Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana should be decriminalized because it’s not a gateway drug, the recreational and medical use is not harmful, and taxpayers are wasting their money on incarcerating people who are caught with marijuana. Marijuana is defined as the most commonly used illicit drug; considered a soft drug, it consists of the dried leaves of the hemp plant; smoked or chewed for euphoric effect.(dictionary.com) Decriminalizing marijuana removers all penalties for private possession and the responsible use of marijuana cultivation. Tax payers use there money to keep criminals and other people behind bars, but is incarcerating someone who is holding marijuana absolutely necessary? To some people it is. Florida state laws say marijuana is illegal, but in other parts of the United States, marijuana is decriminalized. This includes Alaska, Denver, Mississippi, New York, Maine, California, Nevada, and many more states and cities. This means in Florida, someone is a criminal if possessing marijuana, but in Alaska, they are just another person.

As President Jimmy Carter said: "Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use.” Marijuana smokers in this country are no different from their nonsmoking peers, except for their marijuana use. Like most Americans, they are responsible citizens who work hard, raise families, contribute to their communities, and want a safe, crime-free neighborhood in which to live. Because of our marijuana laws, these citizens face criminal arrest and imprisonment solely because they choose to smoke a marijuana cigarette when they relax, instead of drinking alcohol. ( Dudley 5) However, one of the biggest controversies on marijuana is the assumption that it’s a gateway drug.

The gateway lie happens to do more damage to an individual than its use. When kids try marijuana, they realize that the propaganda they have heard is untrue. They don't shoot their friends with handguns, wake up pregnant, or support terrorism. Advertisements have been geared toward making marijuana users look unintelligent and dangerous to the community around them. Users soon suspect that other drug information is false and far stretched. Teens who believe that marijuana leads to hard drugs end up using substances with markedly worse effects. Students explain: "We heard pot led to heroin, so we just sniffed glue." (Gerdes 5)Inhalants cause more problems than marijuana ever will, including brain damage and death.

Even if every heroin addict used marijuana first, that fact alone would not prove that marijuana caused heroin addiction. Marijuana doesn't cause hard drug use. Nowhere can information be found linking marijuana as a gateway drug. There is on the other hand information leading to the proof that tobacco and alcohol are more harmful drugs which are legal and accepted in today’s society. One study showed that 39% of drug abusers started with a drug other than marijuana. Users tend to start with whatever drug is most available. In neighborhoods filled with crack dealers, people could start with crack. However, crack is not the gateway to marijuana use.(Gerdes 5) Not only is marijuana safe as a recreational use, but the medical use of marijuana helps many.

Marijuana is an effective means of overcoming the nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy, and the nausea and appetite loss in the wasting syndrome of AIDS. It is useful for various spastic conditions including multiple sclerosis, paraplegia, and quadriplegia. It also lowers intra ocular pressure in people who suffer from open-angle glaucoma. For some people with epilepsy is the only anti-convulsant that works. For centuries, it has been used as an analgesic and is considered by many to be the best approach to migraine. It is also useful to some patients for the