Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

Marijuana remains the most widely used illegal drug and seems to stir up constant debate everywhere. Mainstream media is begging to catch on to the false advertisement of cannabis. So many people ask themselves why marijuana should be legalized but the real question is; why should it be illegal? People are starting to see the big picture. Now we find ourselves asking, why is marijuana illegal if it is not more dangerous than substances that are legal?

The first and most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. Marijuana is an herb that grows in the ground like any other plant that has natural side effects if you burn it. Unlike most drugs the side effects don't have any harmful effects to the body or brain. In some cases, the herb has been proven to enhance brain activity and improve test scores in students. Some might argue that the plant is still classified as a drug and causes people to do harm to themselves and to others. But, this statement is irrelevant because it also applies to alcohol and tobacco and a wide range of other legal substances.

Marijuana has also been proven to help in the medical field. It's been used to help nausea with chemo patients and probably much more if we were aloud the freedom to do so. But, because we are stuck with it being classified as a banned "drug" we will never know its full potential. Were stuck with controlled substances that cause more harm than what their trying to cure. We are given lethal drugs that do more harm to our bodies rather than giving us natural drugs that are healthier for our system.

The main reason marijuana is illegal is because of the government. In the United States, all levels of government, including the federal, state, and local authorities participate in the "War on Drugs." The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) would end up losing money if marijuana gets legalized. The government needs us to continue paying for them to lock people up for smoking and selling pot. We have to pay for food, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses to lock these people up. What the government doesn't understand is we could save billions of dollars every year as a nation if we stop wasting money locking people up for having marijuana and pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes.

Outlawing marijuana is obviously not working and not beneficial to society at all. Alcohol was once forbidden and that didn't work out. Why not try and control, educate the youth and the world, control the usage and benefit from it.