FREE ESSAY ON MARIJUANA

MARIJUANA

? Drugs are a major influential force in our country today. The problem has gotten so out
of hand
that many options are being considered to control it or even solve it. Ending the drug
war seems
to be a bit impossible. The war on drugs seems to be accomplishing a lot but this is not
true.
Different options need to be considered. Legalization is an option that hasn't gotten a
chance but
should be given one. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase
the
amount of use, marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce the great amounts of
money
spent on enforcement and it will increase our country's revenue. There are also many
benefits that
can be uncovered to help people if legalization of marijuana is given a chance.
Legalizing marijuana would increase our economy's revenue. During Prohibition alcohol use
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 The 21st amendment repealed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 drugs. Marijuana
should be
taxed heavily to increase our revenue. Marijuana and other drugs would be made by the
same
people who make aspirin so the quality would be assured, containing no poisons or
adulterants.
Sterile hypodermic needles will be readily available at corner drug stores. These could
be taxed
heavily because the users will be assured of clean drugs. 
Making drugs legal will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement every
year.
Drug dealers and users are one step ahead on the enforcement process. If one drug lord is
caught,
another one will show up somewhere else. We cannot win. In 1987, 10 billion dollars were
spent
alone just on enforcing drug laws. Drugs accounted for about 40 percent of all felony
indictments
in the New York City courts in 1989. This figure is quadruple what it was in 1985. .
Forty percent
of the people in federal prison are drug law violators (Long 114). One can only imagine
what this
figure would be like today. Too much money is wasted on a cause that seems to be no end
to. In
1989, a Republican county executive of Mercer County N.J. estimated that it would cost
him as
much as 1 billion dollars to build the jail space needed to house all the hard-core drug
users in
Trenton alone (Long 128). All of this money could be used on better things.
By lifting the ban on marijuana use and treating it like other drugs such as tobacco and
alcohol,
the nation would gain immediate and long-term benefits. This change in the law would
greatly
improve the quality of life for many people. Victims of glaucoma and those needing
antinausea
treatment, for example, would find marijuana easily available. Also, the cloud of
suspicion would
disappear, and doctors could get on with investigating marijuana's medical uses without
fear of
controversy. In the essay, Drugs, Vidal states,  Nevertheless many drugs are bad for
certain
people to take and they should be told why in a sensible way (321-322). It might become
possible to discuss the dangers of marijuana use without getting caught up in a policy
debate..
Meanwhile, the black market would disappear overnight. Some arrangement would be made to
license the production of marijuana cigarettes. Thousands of dealers would be put out of
business,
and a secret part of the economy would come into the open. It is difficult to say whether
this
change would reduce crime because criminals would probably continue to sell other drugs.
But it
would have an impact on the amount of money flowing through criminal channels, and this
might
weaken organized crime.
The legalization of marijuana would benefit the federal budget in two ways, the federal
revenues
would increase, because marijuana cigarettes would be taxed at the point of sale. In
return, the
companies that make the cigarettes would also pay income taxes.. Second, there would be
a
reduction on the amount spent on law enforcement efforts to apprehend and prosecute users
and
sellers of marijuana. The drug enforcement authorities might reduce their budget
requests, or,
more likely, focus more intensely on hard drugs and violent crimes. The courts would be
relieved
of hearing some drug cases, as well. The most important gain would be in the quality of
government. The sorts of temptations and opportunities that lead to corruption would be
significantly minimized. The illogical pattern of law enforcement, which now treats
marijuana as
more dangerous as alcohol, would end. It would set more achievable goals for law
enforcement,
and this would lend strength and credibility to the government.
In the essay drugs, Vidal states, It is possible to stop most drug addiction in the
United States
within a very short time, Simply make all drugs available.