Arguing Essay

Rachael Fenton

Mrs. Jordan-Squire

Argumentative Essay

February 23rd, 2010

Legalizing Marijuana

Legalizing Marijuana

If a classroom of students were asked to raise their hand if they have ever tried marijuana, most likely none of them would put their hand up. No one would want to admit to a criminal activity in front of their teacher. But why is it that smoking pot is so taboo in our society? After all, numerous famous intellectuals support marijuana. Few people know that Al Gore supports the legalization of marijuana. The founding father of our nation, George Washington, said, “Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!” Marijuana is also supported by many acclaimed celebrity role models. Famous Hollywood actor Johnny Depp says, “I’m not a big pothead or anything like that… but weed is much, much less dangerous than alcohol.” Other well known supporters of marijuana include Snoop Dogg, the Marley family, Willie Nelson, Chris Farley, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama, John Adams, James Madison, and JFK. A total of 11 United States presidents grew, smoked, or supported the legalization of Marijuana. With the support of some of the greatest thinkers and world leaders of all time, it’s a wonder that marijuana is still illegal. Although some think legalizing marijuana would corrupt the country, making this drug legal would benefit not only people who actually smoke it, but everyone in general.

A lot of people who don’t know about weed think that, of course like any other drug, it’s easy to become addicted to. All clinical studies, including those conducted by the government, have concluded that marijuana contains no addictive properties. A person can become chemically dependent on the drug, but that is radically different than an addiction. According to the UCLA School of Medicine, “Marijuana does not impair long term memory” (Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine). Weed can cause short term memory loss but only while under the influence. The same can be said for alcohol and many over the counter sleeping medications. Brain damage that does occur is not because of any chemical property in ganja, but because the brain is deprived of oxygen for so long that brain cells are killed. For any self acclaimed pot smoker that’s an easy fix, just don’t hold your hits in for so long. Also according to the UCLA School of Medicine, “Neither the continuing nor intermittent marijuana smokers exhibited any significantly different rates of lung function as compared to those individuals who never smoked marijuana” (Volume 155 of the American Journal of Respiratory & Critical Care Medicine). The study was conducted on 243 pot smokers over an 8 year period.

Not only is Cannabis not as harmful as people perceive it as, it also has medical benefits. Marijuana has been without fail proven to relieve the vomiting and nausea that come with chemotherapy in cancer patients. Many cancer patients have said that marijuana was the best treatment for their symptoms. An interviewed cancer patient, who has miraculously overcome the disease, was asked about the effects of marijuana. The interviewee said, “I would not have lived if I didn’t smoke lots of marijuana”. Isn’t it interesting that cancer, one of the world’s deadliest, incurable diseases, is treated with marijuana, an illegal drug?

Marijuana is also used for treating multiple sclerosis and several mood disorders. After smoking small amounts of marijuana, patients are said to be relaxed and stress free. Unlike alcohol which is a depressant, Cannabis can be used to treat low level depression. Most depression is caused by stress; smoking pot relieves stress and thus relieves depression. Glaucoma is yet another disease that smoking weed will treat. Marijuana has abundant medical uses and little to no medical handicaps. Making it legal would benefit all of the people with diseases such as cancer, mood disorders, etc. For Cannabis to be illegal even though it has so many medical reimbursements, while tobacco and alcohol are legal, is insanity.

The most common problem associated with marijuana abuse is lethargic behavior, but it does not cause serious health or social concerns. Overuse of alcohol will result in an inability to walk, stand, or even death, whereas overuse of weed will simply put a person to sleep. 40% of all fatal car accidents are caused by alcohol while no car accidents ever have been directly caused by marijuana. Alcohol induces violent behavior such as domestic violence. Someone under the influence of alcohol could experience fits of rage, which has often led to their own demise or the death of others, while someone who got high from marijuana will stroll around pleasantly with a smile on their face in search of the nearest McDonald’s. As Bob Marley once said, “Herb is the healing of the nation, alcohol is the destruction.”

Cigarettes are another legal substance that is far more dangerous than some good ganja. Smoking cigarettes is the leading cause of lung cancer in America. Tobacco cigarettes are filled with harmful chemicals such as nicotine, rat poison, formaldehyde, ammonia, and arsenic. Both cigarettes and alcohol are immensely addictive products that lead to very serious health problems, primarily cancer, and ultimately death. Marijuana is considered by many to be a dangerous substance, but in reality many of our legal drugs are far more risky. Each year 400,000 people die from tobacco and 100,000 die from alcohol. Like any substance marijuana can be abused, but it is impossible to overdose on. In all of recorded history, going back as far as 2700 BC, there has never been one single human death attributed to a health problem caused by marijuana.

