Legalization of Marijuana

Legalization of Marijuana

The United States government should legalize marijuana. Since the countries inception the drug has been looked down upon because of things like the movie Reefer Madness. The movie displays marijuana users as lazy and ignorant, but, on the contrary, many extremely smart people have admitted to using marijuana such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Some people still consider Marijuana a dangerous, evil drug, however if legalized and controlled it could provide an immediate boost in the economy, it would eliminate the waste of valuable government resources, and on top on those reasons it also provides numerous health benefits to people who suffer from painful afflictions.

One major reason marijuana should be legalized is, if regulated and distributed, it could be an immediate boost to the economy. The United States government is constantly looking for ways to improve the economy; marijuana could prove to be a viable option. If it were legalized, regulated and taxed and sold in a fashion similar to cigarettes it would provide enormous tax revenue. Cannabis is a crop that is easily and inexpensively grown with high yields of product. The government could bring in anywhere from five to twenty-five billion dollars a year in annual revenue if properly taxed. If marijuana were legalized it would provide a much needed boost to this economy as a regulated commodity.

Another reason why marijuana should be legalized is that it would stop the waste of valuable government resources. Everyday people are arrested and incarcerated for marijuana related crimes. Marijuana is a relatively harmless drug especially when compared to hard drugs like heroin and crystal methamphetamine and even cigarettes and alcohol, Every year tobacco kills about 435,000 people, alcohol kills about 85,000 people, hard drugs kill about 17,000 people and there has never been a recorded marijuana related death in the history of man, (http://www.economicsjunkie.com/annual-drug-related-deaths-in-the-us-marijuana-ranks-last-with-zero/). Every year the United States government spends about billions of dollars on arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana related criminals. The government wastes billions every year on containing on a drug that could be making them billions, also while that drug has almost no harm.

The final and potentially most important reason why marijuana should be legalized is the numerous health benefits that marijuana provides. Marijuana is a known treatment to many afflictions like Glaucoma and AIDS. Marijuana helps treat nausea, pain, depression, anxiety just to name a few. It can also improve sleep, appetite, concentration, focus and relaxation. Marijuana has been used as a treatment for numerous ailments all throughout history. Cannabis also provides hemp which at the start of the country was used in hundreds of products and was one of the United States biggest crops. Thomas