Marijuana
Legalization of Marijuana. While the topic may seem “played out” by some readers of this, I feel that work still needs to be pressured on our new president, and our new government to seriously consider legalization of marijuana, or at least decriminalization nation-wide.
Marijuana can be helpful to our current ailing economy, as when it is legalized and sold by stores, the drug will be taxed, therefore pumping money into the government’s pocket, which it can therefore put money towards programs and funds that need support, such as our conflicts in the middle east, reconstructing and aiding developing nations, and helping us at home by supporting schools and other public welfare programs.
With the legalization of marijuana, our police force’s time will be noticeably more open, leaving them with more time to arrest criminals who are truly hurting our society. I compare this to Amsterdam’s situation with prostitution. Before the practice was legalized, the John was subject to harm from a pimp, and could potentially result in murder and other heinous crimes. Now that the practice is legalized, when a prostitute is in trouble from a John, she can hit a button in the booth, and the cops come instead of a violent pimp. This eliminated a large portion of mob and gang activity in Amsterdam with legalization in affect. It can be applied in a parallel situation with marijuana: most of it can be traced back to gang or mob activity, and if it is legalized and the gangs are being undersold and put “out of business”, then they will fade away, which will therefore make our society a better place.
And here I come to an argument that I have never seen a single refutation for. Alcohol and cigarettes are both legal commodities, and consumption of both is encouraged, to extents. Well, last time I checked, BOTH OF THESE SUBSTANCES ARE FATAL! Is pot a toxic substance that can result in death? Hardly. There are few registered deaths linked closely with marijuana, and at the same time, there are hundreds upon thousands of deaths of people from alcohol and cigarette related incidents all the time. Many people drink or smoke cigs to calm down from the day and relieve stress. Well, a chemical in marijuana known as THC relieves stress, and causes the “high” feeling that one gets upon smoking it. And one joint can successfully calm someone down with less harm than a drinker or a tobacco smoker.
Coupled with this is the association marijuana has. People lump it in drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamines. But those drugs are what are known as “hard drugs” while marijuana is categorized as a “soft drug”. Hard drugs are those drugs that kill very easily and are also strongly addictive. Soft drugs are hardly harmful at all, and contain few habit=forming properties. Some go so far as to say that to call marijuana a drug is to call bald a hair color.
It is quite difficult to overdose on marijuana as well, as one must eat half their body weight in under an hour to fatally overdose on it, yet if one eats that much of anything that quickly they will die, whether they are consuming marijuana, pizza, or apples.
For these reasons, marijuana must be legalized within the United States of America, and possibly throughout the world as well. Smoke up.
Comments
The author's name is Mason Riedl
Normally, I would not seek to advocate the use of marijuana. However, I must say that you bring up a good point with the pimp and the prostitute.
- Karl White
I don't think that most police officers go out with the sole intent of finding marijuana, normally there is something else wrong that leads to finding it. For example, a car accident, someone driving noticeably under the influence, or someone who is obviously high. Someone who is driving under the influence of marijuana and causes a fatal accident is still someone who is truly hurting our society. Someone who gets high and decides to go out and kill his ex-girlfriend because he still loves her and she moved on is hurting our society. Is the man sitting in his basement smoking marijuana hurting society? Maybe not. But that man in his basement isn't the one the police are concerned about.
Gangs deal with many more drugs then just marijuana. Go deep into the heart of the Latin Kings and you find dealings with Heroine, Cocaine and illegal firearms. Marijuana is a small part of their business and they would be able to make up for elsewhere, or they could just continue growing and selling their own special "recipe".
And this is going to sound very D.A.R.E.ish and like something you would constantly hear in a high school health class, but yes, marijuana is a "soft" drug as you put it. Which makes it, along with alcohol and cigarettes, a "gateway drug". I'm sure you've heard a thousand times how that works, "Oh, it's just a beer. Oh, its just a cigarette. Oh, it's just some pot. OH, it's just some heroine, well, the beer cigarette and weed didn't do much to me, this should be fine." Bit of an extreme example but you get the general idea.
But this isn't to say that alcohol and cigarettes by themselves cannot be gateway drugs. They ARE strictly monitored to true to ensure safety. Will this be difficult? Yes. Will this require many new and bothersome laws? Yes. Will some people be outraged? Most Certainly. Is American ready for this big of a change? Maybe not.
