The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana Essay Example for Free

The Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana EssayIn 2010 an estimated 443,000 people slip awayd prematurely from take in tobacco plant or exposure to secondhand smoke, and a nonher 8. 6 million live with a life-threatening illness ca single-valued functiond by smoking. in spite of these risks, approximately 46. 6 million U. S. adults smoke cig arttes. Alcohol subprogram closing curtain social class led to 14,406 alcoholic drinkic liver disease deaths and 23,199 separate alcohol related deaths excluding accidents and homicides. Alcohol physical exercise, 2009) Despite these alarming statistics, these substances remain legal and soci every last(predicate)y acceptable spell ganja, which has never slayed any angiotensin-converting enzyme anywhere, is illegal, cadaver classified as a stage one controlled substance, which likens it to go througher drugs such as LSD, and heroin, both so lethal you could die with a single use of goods and services. Why is it socially ac ceptable to use substances, which kill ks a year while a plant that is practically a miracle drug remains portrayed as one of the virtually dangerous substances, roll in the hayn to man?In this paper, we will think at the pros and cons of legalizing hemp the pecuniary concussion as hale as the do it would have on industry. We will also bet at social impact caused by legalizing hemp outhouse it be socially acceptable. Alcohol and tobacco continually kill people by the thousands and yet remain legal, why whence is marihuana, a drug that has never killed a single person still illegal. The declaration of independence and the constitution of the United States of America argon written on haltere paper there were until now laws on the subject of marijuana sooner that.Americas first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619 it ordered all farmers to grow Indian marihuanaseed there were several other must grow laws over the following 200 years. You w ould be imprisoned for non growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767, and during that time hemp was legal tender you could even pay your valuees with hemp. The United States Census of 1850 counted 8,327 hemp plantations growing cannabis hemp for cloth, canvas and even the cordage used for baling cotton (Census of population and housing, 1850).The American people have been using marijuana since before we were the mighty nation we are today in fact Americans have been consuming all types of narcotics for umteen years cocaine and opium used to be available for purchase over the counter. Marijuana is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves derived from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa the main active bio chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC for short (The National fetch on Drug Abuse, 2010). sight have been using marijuana for some different topics throughout history it has over a thousand uses fr om making fabric and ropes to helping sick people regain their appetite yet in our society, it remains illegal. Marijuana is the virtually comm exactly used drug. According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), an estimated 104 million Americans aged 12 or older have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetimes, representing 41. 5% of the U. S. population in that age group (The National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010).The number of past year marijuana users in 2009 was approximately 28. 5 million (11. 3% of the population aged 12 or older) and the number of past month marijuana users was 16. 7 million (6. 6%). 2 that is a very large percentage of the population. (The National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010) These numbers clearly show that many people use and seem to like marijuana and with all of this consumption, one would think that there would be at least one reported case of a marijuana-induced fatality entirely there is none.Marijuana has many uses be sides its chemical properties there is even a European organization dedicated to it industrial uses. Industrial hemp has many different uses we are capable of weaving the fibers into fabric to make clothing, also pressing it into paper, or even a charge card like material that amazingly has ten times the impact effectuality steel. It would also replace many of the everyday medications we use, it is great for headaches or muscles pain and most upset stomach symptoms.It has also been shown to help ease some troubles discomfort that can occur while taking chemotherapy and when living with HIV or AIDS. So much so that pharmaceutical companies have been developing synthetic types of THC hoping to corner the market but since marijuana contains more than nevertheless THC the results have non been as operant.Many people use cannabis therapeutically when they are living with HIV or AIDS but there is not enough data to show exactly how they benefit from the cannabis. Another study through using 332 materialisation adult females from Southern New England showed that it could be used to relieve stress and tension caused by catamenial cramps and helped reduce anxiety in some. (De Dios, et al. 2010)All that is known is that it helps them have a better quality of life and that altogether should be enough for people to realize that we have been misinformed, marijuana is not all uncollectible it is just extremely misunderstood. If marijuana helps, is worthwhile and requires further examination but given the legal barriers, and the contrasting effects associated with cannabinoids and the fact that the pharmacology of naturally occurring cannabinoids in the human brain is not understood at length.Therefore, the undecomposed range of consequences of synthetic cannabinoid or marijuana use cannot be entirely anticipated and should be explored. It is tight to believe that a plant with so much usefulness would not be farmed on a massive level it is very easy to cultivate and it grows with little to no care. There is a bad side to industrializing hemp there would be currency and jobs lost by the industries that hemp would replace.The textile companies would stick out a lot of their business hemp makes a much stronger fabric that is much cheaper to produce, there would not need to be too many modifications made when it comes to how we farm our textiles if the cotton companies would be willing to shift they could probably do just as well. The pharmaceutical companies stand to pull back the most cash, the drugs that are their scoop sellers like antidepressants and cancer treatment drugs. It would also replace most over the counter remedies as well headaches and most stomach difficultys can be treated with marijuana.When using deontology preferably than looking at the consequences of an act, one looks at the reason for which an act is done, and the rule according to which one chooses to act. Deontology does not dismiss that acts have consequences ra ther it insists that those consequences should not play a role in our moral evaluation of such acts (Mosser, 2010). If we use a deontologist point of view when accessing the act of a terminally ill patient using marijuana to roll in the hay with pain or perhaps gain an appetite there is no question that this is the right thing to do.How about a person using marijuana recreationally it increases your sense but slows your reflexes it is healthier than smoking tobacco or drinking alcohol as long as the person is an adult who is not execute any dangerous procedures they should be fine and this act can be looked at as acceptable. Utilitarianism sometimes