The Benefits of Marijuana Legalization in the U.S

The Benefits Marijuana Legalization in the United States

Weed, pot, dope, green, bud, herb, mary-jane, grass; marijuana has had many names over the past few decades, but still America has had another label, almost throughout its entire existence, illegal. Marijuana is currently completely illegal for personal or recreational use. Its use as a medicine is regulated and limited only to those patients who reside in fifteen states. The issue for decriminalizing and legalizing marijuana spans across many different subjects, and is quite complex. The legalization of marijuana in America would take money from the Mexican drug cartels and in turn give it to legitimate American business, lower prison populations, and crime rates.

Legalizing marijuana would account for lower arrests and prison populations. The numbers are impressive, according to Blumenson and Nielsen (2010) "Federal and state laws have resulted in the arrest of more than 700,000 Americans annually for marijuana possession, a crime that almost 100 million Americans have committed" (p.280). Local law enforcement could spend time and energy focusing on crimes that would be considered much more horrendous such as murder, rape, and assault. Instead a substantial amount of resources are allocated to combating marijuana sales and possession. In New York City alone the numbers are quite astonishing; according to Johnson, Golub, Dunlap, and Sifanek, (2008) marijuana arrests "Increased from 3,000 in 1994 to over 50,000 in 2000, and have been about 30,000 in the mid-2000s" (p.226). On average, 140 times a day arrests were made, not made because of violent crimes, property crimes, or high profile Wall Street frauds, but instead because of a plant that grows naturally in the wild, and can be used to intoxicate. These crimes hardly ever get national attention or lead to a federal case, according to Mikos (2009) "Only 1 percent of the roughly 800,000 marijuana cases generated every year are handled by federal authorities" (p1424).

Being a schedule I drug, the federal government mistakenly treats marijuana as being highly addictive and having no medical benefits. To put things in contrast, cocaine is a schedule II drug that is used as a topical anesthetic and during eye surgeries to numb certain parts. It is very difficult to conduct medical research on marijuana since the current scheduling according to Cohen (2010) "Significantly impeded research into the therapeutic and palliative uses of the drug, since this requires investigators to obtain a special license from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) before they may undertake any clinical investigations of marijuana" (p.654) So, if marijuana is not a legitimate medicine, then the District of Columbia and 15 states have received bad information, having enacted medical marijuana laws. This means that with a prescription from a medical doctor, a patient can walk into legitimate businesses and purchase various types of marijuana for their treatment. Marijuana has been used as a justifiable medicine for thousands. The contradiction of laws and policies between various states and the federal government pertaining to marijuana leaves much confusion on the subject. There are even discrepancies from within the DEA, for example, Isralowitz stated "In 1988, a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young, concluded that in strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume" (p.106). Yet, the DEA still is entitled to make marijuana arrests and busts. Patients whose ailments range from terminal cancer, to those with insomnia have had prescriptions for marijuana. National legalization of this medicine could help countless patients and finally stop the legal and policy contradictions. Substances that have little to no medical advantages such as tobacco and alcohol are completely legal, given an individual is of age to consume these products, marijuana should not be treated differently.

Since marijuana for recreational use is still illegal in all 50 states, people who smoke it must get it through illegal means. Most likely an individual who purchases marijuana has given money to Mexican drug cartels. Marijuana, according to Office of National Drug Control Policy (2009) either "Originate from or pass through Mexican territory and territorial seas. Profits from this illicit trade flow back to Mexican drug trafficking organizations in the form of weapons, bulk currency, and laundered funds" (p.41). These organizations known as cartels have continuously been in the media as border violence that stretches from California to Texas is increasing. There is undoubtedly a significant market for marijuana in America and Mexican drug leaders are continuously finding new ways to bring their product to their customers. As Hitchens (2007) puts it America is a country "where narcotics are freely available to anybody who wants them and where the only guarantee is that all the money goes straight into criminal hands" (p.41). Major tunnels Mexico has paid a hefty price for having a drug war. A price that has been paid in