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USN
In 1987, Supreme Court nominee Douglas Ginsburg lost the nomination because
he admitted to trying Marijuana. In 1992, then Governor Bill Clinton famously said:
“When I was in England, I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didn't like
it. I didn't inhale, and never tried it again.” Fast forward to 2006, while on Chris
Matthews’s show our current President Barrack Obama admitted that he had in fact
has made it clear he does not support the legalization of marijuana he has said, he
believes the government needs to rethink how they operate in the drug wars because they
are not doing a good job. This consecution above indicates that as the times are changing
outweighs the cons. When considering legalizing marijuana, there are many economic,
health, and social issues that need to be taken in account. Also to truly understand the
pros and the cons it’s necessary to view the issue’s origin, how it came about or what
should be legal I began with the question; why was marijuana prohibited? In my attempt
to find the answer to this question I was lead to Harry Anslinger the first director the
magnate and leading newspaper publisher. Anslinger was an extremely ambitious man,
and he recognized the Bureau of Narcotics as an amazing career opportunity. Hearst too
had his own personal reasons for joining sides with Anslinger in the fight to prohibit
marijuana; one being that he invested heavily in the timber industry to support his
Arnold Jay Hodges
USN
newspaper chain and didn't want to see the development of hemp paper in competition.
Although they were the ring leaders in the fight to illegalize marijuana they weren’t the
only interested parties. Hemp seed oil derivatives could replace DuPont's petroleum
derived compounds, so of course the DuPonts, of DuPont plastic fame, joined the fight in
illegalizing marijuana. In the 1930s, Hearst, who owned newspapers all over the country,
started publishing sensationalist-type "news" stories about marijuana use. These stories,
were written by Hearst or Anslinger himself and they talked about "insanity, criminality,
and death" caused by smoking marijuana however none of these stories were based on
fact. The intense propaganda and campaign led to anti-marijuana laws in many states.
With the current recession President Barrack Obama has stated the economy is the
most important issue that he believes will define his legacy. I read an article about
Economist Stephen T. Easton’s attempt to calculate how much tax revenue the Canadian
government would gain by legalizing marijuana. Although his study was strictly
confined to Canada I do believe it’s a perfect model of how the legalization of marijuana
would generate tax revenue overall. The study estimates that the average price of 0.5
grams (a unit) of marijuana sold for $8.60 on the street, while its cost of production was
only $1.70 producing a $6.90 profit for a unit of marijuana. Stephen T. Easton argues that
if marijuana was legalized, we could transfer these excess profits caused by the risk-
premium from these grow operations to the government. Legalizing marijuana would
generate revenue creating a new industry providing the economy with the stimulus we
was a chain cigarette smoker) would say to anyone who would say the cliché statement,
“you know smoking kills.” My reason of mentioning this is for the people who say you
shouldn’t legalize marijuana because it can kill you; well there are a lot of legal things in
the world that can kill you. According to the United States government, National
Institute on Drug Abuse, Bureau of Mortality Statistics the annual American deaths
caused by drugs while tobacco was at the top of the list with 400,000, marijuana was at
the bottom with zero. Like any substance, marijuana can be abused. The most common
problem attributed to marijuana is frequent overuse, which can induce sluggish behavior
Driven by the Drug War, the U.S. prison population is six to ten times as high as
2000, more than 734,000 people were arrested in this country for marijuana-related
offenses alone. Knowing this fact, what we have are young people going to prison for
simple possession and getting out more experienced criminals. To compare it to the
the crime rate would decrease due to the decrease in consumption of alcohol, especially
accomplished, the crime rate soon shot to nearly twice that of the pre-prohibition period.
Minor crimes such as swearing, mischief, and vagrancy decreased but the more serious
crimes like homicides, assault, and battery, increased nearly 13 percent. The Legalization
of marijuana would have a positive effect on society because it would decrease the crime
rate.
