Legalizing Marijuana Help or Hindrance Essay - 1009 Words

There is no denying that there are problems with the marijuana laws currently in place in the United States. Left and right, there are people using marijuana with blatant disregard to the fact that it is, in fact, prohibited. The black market for marijuana is surging out of control. As a result of this, drug-related street crimes have become more prevalent, which, in turn, has increased the number of offenders in prison for those crimes. This is very costly to the United States government. Also, there are personal dangers involved with buying drugs on the black market. By legalizing marijuana, the government could help solve the problems caused by the laws that are currently in place. Several effects of marijuana prohibition have to do†¦show more content†¦Only the drug users would be forced to pay the extra taxes, but everyone in the country could reap the benefits. The deficit is a huge problem; another major problem that has arisen because marijuana is illegal is the increase in the number of drug-related street crimes. Since marijuana is so expensive, drug users often don’t have the means to pay for it. A large number of drug buyers come from low-income families, which only enforces that inability to afford the drugs they use. Also, an article on WebMD points out that although marijuana is not considered a physically addictive drug, it is psychologically addictive and often causes the same symptoms (â€Å"Marijuana Use†). Users’ rational thought is sometimes impaired by the intense need to fulfill their drug addictions. This leads to increased levels of violent crimes such as robbery, assault, even murder. Legalizing marijuana would allow the government to control the market, which would decrease the drug-related crime rates. It would also completely eradicate the number of marijuana-related crimes, such as trafficking and possession. Today, almost sixty thousand people are incarcerated for marijuana-related offenses at a time. The combined number of arrests for the most violent crimes (murder, manslaughter, rape, robbery) still does not exceed the number of people incarcerated for disobeying marijuana laws. At an expense of over twenty thousand dollars each per year, the yearly cost