Growing up, I had my fair exposure to pot. I’ve also been witness to the on-going debate of whether or not pot should be legalized in the United States.
While I have never smoked pot, and I’m not likely to seek out the company of people who do, that fact has very little to do with what I know – pot should stay illegal in the United States. This is an incredibly difficult position to take, because drug use is extremely subjective.
But I do not think we can comprehend the immediate dangers that surround the drug trade. Even the simplest habits like marijuana use are unarguably part of a larger web of narcotics. Take a few minutes to watch the incredible investigative journalism piece by Current TV, on their show Vanguard (below). Does legalizing drugs make the United States a better place to live? Like many other subjective questions, there are trade-offs to both sides. The legalization of pot in the United States wouldn’t solve the huge problem facing Mexico – if anything, it would draw less attention to the larger issues at hand.
Often, first-hand experience, like that seen in Vanguard, is hard for Gen Y to come by. There is one step that we can take to understanding why pot should not be legalized. That involves comprehending the facts around marijuana in regards to its medicinal use and reach in this country.
Let’s take a second to look at the facts, here:
- We have made significant progress in fighting drug use and drug trafficking in America. Now is not the time to abandon our efforts.The Legalization Lobby claims that the fight against drugs cannot be won. However, overall drug use is down by more than a third in the last twenty years. Cocaine use has dropped by an astounding 70 percent and 95 percent of Americans do not use drugs. This is success by any standards.
- Smoked marijuana is not scientifically approved medicine. Marinol, the legal version of medical marijuana, is approved by science. According to the Institute of Medicine, there is no future in smoked marijuana as medicine. However, the prescription drug Marinol—a legal and safe version of medical marijuana which isolates the active ingredient, THC—has been studied and approved by the FDA as safe medicine. The difference is that you have to get a prescription for Marinol from a licensed physician. You can’t buy it on a street corner, and you don’t smoke it.
- Drug control spending is a minor portion of the U.S. budget. Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction, government spending on drug control is minimal. The Legalization Lobby claims that the United States has wasted billions of dollars in its anti-drug efforts. But for those kids saved from drug addiction, this is hardly wasted dollars. Moreover, our fight against drug abuse and addiction is an ongoing struggle that should be treated like any other social problem. Would we give up on education or poverty simply because we haven’t eliminated all problems? Compared to the social costs of drug abuse and addiction—whether in taxpayer dollars or in pain and suffering—government spending on drug control is minimal.
This stance is sure to upset many of my peers. It is a personal choice to use recreational drugs, and I’ve made mine. However, I will not make the final decision on legalization. While I, like many others in the United States, would prefer to keep marijuana illegal – it would be ignorant not to acknowledge that our country will progress in whatever way best fits society.
Read the other perspective: Legalize! Why it’s time to end Nixon’s legacy
Awesome piece. I always like to imagine what would happen if weed was in fact legal. The argument that most people make is that, “people only want to smoke pot BECAUSE it is illegal and once it is accepted by society kids won’t want to do it”. Run with this idea, and think of what illegal substance would be next in line. I could just see the headlines, “EXTRA EXTRA, Weed is legal, all kids want Coke!”
Here is one reason I disagree: “According to a video on CNN.com, marijuana is an estimated $14 billion-a-year industry in California. That’s more than any other crop in California makes.” http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/02/24/wian.pot.tax.cnn
Think about the amount of money the United States would make every year if they legalized and profited from the sale of marijuana.
I totally agree tht the usa will make millions if thy wuld jus legalized weed everyone who is against it shuld try it and do research most importantly it helps slow down most cancers so tht shuld b the main reason y thy shul legalize it I have been smokn weed for bout 7 years now and I’m only 21 I’ve never moved on to bigger drugs n shit like ppl say u will it helps me in every way possible I no longer get headackes or bck pain wen I have the flu n sick as a dog I smoke a blunt n feel so much better like I’m nt even sick the only question I have is y the fuk do ppl thnk its so bad to smoke weed weed is wonderful n it is a natural plant I’m nt very good w mah words so I probually culdnt persuade neone to change their minds bu I sure can try if u tke a min n thnk if thy legalize weed tht mean way mre money for the usa wich means lower prices fr everyone else yall bitch bout cost of shit n stuff so y nt gve it a try n its so much healthier n bettr for u thn alcohol to sum it all up marijuna is good for u in every way if u disagree or agree w me email me at xxvanillacremexx69x@yahoo.com
It obviously didn’t help you in English class.
