Legalize Pot Essays - Drug Culture, Drug Control Law,

Legalize Pot There is no denying that the drug problem in our country today has reached epidemic proportions. The problem has gotten so out of hand that many options are being considered to control and/or solve it. Ending the drug war may not seem to be the best answer at first, but the so-called war on drugs has actually accomplished very little. Different options need to be considered. Legalization is an option that hasn't gotten much of a chance, but should be given one. It is my position that marijuana should be legalized. Although many people feel that the legalization of marijuana would result in an increase in the amount of crime and drug abuse, I contend that the opposite is true. While I admit that there might be an initial increase in use, I feel that it would gradually wane, and that the crime rate would be reduced immediately. Furthermore, legalization would reduce the enormous amount of money spent on enforcement while at the same time increasing our country's revenue. In 1996 voters in both California and Arizona approved ballot measures exempting physicians and patients from criminal prosecution when marijuana is prescribed for medical purposes in the relief of pain or other symptoms caused by cancer, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), glaucoma, arthritis, and other illnesses and chronic conditions. The Massachusetts and Ohio legislatures enacted similar medical necessity laws in 1996. However, the U.S. government, which opposes such exemptions to anti-marijuana laws, warned physicians in these states that they may lose federally sanctioned privileges for writing prescriptions for controlled substances, be barred from participation in federal Medicare and Medicaid programs, and face federal criminal prosecution for prescribing marijuana (1). The legalization of marijuana would be a boom to the economy. During prohibition, alcohol was still sold and used, but people were doing it illegally. The 21st amendment repealed prohibition, and alcohol taxes were increased. The same thing should happen with pot. Marijuana could be heavily taxed to increase our countrys revenue. Moreover, major companies operating under strict government regulations would legally produce marijuana, resulting in a higher quality product free of poisons and other adulterants (2). Making marijuana legal would greatly reduce the vast amount of money spent on drug law enforcement every year. Drug dealers and users seem to constantly be one step ahead of the authorities, anyway. If one drug lord is caught, for instance, another one turns up somewhere else to take his place. We cannot win. For example: In 1990, well over 10 billion dollars was spent on drug enforcement alone. Drugs accounted for more than 40 percent of all felony indictments in our nations courts in 1992. This figure is quadruple what it was in 1985. Forty percent of the people in federal prison are drug law violators (2). One can only imagine what this figure would be like today. Too much money is wasted on a cause that there seems to be no end to. In 1989, a Republican county executive of Mercer County, NJ estimated that it would cost as much as one billion dollars to build the jail space needed to house all of the drug offenders in Trenton alone (2). All of this money could certainly be used on better things. By lifting the ban on marijuana and treating it like other drugs such as tobacco and alcohol, the nation would gain both immediate and long-term benefits. This change in the law would greatly improve the quality of life for many people in need of the herbs medicinal properties (3). Victims of cancer, anorexia, AIDS, chronic pain, glaucoma, arthritis, migraine, or any other illness for which marijuana provides relief, for example, would find quality marijuana readily available. Also, the cloud of suspicion over marijuana would disappear, and doctors could get on with legitimate investigating of the plant's medical uses without fear of controversy (4). Meanwhile, the black market would disappear overnight. Some arrangement would be made to license the production of marijuana cigarettes. The untold multitudes of dealers would be put out of business, and a major source of financial loss to the economy would become one of financial gain. It is difficult to say what effect this change alone would have on crime, however, since criminals