Arnold Jay Hodges
USN
Although there are pros and cons to the legalization of marijuana I strongly feel
that the pros outweigh the cons. The legalization could stimulate the economy, decrease
the crime rate and it’s not deadly or doesn’t cause extreme health hazards. To legalize
Part II
affect the structure or function of the body that causes addiction, habituation, or a marked
change in consciousness. The idea of legalizing marijuana is not only immoral but it’s
suggesting that the government promotes drug use. Understandably alcohol is a drug and
it’s legal, cigarettes are highly addictive drugs and they’re legal not to mention so many
others legal drugs, but legalizing marijuana is adding fuel to fire that we could struggle
for years to put out. Legalizing marijuana may not be creating problems but it would
“Cause I was already a smoker, it was easy to get addicted. The one thing that
Merle Haggard-
Marijuana is known as the gateway drug, in which by theory means the habitual
use of it may lead to a future risk of using more dangerous drugs and crime. The idea that
legalizing marijuana would lead to less crime is moronic and on the contrary we’d see an
increase in crimes. In relation to driving while under the influence, alcohol is already
responsible for about 10 to 15 thousand deaths a year with the legalization of marijuana
this number would increase because the affect that marijuana has on your body will affect
Arnold Jay Hodges
USN
your ability to drive. Marijuana slows reflexes which make it difficult for drivers to
respond to sudden, unexpected events also it has a negative affect on a driver’s ability to
stay in lane and this could impair you for at least four to six hours. Considering how
many traffic deaths and how many people are arrested for driving under the influence,
already due to alcohol I can only see this total increasing with the legalization of
marijuana.
your health in the long run. Marijuana smoke has been found to contain more cancer-
causing agents than tobacco smoke and if used for a number of years may in deed cause
cancer. Also many marijuana users also smoke cigarettes combining both effects of
smoking these two substances creates an even greater health risk. Marijuana causes your
heart rate to increase as much as 50 percent, depending on the amount of THC. It can
cause chest pain in people who have a poor blood supply to the heart. In addition to the
dependent. They may have a hard time limiting their use, they may need more of the drug
to get the same effect, and they may develop problems with their jobs and personal
relationships. Some studies suggest marijuana may have a negative effect on your
reproductive system resulting in a temporary lost of fertility and if used during pregnancy
could produce a premature birth and low birth rates. A common bad reaction to marijuana
is the "acute panic anxiety reaction." People describe this reaction as an extreme fear of
"losing control," which causes panic. The symptoms usually disappear in a few hours.
Arnold Jay Hodges
USN
It’s obvious even considering legalizing marijuana is a bad idea and could result
in problems to our society, to our health, and to our environment. We’re fighting a war
campaigns against cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal substances but legalizing marijuana is
Part III
man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A
prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was
marijuana would be wrong because it’s morally wrong and instead of focusing on
marijuana specifically being illegal I added all drugs of recreation should be illegal such
as cigarettes, alcohol, etc... This point of view I disagree with based on the fact that
we’re dealing with policy putting into law what people are and aren’t allowed to do.
Drugs are bad for a person but I do believe disabling a person to make the choice on
There are more serious crimes out there that are caused by more serious drugs and
just more serious issues. Marijuana is not a drug that people use and get violent or go on
rampages and kill a lot of people. I’ve never heard of a story about marijuana being the
reason a person goes off and kills innocent people not saying there isn’t any just saying
I’ve never heard of it. Smoking marijuana is a personal decision I believe because it
Arnold Jay Hodges
USN
affects one person. With every commercial I see with a campaign against marijuana I
only see one person being affected and that’s the individual who smokes. The
government making illegal this drug that only affects the individual and isn’t putting
citizens in harms way is wrong and should be corrected. Laws are rules and regulations
place in a society to promote structure and to protect the rights of the individuals of the
society and because legalizing marijuana doesn’t contest or violate the rights I don’t
I know there are restrictions on legal substances that I believe could be applied to
marijuana such as age, however, the substance is still legal. Driving under the influence is
a law in itself that doesn’t just apply to alcohol it also applies to prescription drugs or
anything that will alter your driving abilities. I don’t believe marijuana will increase this
number because people drive under the influence already and it’s not a number that is
based on the availability of a drug but it’s dependant on the person making a responsible
decision.
I still believe legalizing marijuana would help to stimulate the economy, I’m sure
it would have little effect if any on the crime rate, and it maybe unhealthy but that’s not a
would be saying bye to McDonald’s and Burger King and to the revenue that the fast
food restaurants bring in. I understand reason’s behind why marijuana should be legal I