Wow, you didn’t use one period. LOL you are the definition of ate up!
Listen, I understand you want to leagalize it and thats cool, your on my side. But no offence, people like you leave a bad name for it. Everyone thinks people who smoke weed end up illiterate, jobless, stupid, or in jail. When in reality, more educaters and professionals do it then people would think. Also to the main point, marijuana would rake in millions of dollors for America. Also, the forbiden fruit theory IS a factor. And the gate way theory is complete bull, less then 25% percent of people who smoke marijuana acctually move on to harder drugs. There are tons of myths and misconceptions linkned to marijuana and granted I understand the few reasons why people think it should stay illegal. But I personally have chronic back pain, migrains, and nausea. And smoking medical marijuana is the only treatment so far that I have found that acctually helps. So as a medical user I know, it acctually helps me get through the day not due to addiction, but due to the fact with out it I get in so much pain that moving is a giant task. Please keep your minds open to the fact that marijuana is indeed a good thing and was only illegalized due to the compitition between it and other industrys.
While I’m not sure I agree with you, Eddie, I do think you made some great points.
Another thing that the smokers and tokers of the world need to remember, as well, is that if we legalize marijuana it will be government regulated and will not be nearly as potent.
I am inclined, however, to agree with Max (in the comments) who offered the suggestion that legalizing marijuana would help cure a lot of our country’s financial problems.
I’m also a bit unsure how I feel about an anti-marijuana legalization article being written by someone who has never experimented with the drug. I don’t necessarily think you have to have tried it before you make judgment, but I think it would help inform a position on the matter.
Alright, I VEHEMENTLY disagree with your standpoint. Actually, every point you make here is just to the right of totally wrong, specifically your facts.
- For one, we haven’t made progress with the drug war. More and more people die in Juarez every month and the cartels are going bloody mad – pun intended. If marijuana were legalized, the cartels would have to abandon their biggest and easiest money maker, moving to heroin and cocaine, which are more difficult to cultivate and put a bigger strain on their industry. We would effectively shut down a HUGE amount of violent trafficking if weed were legal.
- Next, THC is approved medicine. But Marinol has bizarre side effects, such as an uncontrollable appetite – it is specifically manufactured to boost the appetites of people dealing with chemotherapy. I have experimented with medical marijuana to treat anxiety and depression, and while there isn’t science available yet because it hasn’t been legal treatment for long enough, I have faith that within ten years, we’ll all be singing a different tune.
- Finally, we spend BILLIONS of dollars on the War on Drugs. How is that “minimal”? And as far as “social costs,” don’t you think that the cost to incarcerate a non-violent drug offender (hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars going to feed him to be shanked in prison) to take to the streets as soon as he’s out of prison because he can’t find a job is an exponentially higher cost to SOCIETY than government run rehab programs – which have shown to be exponentially more helpful than prison in other countries and are less expensive?
And I also agree with Kaitlin… drugs, like anything else, can only be debated after everyone’s on the same page…
However, I do understand that there is a minority of people in this country who truly don’t want pot to be legalized. And I, like you, put my hopes in the voters, and hope that they make the right decision – and if that’s to keep prohibition, I’ll sit tight ’til they come around
I was at a party once my junior year of college and this dude explained perfectly how to legalize and monetize marijuana. But I don’t remember how, cause I was high ha ha.
I saw the title of this piece and thought it would be, at least, backed up by some specifics. Instead, you generalize and the numbers you do reference hardly seem to be all that un-biased.
My personal feeling is that drugs should be legalized, or at the least, decriminalized. My thinking is not fiscally related (truly, those of you of who think drug control is a factor in our trillion dollar dollar deficit and 13 trillion dollar debt aren’t thinking clearly). Rather, it’s driven by plain old practicality. Anyone remember prohibition? Neither do I, but I do know what it wrought: a counterproductive war on booze that failed, just like our war on drugs. Far better would be a legal, regulated drug biz, much like our current booze biz, that let people get the drugs they wanted and seek treatment if they wanted to quit.
I think Eddie is spot on. The drug trade especially on the Mexican border is destroying quality of life for everyone. The solution is not to legalize but instead to enforce harsher penalties.
If there were any evidence that medical marijuana actually helped people then I might change my tune. However, according to the AMA in their June 2009 findings (Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes) the only thing they have been able to determine after 35 years of study is that smoking pot helps weight gain. Hell, I could have told you that! Every genius with the munchies could tell you that.
