The Positive Impact of Legalizing Marijuana

Essay by cookiesurgHigh School, 10th gradeB+, April 2009

download word file, 4 pages 5.0

The legalization of marijuana has recently been a rather controversial issue, although there should be no issue at all. Marijuana should be legalized. Prohibition was once tried with alcohol and it was proven that it does not work in any manner, and it should soon be proven again with marijuana. Some reasons why marijuana should be legal include there are numerous medical benefits, it creates a very harmful underground society, and prohibition costs very much money.

There is very much proof that shows the legalization of marijuana would have more of a positive impact on society than a negative one. This includes the elimination of the underground society, which mostly consists of drug dealers and consumers. There is also money involved, which is the money spent on trying to prevent the use of drugs and prosecute drug offenders. Medical reasons should also be accounted for which include the need for medical marijuana for patients to live without pain.

One significant unfortunate consequence of the increasing war on drugs is not allowing sick people to use marijuana as medicine. Prohibitionists insist that marijuana is not good medicine, or at least that there are legal alternatives to marijuana that are just as good. Those who believe that individuals should make their own decisions not have their decisions made for them by politics and the law, would simply say that it's a decision for patients and their doctors to make. There is even good medical evidence about the therapeutic value of marijuana, despite the difficulty of doing sufficient research on an illegal drug. A recent National Institutes of Health panel concluded that smoking marijuana may help treat a number of conditions, including nausea and pain. It can be especially effective in improving the appetite of AIDS and cancer patients. The drug could also...