefitfromit.

WorksCited

ElectronicSource:

"CenterforBrainHealth."CenterforBrainHealth.N.p.,n.d.Web.
<http://www.brainhealth.utdallas.edu/>.

"ChicagoTribune."ChicagoTribune.N.p.,n.d.Web.
<http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/1/>

"IsMarijuanaMedicine?"DrugFacts:.N.p.,n.d.Web.
<https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuanamedicine>.

"LegalizingMarijuanaCanReduceCrime,IncreaseRevenueforState."TheSundial.N.p.,09
Nov.2009.Web.<http://sundial.csun.edu/>.

"LegalizingRecreationalMarijuanaProsandCons."DrugRehab.N.p.,13Dec.2012.Web.

"MarijuanaLegalizationPros/cons."TheLibertyChampion.N.p.,n.d.Web.
Study:MedicalMarijuanaLegalizationDoesn'tLeadtoMoreCrime.N.p.,n.d.Web.
<http://www.utdallas.edu/>.

"TheseAretheStatesThatCouldLegalizePotnext."WashingtonPost.TheWashingtonPost,
n.d.Web.

BookSource:

Ruschmann,Paul.LegalizingMarijuana.Philadelphia:ChelseaHouse,2004.Print.