The Legalization Of Cannabis Essay

Listening to the news, we often hear about country-to-country relations, outbreaks of war in various countries, and natural disasters that have recently affected our world. However, within the states, one of the most popular and controversial subjects is the legalization of marijuana. The herb has been made legal throughout many states, including Colorado, one of the first states to make cannabis legal and thus fuel the other states to consider the legality of the matter. Supporters lobby for the legalization of marijuana for both recreational and medicinal uses. Strong arguments have been made for and against the legalization and as both are considered, it seems as though more public leaders are finding there are many benefits to its legalization. Such benefits include, tax money to fund public policies and schools, less delinquency and arrests, a reduction in alcohol abuse and accidents, and positive treatments to various medical conditions. I believe the two most firm arguments for the legalization are its reduction in alcohol-related deaths and the treatment of certain ailments. I have read two very convincing articles that have supported these two standpoints. The first was an article by Jacob Sullum, in which he wrote about the inverse relationship of alcohol and marijuana for Forbes Magazine (Sullum). The second was an article on CNN.com that recounted a story of a girl in Colorado who had seizures since she was a newborn and since starting her use of the herb, her seizure count has dropped and she now only has two to three a month as opposed to having around 300 a week (Gupta). Therefore, with arguments such as these, it can be realized that cannabis should become legal throughout the 50 states, as there are more benefits than disadvantages to its use by citizens.

References

Gupta, Sanjay. "Why I Changed My Mind on Weed - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 8
Sullum, Jacob. "More Pot, Safer Roads: Marijuana Legalization Could Bring Unexpected
Benefits." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2014/04/03/more-pot-safer-roads-marijuana-legalization-could-bring-unexpected-benefits/>.