Legalization of Marijuana

LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

Today, three out of four illegal drug users in the United States are marijuana smokers. An estimated 19.5 million Americans currently use illegal drugs. Of these 19.5 million, 14.6 million, or 75 percent, identify themselves as “chronic” marijuana users. In addition, an estimated 97 million Americans-slightly more than 40 percent of the US population age 12 or older, have used marijuana during their lifetime. Like the use of alcohol and tobacco, marijuana use is an acknowledged part of the American culture and economy. It is consumed by tens of millions of Americans, relatively few of which suffer significant health problems due to their use. It is time for our public policies to respond to this and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to that of alcohol and tobacco.

First, we need to take in consideration that marijuana really has no major health risks. There is no existing evidence of anyone dying from a marijuana overdose. Tests on mice have shown that the chemicals in marijuana that make you high (cannabinoids) necessary for overdose to the amount necessary for intoxication is 40,000:1. Marijuana is psychoactive because it stimulates certain brain receptors, but it does not produce toxins that kill them, like alcohol does. There is no evidence that marijuana use causes brain damage. Studies performed on actual human populations have confirmed these results, even for “chronic” marijuana users (up to 18 joints a day) after many years of use. Although marijuana does impair short-term memory, it is only during intoxication, and rarely affects people’s short term memory dramatically. In fact, in 1977, the American Medical Association (AMA) officially announced its support for the decriminalization of marijuana. There are currently around 400,000 deaths per year caused by tobacco, 100,000 by that of alcohol, but 0 deaths caused by marijuana use.

Secondly, legalizing marijuana would not only be a benefit to that of the people, but also to that of the government. Yearly, the government pulls in millions and millions of dollars from alcohol and tobacco taxation. I feel one of the few reasons that the government has alcohol and tobacco legal is for the money, so in that case, why not do the same for marijuana? If they did, they would be satisfied because people would be happy and satisfied with its decriminalization. Although I support “pot” in many ways, however, I disagree that marijuana should be used at such a young age. There should be an age limit just like that of alcohol and tobacco and that is why it