Face it, people who smoke pot do it to get high. Furthermore they care more about getting high than about the thousands of people each year whose lives are destroyed, family’s are murdered, and futures are ended. It’s selfish and shows absolute disdain for ones fellow man, pure and simple.
Unless you tried it you are not qualified to write this my friend. Sorry. You lose all credibility as an author. When I wrote college paper on LSD I qualified my credibility by stating I had tried it. I got an A+ from my professor and extra credit from my Psych professor. I got the only 100% my Public Speaking professor ever gave out when I gave a speech on pot because I had credibility.
The fact is people are smoking it. They are not BAD people. And you can’t stop them. Why waste all the money on a failed drug war that costs us billions? I can smoke pine needles right? To each their own. Lets not criminalize non-violent behavior. Remember Holland has so much less crime than we do.
We would not have Avatar, Led Zeppelin/Beatles (or most huge bands), great works of literature, or Apple Computer if it was wasn’t for Pot and LSD. Are you going to tell your kids Steve Jobs is a horrible role model because he loved LSD in his younger days?
BTW I needed to add a caveat. I am not being a proponent of everyone doing drugs. To each their own. My point was as a journalist have some experience or more back up when taking a position. For example people against gay marriage holding up marriage as some special thing when in the US 50% of people cheat and 50% of marriages end in divorce. So what sanctity? We shit on marriage every day in the US so while that is not the reason to approve gay marriage, there are deeper issues one quality for that, its a false reason to be against.
So while you may be anti-drug for many good reasons remember that drugs have given this world some amazing things that without them. might not exist. And lastly 11% of people in the US smoke pot. So next time your in a crowd count to ten and that tenth person smokes pot. You might not seek pot smoking friends…but trust me…you have them. Judge people on the quality or their hearts, their ethics, their kindness, and whether they are responsible in their lives, and not on whether they party in a way you choose not too.
Cheers
[...] check it out here at ed’s page [...]
Medical Marijuana, Cannabis & Hemp are now proven members of corporate America! – Preachers, teachers, white collar, blue collar… All kinds of people are entering this emerging marketplace. – Here’s a Special Report by CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/36033554 – For more Cannabis- Marijuana- Hemp news and gossip, find me on Twitter: HempNetworker
Fools! Weed should stay medicinal. You think money will be made the way it is now? The gov’t hates it, because it’s untaxed profit. The money stays within the people! That’s partially the beauty about it. If people are so avid about weed, go get your medical.
just a few questions. 95% of americans do not use drugs. well i can assume you are talking about narcotics but that number seems a little high. its hard to belive only 5% of people use marijuana recreationally. What source did you use for this statistic? also- how many people were surveyed, age groups?
I smoke weed on occasion, about once every two months or so. Were it legal I would not smoke it more or less. Being an American and an individual, I would love to see marijuana made legal.
First, the drug war would not exist if drugs are legal! Just as all the violence that surrounded prohibition disappeared so would all the unnecessary killings in Mexico stop. As a bonus, the gang violence would end as well. Gangs exist to protect turf. Gangs need turf to sell drugs. If drugs are legal then there is no need for turf and then no need for gangs. Drug dealers want drugs to stay illegal so that they can make money.
Second, the FDA???!!! The same FDA that approved Avandia which caused 83,000 heart attacks, 304 deaths and thousands of reports to the FDA, and 10 separate studies say it increases the risk of heart attack by up to 80 percent! The same FDA that approved Vioxx which killed 57,000 people before its maker finally stopped selling it! You keep on letting the FDA tell you what is safe and what is dangerous. There have been zero, count them, zero deaths caused by marijuana. Short term side effects are short term memory loss and the munchies. Long term side effects are possible lung complications, underline possible, and what they call burnout, when users get tired of smoking pot. You tell me what is more dangerous.
Finally, the economic costs, forget about it! The government spends millions trying to keep our streets clean. Maybe they are making progress, maybe not, it is very hard to measure. There are however, about 750,000 people in jail for the just the possession of marijuana. This is very, very expensive for taxpayers. Not to mention the revenue that would be generated from the taxes of marijuana sales.
You add this all up and what you have is a hard to ignore reason to legalize weed. Lets hit the polls and make it happen!
HOWIE my man and Jerome …
1) Yes u do loose all credit cause u never tried weed. perhaps ur a big loser
2) u guys would never understand higher consciousness ,
3) u suck
4) ur a retard
5) weed and LSD are all soft drugs ( source national geographic channel – beat that )
6) what it means is that they dont have physical addiction and they dont harm u but they have psychological addiction which means u jst love it so much that u dont want to quit it. u might stop for a few months and then start again.
