... more laws to penalize users is one way of slowing it down. Drug abuse is obviously a plague to society. Drug abuse uses society's resources by requiring that hundreds of thousands of our tax dollars be spent on funding enforcement agencies, educational programs and treatment facilities (Plant). Drugs also hurt future generations because drug abuse, particularly of marijuana, is usually a problem among our future teens ... . Innocent citizens also have to pay higher insurance rates because of the risk of drug dealers damaging property. Drug abuse must be stopped. We also need to attack .....

• Word Count: 860
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the corner store. The immediate effects on the user are relaxation and a slight anesthetic effect. Alcohol is a very addictive drug. There are more than 5 million alcoholics in Australia which is and indication of how widespread its harmful effects are. Alcoholics ... over a long enough period of time, or if mixed with other drugs, death. Marijuana is a popular, and illegal, drug. Its largest consumers are young adults. Marijuana is smoked in a pipe or rolled in a cigarette. Thirty-seven percent of people ... of the worst drugs because it causes respiratory illness and kills mucus membr...

• Word Count: 936
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• Grade Level: High School

... taxed like cigarettes and alcohol (Martin 2009). According to former San Jose Police Chief Joseph D. McNamara, marijuana prohibition is counterproductive to the mission of local law enforcement agencies. Enforcement of drug laws causes law enforcement officers to be more confrontational, preventing public trust. Police need citizens to report crimes, be witnesses, and believe testimony of the police when serving on juries. ... The country learned over 80 years ago that prohibition did not prevent people from selling, drinking, or abusing alcohol. Similarly, drug prohibition does not prev...

• Word Count: 1215
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... that will eventually become addicts, and will steal or kill in order to get their drugs. I believe that Thompson 3 through these allegations, the Drug Enforcement Agency may have viable arguments, but considering the lack of evidence to support their beliefs, I am not sure if I can consider these statements ... in my inquiry. One of the main reasons on why the Drug Enforcement Agency does not want marijuana to be legalized is because in twenty years of research by The American Cancer Society, The American Glaucoma Society, ... The American Academy of Ophthalmology, and The American Medi...

• Word Count: 865
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... taxed heavily because the users will be assured of "clean drugs." Making drugs legal will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement every year. Drug dealers and users are one step ahead on the enforcement process. If one drug lord is caught, another one will show up somewhere else. We cannot win. "In 1987, 10 billion dollars were spent alone just on ... . In return, the companies that make the cigarettes would also pay income taxes.. Second, there would be a reduction on the amount spent on law enforcement efforts to apprehend and prosecute users and sellers of marijuana. Th...

• Word Count: 801
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... taxed heavily because the users will be assured of "clean drugs." Making drugs legal will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement every year. Drug dealers and users are one step ahead on the enforcement process. If one drug lord is caught, another one will show up somewhere else. We cannot win. "In 1987, 10 billion dollars were spent alone just on ... . In return, the companies that make the cigarettes would also pay income taxes.. Second, there would be a reduction on the amount spent on law enforcement efforts to apprehend and prosecute users and sellers of marijuana. Th...

• Word Count: 871
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... taxed heavily because the users will be assured of "clean drugs." Making drugs legal will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement every year. Drug dealers and users are one step ahead on the enforcement process. If one drug lord is caught, another one will show up somewhere else. We cannot win.In 1987, 10 billion dollars were spent alone just on ... . In return, the companies that make the cigarettes would also pay income taxes.. Second, there would be a reduction on the amount spent on law enforcement efforts to apprehend and prosecute users and sellers of marijuana. The ...

• Word Count: 873
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Americans were arrested and incarcerated for marijuana possesion with 90% of those arrests being based on possession(Wegman). This is a ludicrous amount of citizens in tax-funded federal prisons for a drug that, if legalized, would create an abundance of positive impacts within the United States. Marijuana should be legalized because it would benefit the economy, help people with physical and emotional ... pain, and allow law enforcement to focus more heavily on violent crime. If regulated like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana would create a tremendous amount of new wealth. Dispensaries a...

