The Legalization of Marijuana

There was a time when alcohol was prohibited from the United States. In 2001 alone, 17,400 people were killed in alcohol-related drunk driving accidents. Does this mean that the consumption of alcohol should be illegal yet again? The majority of the population agree that it shouldn't be. On the other hand, only three of the deaths in 2001 are said to have been directly caused by the use of marijuana, and yet there is a lot of negative feedback in the debate of it's legalization. The question I ask is "if we can send a man to the moon, why can't we legalize marijuana?"Marijuana has not been legalized due to many factors. Religion is one of those. In many religions, the body is considered a temple and it is usually considered unholy to fill the body with toxins of any kind, including marijuana. While some religions accept the use of marijuana and see it as an organic fruit of the earth, others downright shun the use of it as a drug or medicinal painkiller.

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The drug has not been legalized, also, because of the amount of money that would need to be spent. If marijuana was legalized, There would need to be more money put into rehabilitation centers and clinics, and taxpayers would be paying a big percentage of that money.

Lastly, health plays a big role in many of the debates. Health risks related to the use of drugs is a factor regardless of age. Some of these risks are believed to be the same as a long-term heavy cigarette smoker, including cancer of the tongue, throat and lung, and emphazyma. Also, in the medical field, the use of marijuana as a pain killer may cause patients to become dependent of the drug.

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