decriminilization of marijuana Essay -- legal cannabis

Every socio-economic class our government spends more than nineteen billion dollars to stub out its use in the joined States. About seventeen thousand people were arrested last year because of it. We spend twenty thousand dollars a year per inmate to hold these jailbirds captive. Who atomic number 18 these dangerous criminals you ask? Stoners.One argument against the decriminalization of marijuana is why would we want to introduce another intoxicant into our order of magnitude when alcohol and cigarette smoking is already so damaging? Marijuana is far less harmful to the body than cigarettes. Not to mention while it may be potentially habit forming, it is not addictive. When comparing marijuana to alcohol the differences are obvious. I would much rather be in an argument with qat that has been smoking joints all night than some dude who has spent all night pounding shots of tequila. Alcohol can alter a persons common sense. disrespect this, our government trusts us with the bu rden of drinking responsibly. Over seventeen thousand arrests are made regarding cannabis a year. Almost ninety percent of these arrests are for simple possession, not trafficking or sale. This is an inappropriate use of valuable law enforcement resources that should be foc utilise on more serious and violent crimes. I go int know about you, but I would rather have a midnight toker for a neighbor than a midnight stalker. The spending of government money ask to be reevaluated. Our government needs to take a step back and admit they were mistaken to think they could successfully discontinue the use of marijuana. You cannot have amerciable what a significant segment of the population in any society is committed to doing. You simply cannot arrest, prosecute, and punish such a large number of people, peculiarly in a democracy (Incardi 285). Ultimately it is not the role of the government to tell its adult citizens what risks to take. Bicycles kill ten thousand people a year and yet n o one is proposing to make them illegal.There are benefits of legalizing marijuana, both for the government and society. One of these is that the marijuana market could be government run. The vague market would be abolished, saving lives and redirecting the profits from the drug dealers Escalades new rims to the be... ...ortant. It is time we allow the many health benefits of marijuana to be use by those who need them. It is time we realize there are different cost effective, environment friendly and efficient ways of producing many of our most used products. All we can do is hope our government comes to its senses soon.Works Cited PageBaxter, J.W. Growing Industrial Hemp In Ontario. 27 November 2004.http//www.gov.on.ca/OMAFRA/english/crops/facts/00-067.htm Gray, Judge throng P. Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It. Philadelphia Temple UP, 2001.HempNation. 27 November 2004. http//hempnation.com/Incardi, James A Handbook of Drug Control in the United States. W estport Greenwood Press, 1990.Marijuana Fact and Fiction. 27 November 2004. http//marijuana.drug-culture.comNORML National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. 27 November 2004. http//www.norml.org/ Scannel, Kate. Bushs Painful Obsession With Medicinal Pot. American union for Medicinal Cannabis, The Oakland Tribune 27 November 2004.http//www.letfreedomgrow.com