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Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized

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Why Marijuana Should Be Legalized
Most people believe that drugs such as marijuana, molly and cocaine should be illegal. They say that these drugs are dangerous and that people should not use them. However, we have to keep in mind that people have every right to do what they want to their own body. Of course, by people it is inferred that we mean adults. Children cannot be permitted to use drugs because they lack the ability to fully understand the consequences of drug use. Adults have the capacity to understand the consequences for their actions. It is not illegal to make mistakes or have poor self-regard. If a mentally competent adult wants to use drugs he or she has every right to do so. In the article from the USA Today, “Don’t legalize pot just for the high of it,” the author makes a bold stand against the legalization of marijuana. The article states that it is to high risk to legalize marijuana and should remain illegal. “Modern marijuana can be very powerful, potent enough to make it dangerous to drive or operate other machinery under the influence (Editorial, 2012)”. Last time I checked driving under the influence of any kind of drug poses a risk. People drive while under the influence of prescription medications all of the time.
The article states that marijuana is very potent. Legalizing marijuana would provide a higher level of regulation of the farming of the product. The government will have control over its potency. Because the government is regulating it the buyers of marijuana would no longer have to be concerned with the conditions under which the marijuana was grown. The use of pesticides or other drugs being mixed in with the product would cease to exist therefore posing less health risks.
According to the article “Don’t legalize pot just for the high of it” thirteen states have decriminalized marijuana however it is still illegal under federal law. The government stands to profit by legalizing marijuana. They could tax it like they do with alcohol and cigarettes and make an instant profit. Instead they are continuously losing money by making unnecessary arrests.
Legalizing marijuana would reduce crime. The average every day smoker wouldn’t go to jail. Legalizing marijuana would also reduce the average crime rate over all. Most violent crimes are associated with drug deals. If a person could buy it legally, it would eliminate the need for a drug dealer.
The legalization of marijuana would actually help people. The alcohol and tobacco industries would lose money and fewer deaths would occur. There are about 75,000 deaths per year related to alcohol and about 440,000 premature deaths from tobacco. In contrast the number of known marijuana overdose deaths to date is zero. Marijuana provides the same relaxation effects that tobacco and alcohol does and poses fewer health risks. There are things that I think the government should oversee and things that they should not. The government is and should be in charge of foreign policy, road maintenance and things of that nature. The government, however, does not have the right to 'protect us from ourselves' or should not have that right. That can be considered an intrusion on our freedoms to act as we choose. It is contradictory for the government to ban drugs it deems dangerous or inappropriate yet continue to profit from pharmaceutical drugs. Preventing a person from making a choice - while they privacy of their own home and not interacting with anyone else - is an unreasonable limitation on their freedom!

References “Editorial: Don’t Legalize Pot Just so Adults Can Get High.” USA Today. Gannett, 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 09 Jun. 2014. . http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of police officers and federal agents against the drug war) http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml... (Tobacco Related Deaths)
http://www.cdc.gov/injuryresponse/alcohol-screening/index.html

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