Not only is marijuana a safe drug with medical benefits, but it could rapidly stimulate our failing economy. At its current rate of production, legal marijuana generates 35.8 billion dollars per year. Profits from marijuana exceed that of corn and wheat combined. And that’s just the legal margins. Revenue from illegal domestic marijuana is speculated at around 60 billion dollars a year. That’s a total of 95.8 billion dollars each year excluding imports. Marijuana is considered by generous amounts of economists to already be our nation’s number one cash crop. It’s already the number one cash crop in 12 states including California, Alaska, and Hawaii. In Washington, weed is second only to apples. In 30 other states ganja is among the top three on the list of cash crops. Economists estimate that if marijuana were legalized, annual tax returns would be 6.2 billion dollars. That’s over 6 billion dollars in the hands of the federal government rather than in the hands of so called drug criminals. This money could be spent on combating the flow of hard, more hazardous drugs onto our streets.

Legalizing marijuana will not only create enormous sums of money, it will also save vast sums of money. Approximately 7.7 billion dollars is spent annually on law enforcement to navigate marijuana consumption. Legalizing marijuana would eliminate 100% of these costs. Another taxpayer expense that would be definitely reduced is prison expenses. New FBI statistics show that one marijuana smoker is arrested every 45 seconds. Since 1990 5.9 million innocent Americans have been arrested on Cannabis charges, a number greater than the population of Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. 88% of all people in jail, a staggering 2 million, are there due to marijuana offenses. In the case that marijuana is legalized that number will be reduced to 440,000 people, an exceptional decline. The deprivation of operating prisons would also deteriorate dramatically. The cost of operating prisons comes directly out of taxpayers’ pockets. Currently a 40 billion dollar per year expenditure would be cut back to 8.8 billion dollars, still a gigantic amount, but much, much less than what it was. With this amount of savings and profits, it’s amazing that our capitalist society hasn’t already demanded the legalization of pot.

Simply selling the buds is not the only way to make money off the Cannabis plant. Hemp fibers from the stalks have countless other uses. An entire hemp based industry will be created. Oil extracted from the seeds was used to lubricate gears and mechanisms in many of the original cars including Henry Ford’s Model T. Hemp fiber, renowned for its strength, has long been used to test the durability of other fibers. When George Bush Sr. was forced to eject from his F-50 over Vietnam, the parachute that saved his life was made from 100% hemp fiber. Hemp can be made into rope, clothing, and paper. Hemp paper is equivalent to paper made from trees, without destroying the rainforests. After all, the first, third and final drafts of the Declaration of Independence were all written on hemp paper. More important than the products made will be the jobs procreated by this industry. The current unemployment rate is 8.9% as of April 2009. 8.9% sounds like a small number out of 100 but 8.9% translates to over 13.7 million people without a job. Though legalizing marijuana won’t create all 13.7 million jobs necessary, it will create some. That’s a step in the right direction to revive our falling economy.

Like stated above, a common misconception is that smoking pot makes a person lazy, unexcited, and useless to society. That’s not true at all. Like most Americans, people who smoke pot pay taxes, love and support their families, and work hard to make a better life for their children. Suddenly they are arrested, jailed, and treated like criminals solely because they choose to relax in a way that is safer than tobacco or alcohol. State agencies frequently step in and declare children of marijuana smokers to be “in danger,” and many children are placed into foster homes as a result. This causes enormous pain, suffering, and financial hardship for millions of honest American families. It also engenders distrust and disrespect for the law and criminal justice system overall. If the children of marijuana smokers are in danger than the children of cigarette smokers and alcoholics are in a situation far more unsafe. Responsible pot smokers present no threat or danger to America and there is no reason to treat them as criminals.

Many people also believe that marijuana is a gateway drug and will lead to other more dangerous drugs. It’s true that most people who do hard drugs didn’t immediately start out snorting cocaine or shooting heroin, but smoking pot every now and then doesn’t condemn you to be some cracked out heroin fiend. From my knowledge, as it stands right now only a small portion of weed smokers go on to harder drugs. If kids could run down to the gas station and pick up some weed, their interest in other drugs would be diminished. The only way that pot could be considered a gateway drug is if it is sold alongside hard drugs. True, some pot dealers sell harder stuff, but legalizing marijuana completely counteracts that argument. If marijuana were legal, there would be no need for side street dealers who might have hard drugs on them. It could be sold in any convenience store across the country. I know for a fact that teenagers would much rather get high legally than break the law to do so. The problem is legal highs aren’t readily available, but if they were hard drugs would not be necessary. Many people also suggest that marijuana leads people to a life of crime. Amsterdam, where marijuana is legal, has a lower crime rate than any major U.S. city. That soundly disproves that theory and clearly shows that smoking marijuana is not a gateway to anything illegal.

All in all, legalizing marijuana would benefit anyone and everyone in some way or another. The politically left wing can stick it to the business owners who made it illegal in the first place. Marijuana is the number 1 cash crop according to the politically left wing and if legalized even more money can be made. A verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:29 “And God said, behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth.” According to the Bible, God has given the right to grow and consume any plant on this earth, including marijuana. Environmentalists or anyone who at least cares about the fate of our planet can save the 4 billion trees that are cut down every year to make paper. Permitting marijuana could help the economy, help people with medical problems, and even help the environment. Legalizing Cannabis would benefit every person in the country one way or another and the world as a whole would be a better place. In the words of Bob Marley, “Legalize it, don’t criticize it.”