Legalization of Marijuana the financial, medical, social,...

Brandon Smith Professor Gregor ENGL 1102 21 April 2014 Legalization of Marijuana: the financial, social, medical, and political benefits. The legalization of marijuana has been a topic of debate for many years. This may be because of the cultural diversity that the United States of America is known for. Recently, bills were passed in Colorado and Washington to implement the legalization and regulation of recreational marijuana use. These events along with the ever growing popularity of the drug in society, media, and entertainment are proving to be more than anti-marijuana advocates can handle. In this paper, I explore the financial, social, medical, and political benefits of legalizing marijuana. Pro legalization advocates stand†¦show more content†¦Marijuana has been used for many millennia with some of the earliest mentions dating back to 2700 BCE in China. It has â€Å"long been considered valuable as an analgesic, an anesthetic, an antidepressant, an antibiotic, and a sedative†, it has also been â€Å"administered i nternally to treat gonorrhea and angina pectoris† (Abdullah). Also, unlike many other drugs, â€Å"chronic use does not establish a physical dependence, nor does the regular user suffer extreme physical discomfort after withdrawal† (Abdullah). For the sake of building off the previous entry, I would like to incorporate a couple of marijuana related legal statistics from Steven Nelson’s article Police Made One Marijuana Arrest Every 42 Seconds in 2012. The Federal Bureau of Investigation released data on the crime figures for drug-related crimes in 2012 and it showed that a staggering 749,825 people were arrested for marijuana related offenses; that is one arrest every 42 seconds. It also accounted for 48.3 percent of all drug arrests. Even with the recent upsurge in public support for the liberation of the drug policy, police arrested the same number of people in 2012 on pot-related charges as they did in 2011. These numbers have led many people to begin forming advocacy groups geared to decriminalize the drug. Dan Riffle, the director ofShow MoreRelatedShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay1520 Words   |  7 PagesMarijuana was first criminalized in 1923 when it was added to the narcotics act. In 1971 the LeDain commission recommended the decriminalization of simple possessions of marijuana, followed by the legalization of medical marijuana in 2001. Currently, the liberal government is taking steps towards their promise, to legalize marijuana, made during the 2015 election. Currently, there are laws that regulate the use of marijuana in Canada. 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