In December of 1937, the Marijuana Tax Act was signed into law initiating years of marijuana prohibition. .
The first and most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there are not very many legitimate reasons that marijuana should be illegal. Individuals who use marijuana, do it of their own free will. The government should only be able to limit individuals of the drug if their (the individuals) actions pose a significant threat to that individual. Several studies have shown that the drug marijuana is far less dangerous than some that are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco.
Another important reason that marijuana should be legal is that it would save the government billions of dollars every year. All levels of government (federal and local authorities) in the United States, participate in the "War on Drugs." We (the U.S.) currently spend approximately 3 billion dollars a year to chase peaceful people who happen to like to get high. These people get thrown in jail and we the taxpayers have to pay for it. We pay for housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs and many other expenses so that these people can be placed in prison. According to a study done by the University of Arizona, it costs an average of $1,859 to get one person convicted of felony possession. This study doesn't even include the cost of the minimum of six months in a minimum-security prison. If marijuana was legalized, we could spend more money on important issues such as health care programs and decreasing the national debt instead of locking people up for possessing marijuana. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government would be able to collect taxes on it, and could use that money to pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes.
The third major reason that marijuana should be legal is because prohibition doesn't help the country in any way, but causes several problems.