• Word Count: 1053
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of use, marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement and it will increase our country's revenue. This is something that should be left up to the American people. Let us vote ... from selling legal drugs. Making drugs legal will reduce the great amounts of money spent on enforcement every year. Drug dealers and users are one step ahead on the enforcement process. If one drug lord is caught, another one will show up somewhere else. We cannot win. With the ... the cigarettes would also...

• Word Count: 1149
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... increase the amount of use, Marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce the great amount of money spent on the related law enforcement and there are many benefits to be considered especially in pain reduction for the terminally ill. Legalizing marijuana would increase our country's ... assured of "clean drugs". Making marijuana legal will reduce the great amount of money spent on enforcement each year. Drug dealers and users are one step ahead of the enforcement process. If a drug dealer is caught another will show up somewhere else. Do you think it is possible to ... would als...

• Word Count: 557
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the safest therapeutic substances known to man. One big misconception that many people use against marijuana is the fact that it is a "Gateway Drug". Study after study has found that this claim about marijuana was highly inconclusive. There is no evidence that trying marijuana will lead to using ... as aid those who could benefit from the substance medically. Our government currently spends over $19 billion a year on the drug war. Of this, over half goes toward enforcement while less than a quarter actually goes to prevention and treatment. This seems to be an awful waste of money that ...

• Word Count: 1127
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... people in use of Marijuana. Today six Out of every eighteen Americans have tried Marijuana. That's about 50 million people. This proves the drug war just hasn't been helping. Therefore, what might happen when Marijuana is legalized? Logically we could assume that the people who have always ... are pure and simple. Making Marijuana legal would greatly reduce the vast amounts of money spent on drug law enforcement every year. For example: In 2000 well over ten billion dollars were spent on drug enforcement alone. Drugs accounted for more than forty percent of all felony indictments in our ...

• Word Count: 718
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... to go on the record we support the medical use marijuana; marijuana can be a drug of necessity in the treatment of AIDS, glaucoma, cancer and multiple sclerosis. '' Many agencies, which are anti marijuana such as Drug Enforcement Agency and police departments, argue marijuana should not be legalized. These agencies believe that ... People will raise the question why marijuana illegal at all if its a medicine. The main reason why the Drug Enforcement Agency does not want marijuana to be legal is because there is no hard-core evidence that proves that marijuana is an effective ... harmful...

• Word Count: 821
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... be given one. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of drug use, marijuana should be legalized because it will reduce the great amount of money spent on enforcement, and will therefore increase our countries revenue, lessen crime, and will also be useful ... using or selling drugs. Legalization will be profitable to global economies in two ways. It will allow for money spent on drug law enforcement to be spent more wisely and it will increase revenue. There have been escalating costs spent on the war against drugs ... and countless dollars spent o...

• Word Count: 1046
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... to go on the record we support the medical use marijuana; marijuana can be a drug of necessity in the treatment of AIDS, glaucoma, cancer and multiple sclerosis. '' Many agencies, which are anti marijuana such as Drug Enforcement Agency and police departments, argue marijuana should not be legalized. These agencies believe that ... People will raise the question why marijuana illegal at all if its a medicine. The main reason why the Drug Enforcement Agency does not want marijuana to be legal is because there is no hard-core evidence that proves that marijuana is an effective ... harmful...

• Word Count: 796
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Marijuana: The Illegal Herb The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) currently lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. A Schedule 1 drug, to law enforcement, is any illegal substance, which is used only for recreation. To some, this may seem to be a misnomer- ... medicinal applications may appear relevant in this case- would that not illustrate marijuana's non-recreational relevance? There is only anecdotal evidence for this application of the drug, however. The simple fact is, that, when exploring the case for the legalization of marijuana, there is no sound, logical reason for legalization. There ......

• Word Count: 710
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Marijuana: The Illegal Herb The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) currently lists marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug. A Schedule 1 drug, to law enforcement, is any illegal substance, which is used only for recreation. To some, this may seem to be a misnomer- ... medicinal applications may appear relevant in this case- would that not illustrate marijuana's non-recreational relevance? There is only anecdotal evidence for this application of the drug, however. The simple fact is, that, when exploring the case for the legalization of marijuana, there is no sound, logical reason for legalization. There ......

