For example, legalizing marijuana would save the U.S a ton of money. Not only could tax on marijuana like crazy, but according the TIME magazine article, the US spends "$68 billion per year on corrections, and one-third of those being corrected are serving time for nonviolent drug crimes". And of all the drug related arrests, 47.5% of them are marijuana related! We put so much money into our correction facilities when we could save millions (if not billions) of dollars just by legalizing one of the most popular reasons for arrest in the United States.
Like any drug or medicine, marijuana does have health risks. As promoted by the Above the Influence organizationn, using marijuana at a young age can result in structural and functional deficits of the brain. Marijuana may not be perfectly safe, but there are countless health risks associated with other legal drugs, many of which are harsher than marijuana. Alcohol for example does damage to the brain, stomach, liver, kidneys, and muscles- especially in teenagers. (Above the Influence) It is a choice to use either drug, (or any other for that matter) so why not make it legal, and help out our terrible economy in the mean time?
This is the part I find fascinating. WHY do people ignore the fact that marijuana is just as, if not better for one's health as alcohol, but yet remains illegal? Is it because we've taught our kids to "make the right choices"? What image do you think many Americans want to avoid?
This is quite a hot topic! Personally, I don't support the legalization of marijuana because of my own values and beliefs. However, when I hear arguments, like the one presented in the article you mention, I can't help but question it. Taxing marijuana to boost the economy does sound like an interesting and alternative way for the government to get money and save what they would spend on correctional facilities. But, the question I immediately ask myself is, if this were to play out in the real world how full proof is that plan? I don't have an answer and although I find this topic intriguing I think its a Pandora's box of possibilities if we did legalize marijuana so, in my opinion, it seems safer to keep it the way it is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kathleen that we should keep it illegal. If marijuana becomes legalized, another drug will step up as the "forbidden fruit". If teenagers start to do marijuana frequently, they may get tired of it, and turn to some other worse kind of drug that is still illegal. Drugs like cocaine may be distributed more and after a couple of years the same criminal problem may arise that we are having now with marijuana. There will always be illegal drugs sold, so it all depends on where we draw the line, and I think it is at the right place today.
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