7) if u wana make it illegal then make tobacco and alcohol illegal too. they r even worse and they r classified as hard drugs. millions of ppl die cuz of alcohol and tobacco every year. they r responsible for a lot of crime. everyone knows that
9) people who do stuff like weeed and lsd r usually artists and they all r peace luving ppl. i dnt why ppl think hippies r bad and they all r junkies. come on they have better stuff to do then waste their life on drugs. they do it when they r workin at their art forms or relaxing. they realize and understand things like peace, luv , unity and responsiblity. they understand that alcohol and tobacco r worse.
10) the fight against drug shud b on things like meth, yaba, heroine, cocaine and all these other hard drugs.
11) i also feel that ppl switch to these alternatives cuz the other gud stuff is hard to score and it is illegal.
i can write forever on why things like weed , LSD and mushrooms should b legal .. they r natural for gods sake … they r soft drugs with no physical effects and addiction … dont u get it ….
listen you under educated moron. weed nearly killed me, my heart rate slowed down so badly i stopped breathing. and when was the last time a cigg caused violence?? this guy may not have smoked it but he is right i agree with him that it should stay illegal.
Amber
you say weed nearly stopped your heart,
that is called an allergic reaction,
meaning your physiology is slightly different then average,
and had it been monitored by the gov’t instead of being
made to the highest strength someone could come up with
you wouldn’t have had a reaction on the same level,
that is the greatest problem with things being sold on the street
versus a 7 eleven, there not labeled to tell you some people on rare
occasion may react to them, and 3 out of ten times a bag is laced
with something else to boost repeat customers so something weak
seems stronger then it is , to those who don’t know better,
also most people i’ve known who had violent tendencies,
who started smoking weed, actually started to see what they were doing wrong
because they were forced to think about it, because physical reaction to thought impulse is slowed, usually their bodies were so naturally hyped up due to child hood trauma’s
or natural chemical imbalance they had to be slowed by something,
but you would have the whole world sped up by every stimulant imagineable,
but that’s accepted by society, just like steroids in cows, making lil girls develop sooner,
or making boys become aggressive before their body is ready by steroids causing testosterone to be created unnaturally early, but the fda allows that,
it also allows antibiotics to be put in our food supply whether the animal needed it or not
so that viruses can get stronger then we have medicine for, and thats fda allowed as well
you know every single thing that’s allowed seems to be one big blanket to keep americans docile and complacent , and having to rely on a self hating society, that teaches us to hate who and what we are, and that anything that would take away imbalance, or help us band together with disregard to color , race or creed, is considered evil, anything naturally occuring that can not be monopolized is disregarded until it can be patented,
prohibition wasn’t because alcohol was bad, it was simply a way to control people in a time of free thinking that scared leaders, only being legalized when they realized they could make money, and had jailed there political oppositions for the same scotch burboun and brandy they all drank themselves, so until there is power to be gained from legalizing it the federal government won’t bother, unless they start to fear not existing,
Sounds like you had an allergic reaction. Weed is just like anyother substance, people CAN be allergic to it. The thing is, with legalizing it it will be requiered by S.G to list all ingredients and warnings. Meaning you would be tested for the chemical or ingredient you are allergic to and would be able to see that can not use this drug. Also with out the regulation, marijuana is often laced and such, making it alot harder to tell if you reacted to the weed or maybe someother drug.
and for other information on why cannabis should be legal browse 420 magazine and look at the article inside lsd on natgeo channel . u can google them easily
wait did u say that drug use has dropped .. u have to be kidding me .. research properly before u write … it has been increasing at a faster rate then it ever did … and in 2010 more high school kids admitted doing weed and lsd then in the 60s and 70s … wat do u have to say about that huh
look the people r not stupid.. they r smarter then they were before … with all this awareness i believe the rate would shoot up and would increase heavily ….
the awakening has began my friend …
now its time for u to wake up
and hashish and bhaang (a really delicious drink made from fruit that grows on cannabis plant) can be used instead of weed as they are 100% pure and they r 100% THC .. they dont have other harmful chemical like weed … and THC is healthy in many ways …. its been used in india and nepal for the very beginning of their culture so its preety obvious that its safe
You have a horrible perspective on Cannabis sir. How can you say that Cannabis is a harmful and addictive drug? I’m sorry I don’t get drunk then go home to beat my wife for no reason, or not even make it home cuz i crashed and died like a bafoon. Cannabis can be used for so so many things, like hemp for e.g can be made into food, fuel, paper, building material, clothes and it fertilizes the ground where you plant it. And while I am on the subject of drugs all these addictive drugs that are supposed to make you anti depressed are bad for you, do some ayahuasca or dmt or iboga and get rid of your addiction, depression and ego. Wake up AMERICA!!!
