Generation Humans

The generation humans live in now, the life we live is much different now as appose to what it used to be. The government uses legal drugs such as cigarettes, and alcohol to make many profits through taxes. If drugs like alcohol and cigarettes (which causes about 46,378 deaths a year in Canada alone) are legal then why isn't marijuana? It is time for Marijuana to be legalized. Legalizing marijuana would actually be good for the government because not only would it cause a huge profit for the government, but it would definitely keep crime rates down.

When it comes to the crime rate in our generation and keeping crime rates down less crime is always the better option. Marijuana is an illegal drug in our society that needs to be legalized as soon as possible. Marijuana is a huge part of our society's crime. "In 2010, there were almost 108,600 police reported drug crimes in Canada, about half (52%) of which were for possession of cannabis." (Brennan). Now if we were to legalize marijuana, then more than half of the possession crimes in Canada would be gone. Now would that not bring down our crime rates as a society? That being said, that was from 2010, and as time progresses, it just gets worse. That is why we need to legalize marijuana as soon as possible. Not only is marijuana held accountable for more than half of the crime rate for possession, but trafficking as well! (Brennan). From 2009 to 2010 there was a 10% increase in marijuana possession! Now think about now, if from 2009 to 2010 there was a 10 % increase then perhaps from 2010 to 2012 there was a 20% increase? Innocent, foolish teens that are tempted to try this drug get caught, which often times leads to a life of crime. "There are approximately 600,000 Canadians with criminal records because of marijuana possession". (Fetaih). "Who do you think is being caught by the police? The laws ensure that those who are smoking personal amounts in the comfort of their home can pretty much never get arrested. Instead, it is the youth who cannot smoke in a house, but rather must smoke out in public." (Fetaih). Often times drug dealers cheat, in other words rip off the buyers this is simply because they need to make profits. Now this can lead to violence. So now not only will legalizing marijuana bring down the crime rates of drugs but of violence as well! "Currently, if someone in the drug trade screws you over, there's no police to call or lawyers to litigate. You must settle disputes yourself. This often leads to cycles of retaliatory violence. Legalization would create proper means to settle disputes." (Messereli). Now if marijuana were to be legalized it could be sold legally in stores. This would ensure that buyers don't get ripped off, which would make sure there is no violence. This would definitely bring trafficking rates down. If marijuana were to be a legal drug, crime rates would drop drastically; this alone would save money for the government of Canada.

If the government has drugs like alcohol and cigarettes legalized, then why can't the government legalize marijuana? If the government is making money off of alcohol and cigarettes due to specific taxes for them, then why can't the government make money off of marijuana and set specific taxes for marijuana. The government tends to bring up health issues, and how they are extremely opposed to legalize drugs. "We're strongly opposed to the legalization of drugs. Obviously,