You leave the impression of someone who merely wants marijuana legalized for your own benefit, despite what you so clearly state in your writing. You shouldn't just present the positives about the drug, but the negatives and how they should be dealt with as well. Otherwise, your paper would seem poorly thought-out. Also, there is a lack of professionalism that would be more appropriate for your topic, purely because legal issues are a very serious business and, though humor is appreciated, it is distracting and often in bad taste.
decent arguments
the prostitute comparison is somewhat relateable but the idea that gangs will "fade away" if marijuana is legalized is simply not true -- the easier marijuana is to get, the more expensive hard drugs will be, and the more gangs will dabble in these hard drugs instead of the harmless soft drugs. Yes gangs will stop dealing marijuana but no they will not stop general activity.
for the fatal part, you should mention that at a certain dose. the way you spin it sounds like one cig and I'm done for.
decent arguments, hope you get a decent grade for em
First of all, you shouldn't summarize a serious article with the words 'Smoke up'.
And my opinion on the topic is this: The definition of 'criminal'(in law) is an act that threatens the community in general. The definition of a 'civil' offense is that it threatens only one other individual. Weed does neither. Therefore it shouldn't have any laws governing it.
Agreed, this is basically sums up all my thoughts on the legalization of cannabis. I am also glad to see that you didn't delve into the medicinal applications of the drug because that tends to make these type of arguments weaker as several states already have medical marijuana laws in addition to marinol (pill with synthetic THC). Here are two things you might consider adding to your argument:
1. Some background on why cannabis was made illegal in the first place, there is some really interesting stuff out there. There are even a few racial issues that could perhaps appeal to pathos.
2. The government is always complaining that the cannabis today contains "dengerously high levels of THC." Well, if it were legal they could moniter the production and only sell it through licensed dealers much like they already do with tobacco and alcohol.
u are good at words
can't let your misinformation and misguided arguments about oligarchism go by without comment. Let me just say that your threats are a mere cavil, a mere scarecrow, one of the last shifts of a desperate and dying cause. The following theorem may therefore be established as an eternally valid truth: If everyone does his own, small part, together we can defy the international enslavement of entire peoples. I have no set opinion as to whether or not your utterances would be less morally crippled if they were less sententious. I do, however, certainly believe that if I want to languish along beneath the thousand eyes of peevish, prolix antagonists, that should be my prerogative. I don't need you forcing me to.
in conclusion i agree
As much as I may agree with your position, I feel far better arguments have been presented to more powerful people and defeated in a landslide in front of politicians in the United States year after year. The facts are that successful business people who smoke pot do not flaunt their use of the drug, and the failures of society are more than willing to sport a marijuana leaf on their T-Shirt. Therefore to the eye of the bystander "Marijuana Smoking = Going nowhere in life" My advise go to school, get straight A's, get a great job, advocate marijuana, and prove to the world that to be a pot smoker does not mean that you are a lazy, unsuccessful punk.
Obviously this is a tormented and disillushioned individual who is incredibly immature and infantile in his understanding of adult politics. Additionally it is apparent that the individual himself has posted and then responded to his own article er, diatribe trivility, which is neither enlighenting nor substantive in its scope entirety or directive of thought. Grow up child of the corn. just say no!!! and no does mean no. there are laws emplaced not to tweak weakness in society structure, but for the enablemnet of a functional society which is a betterment for all mankind. stop the weakness of selfish entitlement, and grow some educated internal fortitude. dude you suck!
anyone should be able to smoke marijuana because its their choice. i also think anyone over 14 should be able to smoke it.
well i think the same
I think marijuana should be legal because smoking it doesn't hurt anyone but the person smoking it. It helps people relax just as much as alcohol. People would be a lot more peaceful.
I hope marijuana gets legalized
It is obvious that some of the comments above are from mere children that are more than likely smoking marijuana while writing the comment. I disagree with the passage. the author mentions a man who is high killing another driver on the road. this example beggs the question, would the driver have killed the other person if he had not been high? the seems like a problem don't ya think?
the problem is marijuana has had a bad wrap for so long it will never be decriminalized. The way we are socialized as americans is to look down upon drug use. never wil it be seen as the answer to our problems. in the eyes of society weed = a lazy person who is up to no good and will go nowhere with his life. although for many weed is a way of unwinding after a long day just as someone who relaxes with a beer in his hand or another with a cig in their mouth. but the funny thing is our goverment endorses these so called controlled substances, alcohol and tobaco, that have a combined death toll of over millions. while marijuana has a medical purpose that helps people deal with many different diseases or types of chronic pain remains illegal. funny dont ya think?
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