Bohrer 1

Quinn Bohrer
Ms
.
Gardner 2
Hon English 10
1 May
,
2015

Should Marijuana Lose its Legal Status?

The use of Marijuana has been illegal for over 100 years in The United States
.
Marijuana

,
derived from the plant Cannabis
,
has been used since 2
,
900 B
.
C
.
(ProCon
.
org)
.
During the Prohibition
in the 1930

s Marijuana became illegal alongside Alcohol

.
The criminal status of this drug incarcerates
almost 500,00 Americans every year and makes it difficult to have for those who need it medically
.
Since passing Prop 215, allowing Medical use in California, the state has generated over $100 million
in revenue from Medical Cannabis (Kathleen Miles)
.
The legalization of Marijuana in America will drop
incarceration rates, benefit medical users
,
and bring in tax revenue
.
Many oppose Marijuana due to its dangers to the human body and its potentially negative
effects on youth
.
Those completely against all use of Marijuana argue that it does not benefit any
illness or pain
.
Scientists have hypothesized that Marijuana

lowers blood pressure which could result

in reduced blood supply to the eye

potentially harming the optic nerve in the eye (Joseph Perrone)

.

Bohrer 2

Similarly, other studies have shown that heavy use for several years can pose dangerous effects
.
Those who have smoked Marijuana from their teens into adulthood have shown an average I
.
Q
.
drop of
6 points between the age 13 and 38 (Ben Barber)
.
Although that is a significant drop of points

,
that
would mean the person used Marijuana almost daily and heavily for numerous years. Marijuana can be
used in unhealthy ways causing trauma to the brain
.
However, Marijuana should be legalized because
of the drop of incarceration rates
,
tax revenue
,
and its medical benefits.
Legalization would also bring more tax revenue to State Governments
.
In Colorados first full
year of legalization they collected about $53 million
,
$17 of which helped school budgets. In addition
to Colorado
,
Washington collected $16
.
4 million within 5 months (Trevor Hughes). By the time
Marijuana has been legalized for 10 years in Colorado, the state will have made $550 million
.
The
money from the sales tax could benefit not just school but Police, Parks, Forests, and any other
government budget
.
The sales tax on Marijuana could benefit State Governments budgets greatly;
increased revenue could lead to more tax breaks and improved state projects
.
Nevertheless
,
legalizing Marijuana would drastically drop Americas incarceration rates
.
Over
the past twelve years
,
more than 7 million Americans received jail time for possessing Marijuana
(Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers)
.
Just by possessing Marijuana a persons whole life could be

stripped away from jail time

.
The criminalization brings up racist stereotypes; statistically blacks are

Bohrer 3

four times more likely than whites to be arrested for possession (Dylan Matthews)
.
The hurtful
targeting interpetrates more dangerous stereotypes towards minorities
.
By reprimanding Marijuana
Users in prisons or jails the government wastes about $3 billion tax dollars every year (Dylan
Matthews)
.
Keeping users incarcerated not only punishes them but also the taxpayer. Associating
Marijuana with a criminal statute takes away from the drugs positive qualities
.
Based on data,
Marijuana related arrests are biased and expensive for taxpayers
;
proving why the drug should lose its
criminal status
.
One of Marijuana

s greatest qualities is also its most controversial

--
Medical Use
.
If used
correctly
,
Marijuana can positively help with medical conditions that other prescriptions cannot do
.
For example, Medical Marijuana has helped children throughout the nation with seizures; some parents
even insisted that it cured their childs seizing (Lindsey Tanner)
.
The use of Medical Marijuana dates
back to 2900 B
.
C
.
from Chinese Emperor Fu Hsi (ProCon
.
org)
.
The Chinese salvaged its medical
properties for pain relief and powerful anti bodies
.
In modern medicine, Marijuana is used to alleviate
pain and cope with illnesses
.
For instance
,
41 of 60 users say they improved greatly from their
medical condition with the help of Marijuana (ProCon
.
org)
.
According to Marijuana and Cancer,
cannabis has also been proven to aid Cancer Patients with nausea, pain, and loss of appetite caused
by Chemotherapy
.
The use of Medical Marijuana helps patients end suffering from either pain, effects

Bohrer 4

of Chemotherapy, or side effects of their disease

.
Medical Marijuana helps make life more enjoyable
for those suffering
.
In conclusion
,
Marijuana should be legalized because it would drop incarceration rates,
develope more tax revenue, and benefit more medical users
.
The legalization would assist society due
to less anxiety about Marijuana
,
which could draw away from its beneficial properties
.
Legalizing
Marijuana would help show the positive attributes of the natural drug instead of the fearful rumors and
stories
.

Bohrer 5

Work Cited
Barber, Ben. "Cool the Rush to Legalize Pot."
McClatchy - Tribune News Service
. 19 Dec. 2013: n.p.
SIRS

jjjjjjjjjjjjjj
Issues Researcher.
Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
Hughes,Trevor. USA TODAY. "Colo. Pot Users Helping Build Schools with Tax Dollars."
USA Today
. 17 Feb.
jjjjjjjjjjjj
2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
"Marijuana Arrests by the Numbers."
American Civil Liberties Union
. ACLU, 7 Aug. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
"Marijuana and Cancer."
Marijuana and Cancer
. American Cancer Society, 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Matthews, Dylan. "The Black/white Marijuana Arrest Gap, in Nine Charts."
Washington Post
. The Washington
jjjjjjjjjjjjj
4 June 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Miles, Kathleen. "California Is Poised To Legalize Marijuana In 2016."
The Huffington Post
.
jjjjjjjjjjjj
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 May 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.
Perrone, Joseph. "The Junk 'Science' Behind the Marijuana Legalization Movement."
Washington Post - Blogs
.
jjjjjjjjjjjj
21 Oct. 2014: n.p.
SIRS Issues Researcher.
Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
ProCon.org. "Robert Deitch."
ProCon.org
. 14 Sep. 2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
ProCon.org. "60 Peer-Reviewed Studies on Medical Marijuana."
ProCon.org
. 27 Feb. 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2015.
Tanner, Lindsey. "Medical Pot Only OK for Sick Kids Failed by Other Drugs: MDs."
Tennessean
. 26 Jan. 2015:
jjjjjjjjjjjjj
n.p.
SIRS Issues Researcher.
Web. 19 Apr. 2015.