I smoked a lot of pot for quite a while; until I found crank and blow. Drugs screwed me up a lot, and they continue to effect me, even in sobriety. There is nothing good about pot. I don’t care if you smoke because you have cancer, but outside of medical use, pot is bad. It makes you really stupid, kills motivation, causes car accidents, makes you reject your friends and family (unless they smoke too), and makes you think and dwell on thoughts that are not your own. You may not beat your wife on pot, but you will neglect her. The fact that people think pot is not bad, is a dangerous aspect; people don’t take it seriously. Why does America need to be dumber? Isn’t this generation dumb enough?! I will admit pot is not nearly as addictive as yallo, crank, or H; but far more people are addicted to it than people think. Have you ever confronted a pot-head? They are super defensive about it (just like an addict), they may have probably let it prevent them from progressing in their job and life (just like an addict), and they are generally paranoid (like an addict). The giant sub-culture should indicate how much they allow it to effect their lives.
Everyone gets strange, bad, or immoral thoughts every now and then. But we get rid of them when they pop in our heads. With pot, it can be really hard; because you get an echo. The thought floats through your head over and over. If someone is depressed, a negative or dangerous thought can cycle for a long time. Also, it encourages you to eat foods that are bad for you, although I am far mor concerned with the unseen affects on the mind. Pot truly started me down a path that caused a lot of issues for me. I am not alone on this. Besides some medical applications, there are no good reasons to make it legal; other than as a justification for ones selfish reasons.
I respect your opinion, but you can’t say that it makes people “dumb” or “causes them to lose touch with family and friends”. I’ve been smoking pot since 5th grade and i am a junior in high school, and my relationship with my family and friends has done nothing but get stronger. Granted i have a lot of friends that also use marijuana, but i also have a lot that don’t. How are my grades? I have all B’s and above… When i was in 4th grade i was prescribed “Adderal” which is a drug to treat ADD. As a result of the medicine i became underweight from loss of appetite and I became severely depressed. While and before i was using adderal my grades were D’s and F’s. The next year i started smoking pot ,while still taking adderal. i noticed my appetite was back (even when i was on adderal) and i was becoming more social and generally a happier person. Once i hit 7th grade my doctor took me off of the medication and said i wouldn’t need it again.
http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/working_papers/2010/RAND_WR768.pdf
^once the Netherlands legalized marijuana, under controlled circumstances, the gateway between cocaine and marijuana weakened.
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6376&page=R1
^research that marijuana is not a gateway drug
Very interesting argument. Though I do agree that marijuana may not possess the medicinal properties as once thought, I do believe it should be legal purely because the economy would benefit as they could monitor and restrict it just as they do with alcohol. The government would also save money from not having to imprison such a large population. There is technically no addictive chemical in marijuana, it is psychological dependency, the same element that causes people to become alcoholics, it is therefore down to the person, not the substance, and certain studies have shown that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. It begs the question as to why a substance that is less harmful than alcohol, causes a less devastating state of inebriation than alcohol, has a massive market potential and perhaps contains medicinal properties is illegal.
I smoke weed on occasion and I think it’s quite depressing how almost every other smoker who argued for legalisation on this page seems to have an IQ less than their age. Good job in helping the cause guys.
Nicotine beats cannabis in both addictiveness and harm to the body. But we can tax, and legally sell that. Alcohol gets you high.
What if the Congress passed a bill that made alcohol illegal? Price would go up, cartels would use intimidation to control the market, and we would see street dealers and home brewers pop up everywhere.
22 million Americans have tried cannabis; jailing that population solves nothing. TAX IT.
