When people hear the word marijuana (also known as cannabis), images of long hair bongo playing hippies may come to mind. Or people sitting around doing nothing but munching on snacks, is another common image when thinking about marijuana. These stereotypical images have come to portray people that smoke marijuana, but the fact is most people would never know if someone uses marijuana because they look just like everyone else. Legalization of marijuana is a hot topic among individuals today as many states have already legalized it, and other states are debating the issue. The feelings on weather marijuana should be legalized vary widely, but most people fall into one of three main groups. The first group is against legalizing marijuana,
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Why would someone want to take a substance that has proven to have health concerns and a burden on society, and make it legal? Some say that those in support of making the drug legal do so because they already have dependency on the drug, and want easier access to it. Others think that supports legalization do so only because they are against government restrictions. Yet others are in favor of legalization due to the medicinal properties of the plan, and feel the medical gains outweigh the risk. These arguments are valid points that must be addressed before a logical decision can be made on the legalization of marijuana.
Supporters of legalizing marijuana list a number of items that society would benefit from. Things like medical benefits, revenue from taxing and regulating the drug, decrease in crime relating to marijuana, new employment opportunities, and the ability to again use the plant to produce goods such as clothing. Who would not want to increate jobs and revenue from taxes? If these points are true, then why is there still so much opposition against making the drug legal? To make an informed decision one must review both sides and come to a conclusion for him or …show more content…
However, I feel that legalization should be allowed mainly for the medicinal possibilities. Without the removal of the Schedule 1 substance label, research into all the ways the cannabis plant could potentially help people will not be realized. I am not a proponent in any way for allowing non-regulated use of marijuana. If the drug is allowed to be legal, then there must be regulations regarding who is allowed to purchase the drug. We all saw how alcohol prohibition only caused issues and did not prevent people from still using alcohol. People found ways to purchase or make their own in spite of the fact that alcohol was illegal. The same is true with marijuana – it would be better to make it legal and have regulation over it, than try to keep it as an illegal drug that is still used with no
Why would someone want to take a substance that has proven to have health concerns and a burden on society, and make it legal? Some say that those in support of making the drug legal do so because they already have dependency on the drug, and want easier access to it. Others think that supports legalization do so only because they are against government restrictions. Yet others are in favor of legalization due to the medicinal properties of the plan, and feel the medical gains outweigh the risk. These arguments are valid points that must be addressed before a logical decision can be made on the legalization of marijuana.
Supporters of legalizing marijuana list a number of items that society would benefit from. Things like medical benefits, revenue from taxing and regulating the drug, decrease in crime relating to marijuana, new employment opportunities, and the ability to again use the plant to produce goods such as clothing. Who would not want to increate jobs and revenue from taxes? If these points are true, then why is there still so much opposition against making the drug legal? To make an informed decision one must review both sides and come to a conclusion for him or …show more content…
However, I feel that legalization should be allowed mainly for the medicinal possibilities. Without the removal of the Schedule 1 substance label, research into all the ways the cannabis plant could potentially help people will not be realized. I am not a proponent in any way for allowing non-regulated use of marijuana. If the drug is allowed to be legal, then there must be regulations regarding who is allowed to purchase the drug. We all saw how alcohol prohibition only caused issues and did not prevent people from still using alcohol. People found ways to purchase or make their own in spite of the fact that alcohol was illegal. The same is true with marijuana – it would be better to make it legal and have regulation over it, than try to keep it as an illegal drug that is still used with no