LEGALIZATION OF SALE AND POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA

Legalization of Sale and Possession of Marijuana



Legalization of Sale and Possession of Marijuana

Introduction

There have been lots of views and opinions surrounding the arguments whether marijuana should be legalized and if tobacco should be made illegal. The reasons for marijuana not being legalized are analogous to the reasons people want tobacco to become illegal. Only the danger that tobacco provides is more intense than the danger of marijuana.

Discussion

Marijuana's short-term effects include temporary problem with memory and problems with learning. It also causes impermanent distorted perception (sounds, time, touch etc.), trouble thinking and solving problems. For several people smoking marijuana causes loss of motor coordination. But compared to short-term effect that tobacco it does produces.

The first and most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it to be illegal. Many people ask "why marijuana should be legalized?" but we should ask "why should marijuana be illegal?" From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if they endanger others or the individual. But this argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco.

If marijuana was legal, it would save our government a lot of money. In the United States, all levels of the government (federal, state, & local authorities) participate in the "War on Drugs". We currently spend billions chasing peaceful people who like to get high. These people are locked up in prison, and the taxpayers have to foot the bill (Nadelmann 2001). We have to pay for food, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses to keep these people locked up. We ...