Weed=bad in the long run
Lmao,okay everyone shut up. Both sides have some pretty alright,valid points. I’m 14 years old and smoked for the first time last last year sometime in about april. And I actually staretd doing it on a regular basis about agust of this year. I’d began to feel depressed in about march. And my depression had gotten so severe that I attempted suicide. And after that,I sort of tried to stay away from pot. I thought it’d only complicate things and make me hazy in a time where I should be clear-minded. One night,I waswith some friends,smoked a few bowls, and felt more clear minded, stress free, and totally not anxious and happy than I had in months. I started smoking every few days. After a month I had double the friends I had before and a girlfriend who was making me very happy. A month after that, I was 100% happy and almost completely out of my depression. 4 months later,(now) not only am I not depressed, my grades are going back up,I have an amazing beautiful girlfriend I smoke with all the time,a sea of loyal friends (actually,most not pot heads at all) and my relationship with my parents couldn’t be better. I feel totally rejuvinated and I can think so clear and whenever I have an obstacle in life, a joint and and hour and a half alone in my room playing The. Doors provides exactly the temporary state of euphoria,peace,tranquility and open minded-ness I need to be able to sit and think about how to solve whatever that obstacle may be. As for it being “addicting”,I once decided to not smoke for a while. And for 2 and a half weeks I didn’t. That might not seem too long,but I had nothing drawing me back to it. I felt totally alright and chill. I only started again cause I felt like it. I’m living proof. I have not been harmed in the LEAST by this totally natural plant. It absolutley helped me get my life back together and did exactly what every antidepressant the doc perscribes to me shoudlve done. Legalize it.
u obviously didnt get the good stuff…..what’d u do, get it out of the toilet? get the good stuff and ull actually get the reaction u want.
To think about this logically, the only way to end the drug war is to make all drugs legal. Given by Drs Prescription these drugs can be offered cleaner and cheaper than they are on the street. We are a capitalism, if the money dries up so will the crime associated with it. If fact addiction is really nothing more than some peoples attempt at self medication. Some are better and more responsible than others that is why it is important to directly involve the medical community and actually ask Doctors with educations about the harm of these medications. Marijuana has had numerous studies done in fact the study sponsored by Nixon, the president who started the drug war, states there is no risk to society. In fact prohibition of any kind is an affront to the very fiber of our freedom. When we let the government within our walls, they will find themselves right at home with our pets, , our kids ,our beds, and as I see in some of you our minds.
I haven’t enough words to describe the level of stupidity, that must’ve gone into your writing of this response to marijuana legalization….”selfish to ones fellow man”…Seriously?!? What do you say to all of the cigarette smokers and alcohol consumers,whose families were destroyed from the illnesses brought on by those nefarious substances?
You DO realize that cannabis is a big fat ’0′ on the deaths caused scale?
You, sir and uneducatedpeople LIKE you, are one reason, not small, that this world turns in its chaotic way, perpetuating a winless war against ones right to get high…and when that same ignorant undertakingtargets the least dangerous of the substances…well, I’m done here…my sense of common sense has been bruised enough…I pity you and your ilk, as you are on the side of the past, with it’s old lies, excuses and propaganda .
BTW…my comment is directed at the gentleman named ‘Forrest’; just wanted to clear that up
I have read a lot of comments on here about how weed is horrible for you and one person nearly died (which was most likely an allergic reaction), but honestly I don’t believe weed to be harmful for you at all. I smoke weed basically everyday, yet I am in college, actually doing well, have a wonderful home life, have a large group of friends (not all that smoke), and am overall pretty happy.
Also I am contesting the credibility of this article, not because you haven’t smoked weed, but because of your statistics on the number of Americans that don’t do drugs.You said word for word: “Cocaine use has dropped by an astounding 70 percent and 95 percent of Americans do not use drugs.”
Now I don’t know much about cocaine usage but I find it hard to believe that 95 Percent of Americans do not use drugs.
I was hoping to gain some insight on why people think marijuana should be illegal, but instead I found an article written by someone who knows about as much about the side effects of marijuana as my grandmother.
“State and federal governments in the United States face massive looming fiscal deficits. One policy change that can reduce deficits is ending the drug war. Legalization means reduced expen- diture on enforcement and an increase in tax rev- enue from legalized sales.
This report estimates that legalizing drugs would save roughly $41.3 billion per year in gov- ernment expenditure on enforcement of prohibi- tion. Of these savings, $25.7 billion would accrue to state and local governments, while $15.6 bil-
lion would accrue to the federal government. Approximately $8.7 billion of the savings would result from legalization of marijuana and $32.6 billion from legalization of other drugs.
The report also estimates that drug legaliza- tion would yield tax revenue of $46.7 billion annually, assuming legal drugs were taxed at rates comparable to those on alcohol and tobacco. Approximately $8.7 billion of this revenue would result from legalization of marijuana and $38.0 billion from legalization of other drugs.”
Source:
Source: Jeffrey A. Miron & Kathrine Waldock: “The Budgetary Impact of Drug Prohibition,” 2010
FUCK YOU GUYS!