called the consequentialist theory because it evaluates whether an act is right or wrong relative to the acts consequences. (Mosser, 2010)Therefore, utilitarian would look at the overall greater good and make it legal there are some downsides as far as evenue goes but should money always be the main goal. As cash shop it is worth a g ood deal of money it can be used for much more than just it chemical properties it makes great fabric and plastics that have ten times the impact strength of steal. It vastly improves the quality of life for many cancer survivors with marijuana multiple sclerosis suffers a beginning to lead almost convening existences without fear of pain and chemo patients can eat a full meal and gain back the strength needed to survive.Would it be right to deny these people a medicine that can save their lives hardly because we see it as social unacceptable? If we look at marijuana use case by case, and judge them using relativism perspective rarely will we find a case were the marijuana use is detrimental to the person using it or the surrounding society (Yacoubian, 2007). In fact, most of the bad acts associated marijuana is in the procurement of it if people had a legal way to get their marijuana, most of the crime would ensconce because there would no overnight be a profit.There has been a comparison study done on our marijuana laws and the marijuana laws in place in the Netherlands. The United States insurance policy towards marijuana is top hat viewed in two ways first off is confer reduction, or the reduction and control of the supply of drugs through legal prohibitions, law enforcement, interdiction, sentencing, and incarceration. Secondly is demand reduction, or the reduction of the demand for drugs through education, prevention, and treatment. Yacoubian, 2007) Dutch law states that marijuana is illegal but in 1976, the Netherlands adopted a formal policy of no enforcement for violations involving the possession or sale of up to thirty grams that was later lowered to five grams in 1995 of marijuana this policy is referred to depenalization. By the mid-1980s, another rule allowed small retail outlets to sell marijuana legally this policy is referred to as de facto legalization.The retail stores are required to comply with five codes of practice 1) sales are e xtra to no more than five grams per person daily 2) no hard drugs, such as ecstasy, cocaine, or heroin, can be sold 3) no advertising is permitted 4) no nuisances or public disturbances are permitted and 5) no sales to minors. In the end the findings were very resideing it seems that the increased availability of marijuana in the Netherlands only led to a slight increase in the amount of marijuana users and our laws did very little to concur use or supply (Yacoubian, 2007).So why do we continue to prosecute our people and lavishness thousands of dollars trying to eradicate a plant with so many pros and so few cons. Our economy is in trouble, at the end of the 2009 fiscal year our deficit came in at a record $1. 42 trillion, more than triple the record set just a year earlier and it is only get worse. The government spends nearly 7. 7 billion dollars a year prosecuting cases and eradicating marijuana farms even with these efforts there is an estimated blackened market for mariju ana of nearly 100 billion dollars a year.With numbers like these, the government could tax marijuana as it does alcohol and tobacco it and make an additional 6. 2 billion a year in revenues. So again using utilitarian point of view the superior good for the superlative number is legalize and tax it. The reasons marijuana is not legal today is probably more financial and political than for the reason of keeping the public safe from a dangerous drug. If the government was truly bear on with the overall safety of the public rather than just weather or not something made money tobacco and alcohol would have been made illegal a long time ago.If a utilitarian point of view is used to evaluate whether or not tobacco should be legal base on the information provided here it would be easy to say that tobacco should be illegal it kills not only the people who use it but innocent bystanders (Mosser, 2010). There are not too many arguments for why tobacco should be legal other than that it h as always been legal, it relaxes them, and it generates lots of revenue for the government and other businesses. These are not to convincing but the money generated has given the people in charge of these companies lots of power and they have used that power to keep marijuana illegal.Political lobbying has been a big problem when it comes to marijuana becoming legal tobacco, pharmaceutical, and alcohol companies have a lot of money and they would lose a substantial amount of their revenue if marijuana became legal. Therefore, they hire a third party to bribe and perform with politicians to stop possible injunctions and even have bills introduced to reduce the amount of regulations already in place. Why would the alcohol and tobacco companies want the American citizens using a drug they could grow in their backyard that does not kill you or cause dependency?The reason marijuana is illegal and will remain illegal is greed, unequivocal and simple, the greed of man and the never-endin g pursuit of the almighty dollar. The amount of money that corporate America stands to lose if people wake up and begin using marijuana in all the ways it can be is exponential. First off, most pharmaceutical companies will lose their biggest money makers, people would no longer need to use the dangerous psychoactive drugs with side effects that are sometimes worse than the received condition.Next would come all of the textile uses it can make fabric stronger than cotton, grows and process much easier and is cheaper to produce. thus there are the recreational uses why would people continue to use tobacco when it has been proven to kill when they could use something much safer without fear of prosecution. someday the world will be in the hands of the next generation a generation of informed intelligent people who no longer accept things at face value.We will use ethics the way it is meant to be used to help people not to find ways in which to justify the controls enforced on them. Critical thinking will be put to use to solve the crises caused by years of denial and ignorance we will no longer use unsafe drugs simply because they are considered socially acceptable. Unfortunately, that day may be far away until then we can just hope for the majority of people to wake up and take a look at what the government is saying with it policies on marijuana and their polices on alcohol and tobacco.Do we want money controlling our government this does not maximize our utility the people should control policy not companies. Someday we will outlaw political lobbing and truly punish the corrupt who line their pockets with money from special interest groups who seek less regulations so that they can make a profit. We will no longer fall apart the injustices perpetrated against us, the sick are being giving drugs that do not really help and in most cases makes things worse.America is a global leader when it comes to human rights yet our citizens sometimes have fewer freedoms than we think. In the constitution, it states every man has the right to the pursuit of happiness for some people, happiness is relaxing with some marijuana and the right to use it should be protected. We know that tobacco and alcohol can kill you we also know that marijuana cannot so maybe it is time that we apply ethics to this issue, do the greatest good for the greatest number, and legalize marijuana.