Pro Legalization of Marijuana Essay examples -- essays research papers

Cannabis has been illegal since the Marijuana Tax act of 1934. Yet out of a population of 284 million American citizens, 70 million Americans claim to have smoked cannabis at some point in their lives. Prohibition of cannabis is therefore apparently ineffective at changing the habits of a population, just as prohibition of alcohol was ineffective in 1919-1933. Making otherwise law-abiding citizens fugitives does nothing more than fill the prisons and alienate the populace from their government. In fact the total cost to taxpayers of solely marijuana-related incarceration (in local, state, and federal prisons and jails) of 15,400 people exceeds $1.2 million per year. There have been many studies performed to try to prove that the effects of marijuana are worse than other medications. Unfortunately, 9 out of 10 of the studies found that marijuana is in fact safer than many of our everyday prescription and over the counter drugs. Never in United States history has their been even one case of someone dieing or being injured from the use of marijuana an illegal drug. But every year many people die from use of Americas popular legal drugs. A combined 50,000 plus people die a year from use of over the counter drugs. 90 percent of these deaths are caused by aspirin and caffeine pills. 150,000 plus people die a year from over use of alcohol. Not including the fact that alcohol is the main reason for 50 percent of all motor vehicle accidents and the cause of 60 percent of all murders in the United States. Tobacco, another of Americas highly used legal drugs kills close to 500,000 people per year. If the government did legalize marijuana the National debt would be greatl... ...have found evidence that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and other cannabinoids have a direct effect on pain signals in the central nervous system, by tracing the biochemical pathway that pain signals follow from the site of an injury, through the spinal cord, to the brain. How can you ignore a drug that aids in the relief of these terminal diseases? Marijuana is more effective than conventional drugs in many instances. Denying cannabis treatment to the sick and dying is cruel and unnecessary. Marijuana has and will drastically help the people of our country in many ways. The terminally ill patients and anyone that uses marijuana does not pose a threat to the public in any way shape or form and there for, with all these facts stated the United States clearly needs to rethink there marijuana laws and legalize this drug of wonders for public use.