Should marijuana be legalized?
Really, what is wrong with the so called "drug" ?? Not a damn thing....it's not a drug its an herb and totally %100 all natural.. There are many reasons for having cannabis legalized. One of the many reasons would be how we (the taxpayers) would save billions of dollars a year if drug enforcement was lessened due to the should-be legal drug. As of 1993 on just law enforcement alone of drugs the United States spent 13 billion dollars. If we were to legalize cannabis we would save about 3.3 billion dollars thus reducing the cost of drug enforcement down to around 10 or so billion dollars. I’m sure the average American would prefer those funds and resources diverted to something more important, such as CIA or the FBI. Imagine all the other important crimes ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) could be cracking down on rather then this phony “Drug War.” I’m sure your wondering where I got these figures of the cost of our drug enforcement; I received the information off of the federal financial analysis of legalization that came from Theodore R. Vallance, Former Chief of the Planning Branch of the National Institutes of Mental Health. Just think how much manpower is wasted on frivolous drug crimes. While agents of our many alphabet organizations are chasing down heavy marijuana sellers we divert our time and money on the wrong problems. If this country, the mighty U.S. of A wants to destroy Columbian drug lords and make them powerless strike them were it hurts the most, their income. With marijuana being legal the price of cannabis lowers dramatically and the drug cartels lose all their power due to no money. The only reason why the drug lords are powerful is because of the United States branding it illegal and by doing so made the worth of hemp sky rockets on the black market. By passing legislation to legalize cannabis it would also free up our already overcrowded jail system and save us all on taxpaying. In 1998 the Chicago Tribune researched into how much it costs Illinois taxpayers for the jailing of people convicted of drug crimes related to marijuana. It costs 25,621 dollars to house one criminal for a drug crime per year. Meanwhile the average Illinois resident only pays around 1,170 dollars worth of yearly state personal income tax. That means that it would take you and 20 of your fellow residents to pay for one person serving a jail sentence for a drug crime. Now, if that isn’t ridiculous I don’t know what is. NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) reports that in the state of California alone that marijuana accounts for 15,000 felony crimes costing the state 100 million dollars. My fellow Americans, if this is the cost of drug enforcement of marijuana on one state out of 50 just envision how much it is costing our country on the whole.
Public Comments
- So why ask this question if you already believe in your answer?
- No, how can you tax same.
- I think Drug Enfrocement should be worried about more dangerous drugs such as cocaine and herion
- NO. You can read about the health effects of marijuana at the National Institute of Health, try nih.gov
- Yes... the only reason it was outlawed was so FDR and his propagandists could make the mayor of New York look bad. New York had the highest consumption of any city in the nation. And that was because the mayor of New York once called FDR a sorry excuse for a man. Later it was found out the in two cases the whole debate was centered on the perpetrators had extensive histories of mental illness. Smoking pot didn't cause them to murder it was schizophrenia. A later study proved all the data the FDR crony came up with was total bull. By the way the first person arrested under the marijuana tax act of 1937 was an honest hemp farmer. He wanted to pay the tax, the feds showed up and busted him for possession of marijuana without the required stamps. Of course the government never intended on issuing any stamps. Catch 22 here, you can't get the stamps unless you have the pot, you can't legally possess the pot without the stamps. Poor honest farmer got 4 years and was fined 1000 dollars.
- Well it can create jobs also if sold to public and to be used for medical reasons Uncle Sam can tax what is sold in stores get his share (F uncle sam) but just saying. It is not like drinking and driving where drunks kill Yes I agree with you but Uncle Sam would not make as much money as they do now if it was legal .... pay-offs use of money the cars, homes guns,and other drugs when they make a bust of a D. Lords. Its all a game the Gov. plays and acts like they want to stop drugs (pot being a drug to some) : ) legalize it
- I agree, marijuana should not be an illegal substance. HOWEVER.... I'm getting seriously tired of the cliche and invalid argument that it's okay because it's "all natural". Here's a few more natural substances that you wouldn't consider putting into your body: poisonous mushrooms, castor oil plant (ricin), daffodil bulbs, elderberry root, poison oak, poison ivy, and the list could go for miles. In most cases the mind altering and many times harmful side affects of consuming plant life are simply the plants own defense mechanisms, they are meant to harm you! I'm not sure if the THC in marijuana is considered a defense mechanism, and even if it was we know it's not very harmful. The point is though, that the "all natural" argument is riduculous when you consider how many "all natural" substances are harmful. Sorry for the rant, it's just a pet peeve of mine. Other than that, I agree with you completely and look forward to smoking weed legally in the future, if it ever happens.
