Legalizing Marijuana
Marijuana being illegal at a federal and state level for recreational users is an example of draconian government in action. Marijuana should be legal for a great many reasons, the least of all being the safety of the drug. The pros and cons range from taxation boons to even health benefits for potential users. What other drugs can that be said of?
The first point that citizens on the fence about marijuana need to understand is the safety aspect. If you put weed on a table next to a cigarette and a six pack of beer, the weed would be the safest drug there. Studies have shown that impairment from alcohol is as severe or worse than marijuana and it is also statistically proven that more people are killed in drunk driving related incidents than smoking and driving. Cigarettes stand on their own as a behemoth of illness that the masses consume without blinking.
From cancer to respiratory problems cigarettes should be the smoke of choice made illegal at a federal level. Cigarettes offer the user no tangible benefits.The second point, and probably the most interesting to our government, is the ability to tax the drug. As it stands most people acquire marijuana through illegal means: from drug dealers, growing it themselves, or from state dispensaries (that are still illegal at the federal level).
With the government being cut out of the equation it is easy to see that they are losing out on taxes at every illegal transaction. It is worth noting that there is A LOT of money involved in growing and selling illegal marijuana. Were the drug legalized and sold at every store on the block it is my belief that most marijuana smokers would prefer to buy their product there, rather than looking to illegal and possibly dangerous means.
This means tax revenue and that is something our government would love.The last point I want to make is that prohibition never works, at least no in unreasonable circumstances. With the prohibition of alcohol, a much more dangerous drug, we instead saw organized crime spike and people were drinking as much as ever. The same can be said of marijuana except that it is a much safer drug by comparison.
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