• Word Count: 680
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The debate over medicinal marijuana usage and legality is a controversial one. Many experts argue the drug costs society too much money in terms of law enforcement and incarceration costs when the monies could be better spent in other law enforcement areas. A large majority of the American people believe marijuana should be decriminalized for medical usage. In 2001, 34 percent of adult ... has ever "died of an overdose," and that it is effective and helpful for a variety of serious illnesses, from multiple sclerosis to cancer and AIDS. In fact, even the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA...

• Word Count: 1084
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... real crimes that plague the American society. This will help the police to prioritize containing or solving violent crimes over petty drug offenders (Caulkin et al. 50). Personal freedoms of Americans have previously been abused or denied by law enforcement officers in search of pot smokers. Available statistics indicate that almost 19 million Americans smoke pot and about 60% of American ... to be more responsible (Caulkin et al. 4). It should also be noted that the U.S lacks a national policy on the use of marijuana. The drug is banned all over the country by federal laws thus its enf...

• Word Count: 523
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , dope, bud, green, smoke, just to name a few. There are many beneficial reasons why marijuana use should be legalized. Many people use this drug for medicinal use, and others use it for entertainment. In the United States, using marijuana for medical purposes is illegal. Since the 1970's thirty-five ... from other countries, and fewer people will be killed in the illegal trade of marijuana that continues to proceed under the law enforcement of our government. The drug lords that import marijuana in large quantities and sell it to make a tremendous profit will be put out of business. Ther...

• Word Count: 1043
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... criminal distinction between people who smoke marijuana as a doctor's recommended remedy and recreational users, who just smoke to enjoy the effects. However, the federal government and its drug enforcement agencies claim there is no distinction in federal law. The social debate of legalizing medicinal marijuana should be long over because legalizing marijuana for medical purposes would bring about more ... Western medicine in 1839 by a British physician. Classified as a Schedule I drug, cannabis belongs to the most restrictive categories for psychoactive drugs in the Drug Enforcement Ad...

• Word Count: 1098
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... used marijuana. For over 26, about 8.9 million have used. Statistics also show that of the nations local police and sheriffs departments, 80% of their officers primarily work with only drug law enforcement. 55% of state officers do the same. Instead of placing the most emphasis on minor smoking of marijuana, our officers should be putting more attention into greater dangers, such ... as traffic safety, abuse, and other more serious crimes. The FBI reported that by 1996, arrests had increased to 9.9% of all combined arrests. Drug offenders, primarily marijuana, now constitute for ... fo...

• Word Count: 481
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• Grade Level: High School

... drug problems with more dangerous drugs such as heroin and cocaine. The legalization of marijuana will also lead to a drop in drug related crimes. There will be fewer people in jail for smuggling marijuana from other countries, and fewer people will be killed in the illegal trade of marijuana that continues to proceed under the law enforcement ... of our government. The drug lords that import marijuana in large quantities and sell it to make a tremendous profit will be put out of ... business. Therefore, there would be no reason for people to break the law by selling and buying marijuan...

• Word Count: 565
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• Grade Level: High School

... to study marijuana's usefulness as a medicine (Jennifer Thomas, USA Today). In 1988, the Drug Enforcement Agency's own administrative law judge concluded, "it would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for the Drug Enforcement Agency to continue to stand between those suffers and the benefits of this substance in the ... light of the new evidence in this record." (Institute of Medicine). Why would the leader of the government's own anti-drug group say this if marijuana ... Africa and India, where some Hindus used marijuana for religious purposes and stress relief. Since there were ...

• Word Count: 929
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... spent alone just on enforcing drug laws- (Long, 114.) That is simply too much money being virtually wasted on a cause that seems to have no end. Our country could save countless amounts of dollars even if marijuana is legalized for medical uses only. "The drug enforcement authorities might reduce their budget ... requests, or, more likely, focus more intensely on hard drugs and violent crimes- (Baker 23). All drug enforcement agencies could reduce their budget, and all marijuana sold can be taxed, ... the need for legalizing marijuana, there are also a few slightly more practical uses ...

• Word Count: 703
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