Make marijuana never be illegal

ZhiChu Huang
EAP2
July 30, 2008

Make marijuana never be illegal

With more and more technology, transportation, and communication all around the world, marijuana is not a strange or surprising word to people, especially teenagers any more. “Marijuana, like tobacco and alcohol, can be abused” (Marijuana Legalization Organization, 2007, para.3); for this reason, many countries want to prohibit this drug. I think we do not need to always use force to arrest people who sell or buy marijuana, but every year, government and related departments spend lots of money that is from the taxes paid by taxpayers to do this work. Like an articles said, “Taxpayers are forced to pay billions of dollars to persecute, prosecute, and incarcerate people for having marijuana” (Marijuana Legalization Organization, 2007, para. 2). I think the goal of taxes we paid is to improve our lives though government’s macro-control. We have to pay for that, and as the result, we want to use this money to get a harmonious society.
So, to improve the education of marijuana, perfect the health care, and use marijuana with its useful side are three main points that are why I agree that marijuana should become legalized
First, I agree that our taxes “could be used for other purposes such as education and health care” (Marijuana Legalization Organization, 2007, para. 2), instead of government using much of this money to direct it toward people who have marijuana. The most important way is the improvement of education. In my opinion, education is always better and cheaper than prohibition. People should get better education to really understand the effect of marijuana, and people can more easily accept and choose whether they will use marijuana. People who do not use marijuana can learn where or when marijuana can provide some benefits; people who use marijuana can learn what the bad effects of marijuana are, and then correct them instead of be afraid of the policeman’s arrest.
Second, I think the government should provide financial aid to improve and perfect health care. Only maintaining the prohibition or prohibition laws is not a good way to solve problems caused by marijuana. “Money spend on enforcement of marijuana laws is money wasted” (Benna, 2005, para. 7), and usually law enforcement can use that money “ much more productively to pursue murderers, rapists, thieves, or other more serious criminals” (Benna, 2005, para. 6). Marijuana can be abused, so I think these people cannot get good health care, and have to depend on marijuana; also they do not have an equal place among others. As a result of this, I think government not only should use money to create prohibitive laws, but also needs to improve the health care, and after it free to provide for people who abuse marijuana. The legalization of marijuana also can make people who want to give it up like to go to a hospital to treat. Because now, marijuana in many areas is illegal, people who abused marijuana are afraid to go for treatment, because, if the marijuana is legal; they can treat them without any fear, and they do not need to suffer from intolerance.
Third, marijuana is not only a kind of drug, but also a good medicine. The correct use of marijuana can heal many diseases. We must accept the medical value of marijuana. Many people use marijuana to heal themselves, such as “in 1978, a young cancer patient” (CNN Interactive, 1997, para.7) who won the legal marijuana to cure cancer. More and more people pay attention to marijuana’s medical value instead of only its drug characteristics. So, I think establishing marijuana legalization is necessary with many benefits in medicinal areas.
In conclusion, many areas have begun to support the legalization of marijuana, such as six West states in US. “80 percent polled think it’s OK to dispense marijuana for medical purposes” (Roche, 2002, par. 57). Many people become to allow marijuana, because it also has many good characteristics for people. Add the education and health care from government; I think marijuana will become legal in the future.

Reference
Benna, K. (2005, Aug. 4). The case for legalization of marijuana. Kuro5hin website. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://tinyurl.com/7tafl
CNN Interactive (1997). Medical marijuana: The struggle for legalization. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://tinyurl.com/56szq
Marijuana Legalization Organization. (2007). Why should marijuana be legal? Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://www.mjlegal.org/
Roche, M. (2002, Dec. 6). Marijuana advocates seek legalization for medicinal use. The Daily Reveille, Louisiana State Univ. Retrieved July 29, 2008, from http://tinyurl.com/6aam73