Decriminalization Of Marijuana Essay

The legalization of marijuana is not the same as the decriminalization of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana would constitute that people can acquire, posses, and use marijuana without facing any criminal prosecution. For example, the legalization of marijuana would allow people to consume marijuana in the same way that people consume alcohol(with regulations of course). On the contrary, the decriminalization of marijuana merely lessens the penalties and jail sentences for simple possession. Essentially, decriminalization wouldn't legitimize the use, sale or storage of marijuana, and therefore, there would still be criminal persecutions for people engaged in such behavior. Basically, the focus of decriminalization becomes less on penalization and more on treatment of drug use. …show more content…
As research shows, the use of marijuana contains multiple health benefits and holds less health risks than cigarettes. Thus, it is important to ask why the use of cigarettes and alcohol is legal, when they have proven to have similar and even worse effects than marijuana. I believe this is explained by the harm principle: the government allows people to consume alcohol and cigarettes under the condition that these actions don't affect the lives of other citizens. Therefore, I believe that marijuana should also be legalized because there is no tangible evidence that proves that someone's use of marijuana directly affects others. Nevertheless, just how alcohol and other legal drugs contain regulations, marijuana should also be regulated so that it is not