Introduction
There is a raging controversy on whether marijuana should be legalized or not. Marijuana is as drug made from the hemp plant. In the past, this substance has been used for various uses including medical purposes as well as in the manufacture of ropes and fabrics. Today, many people use this drug to relieve the suffering caused by several ailments.
However, marijuana is banned in the United States. Some states in the United States have legalized the drug for medical purposes, but in most states, its possession, consumption, cultivation or sale is illegal. There are laws banning the use of the drug and many people have been arrested for using it.
Most people who push for the illegalization of marijuana have no valid reasons but see the drug as a threat to their interests. They know that the marijuana industry will bring stiff competition to their products and therefore make them incur losses or even go out of business. Marijuana has very many benefits and if legalized, can help boost the economic growth and relieve people from a lot of suffering caused by ailments. Therefore, marijuana should be legalized.
Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana
Marijuana should be legalized because it has numerous benefits. One of the major benefits of this substance can be found in the medical profession. If safely used, marijuana can help in the management and treatment of very many ailments. Firstly, it is one of the best substances that can be used for therapeutic purposes.
It is also used by cancer patients who are undergoing chemotherapy to get rid of nausea and relieve pain. Marijuana use also slows down the growth of cancerous tumors in the brain, lungs, and breasts; thus, it is valuable in the management of cancer. It is also helpful in the treatment of glaucoma as it reduces eye pressure. Patients suffering from AIDs and Multiple Sclerosis have also found marijuana useful in relieving them from pain.
This drug is also used in the management and treatment of seizure patients since it is a muscle relaxant. Moreover, it is used in the treatment of ailments like Migraines, Alzheimer’s, premenstrual syndrome, and other chronic diseases (Gieringer, Rosenthal, and Carter 101). Marijuana should therefore be legalized since its medical value can be used to advance the medical profession and provide better and more affordable pain relievers and cure to scores of people with various illnesses.
The governments could also earn a lot in taxes from the sale of marijuana if it was legalized. The hemp plant could be grown on large scale and earn the country a lot of income.
The advantage of the hemp plant is that it has multiple purposes. Many products can be extracted from marijuana, for instance, its seeds contain oil that can be used to make fuel, paint, lubricating oils, salad oils, butter, cheese, ice cream, soap and cosmetics, to mention but a few . The hemp fiber from marijuana is also very strong and can be used to make quality clothes, ropes, and paper.
Wood can also be substituted by hemp fiber products as a building material since it is stronger and ensures the reduction of building costs and less destruction of trees. Therefore, by legalizing marijuana, the government could earn a lot of money from the marijuana industry and this industry would create numerous job opportunities for the citizens. This would lead to advancement in economic growth and better living standards for the citizens (Rosenthal, Kubby, and Newhart 105).
Marijuana is also useful in the textile and paper industries. Marijuana can be used in the textile industry as a substitute for cotton because it produces much more fiber and requires less pesticide use. The use of this substance in paper manufacturing industries would help to save trees because they are the main raw material in paper manufacture.
Marijuana is capable of producing a large amount of paper. According to the U.S. department of Agriculture, an acre of marijuana and that of trees are incomparable in the amount of paper they produce because marijuana produces four times as much. The paper manufactured from hemp is of a higher quality and does not yellow with age as the one made from trees.
Therefore, legalizing of marijuana would boost the paper industry and also lead to the preservation of trees. Many trees are felled every day in order to sustain the paper industry. This leads to the degradation of the environment. Substitution of trees with hemp fiber as a raw material for the manufacture of paper can go a long way in preserving the environment. Marijuana can grow anywhere and it matures much faster than trees.
Marijuana matures after just four months while trees take many years to mature. It is therefore an economic option for the growth and expansion of the paper industry. Therefore, if legalized marijuana can be a perfect substitute for trees and can lead to both advanced economic growth and preservation of the environment (Yurchey par 10).
Legalizing marijuana can also have legal benefits in that the prison space occupied by marijuana users can be freed to accommodate more deserving criminals like rapists, murderers, and armed robbers. In addition, the courts would have fewer cases to resolve as people would no longer be charged for selling or consuming marijuana. Another benefit is that the law enforcement agencies would use the resources that they had originally allocated to track down consumers and sellers of marijuana to investigate and deal with more dangerous crimes.
Legalization of the drug would also lead to reduced crime rates as the drug will be available and therefore there would be no crimes like drug contamination, drug warfare, among others. Legalization of marijuana will also lead to reduced abuse of the drug since the illegality of the drug makes it more tempting to use (Rosenthal, Kubby, and Newhart 85).
Opponents of the legalization of marijuana claim that legalizing the drug will lead to an increase in crime rates and encourage the users to start using other more harmful drugs. However, marijuana is not as dangerous as alcohol or cigarettes, yet these two are legal in the United States. Use of this drug has not led to any deaths and it is not as addictive as tobacco and alcohol. Legalizing the drug cannot lead to an increase in crime rates as there are lower crime rates in places like Amsterdam where it is legal than where it is illegal.
Most of the opponents of the legalization of marijuana are the manufacturers of other drugs like tobacco and alcohol who see the legalization of marijuana as a threat to their businesses. Therefore, they deny the country of a lot of income to protect their selfish interests. According to the national Toxicological Program, there is no evidence that the use of marijuana can cause cancer (Rosenthal, Kubby, and Newhart 43).
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that the debate about whether marijuana should be legalized or not sparks a lot of controversy. Proponents of the legalization of the drug feel that the drug has very many benefits. Marijuana can be used to manufacture many products that can boost the economy by providing better and cheaper substitutes to many products that we are using today. A lot of employment opportunities can also be created with the legalization of marijuana.
The medicinal value of marijuana is also insurmountable as the drug is used to relieve all kinds of pain and help in the management and treatment of many chronic diseases. Hemp fiber is also a valuable raw material in the textile and paper industries. The opponents of the legalization of marijuana feel that legalizing the drug can lead to increase in crime rates and increase in the use of other dangerous drugs. However, these claims are not valid as marijuana is not as harmful as they claim.
Other drugs, which are legal like tobacco and alcohol, have more harmful effects as they can cause cancer, death, and are very addictive. On the other hand, there is no record showing that anyone has died from marijuana use. In addition, marijuana does not cause cancer but is used in the treatment and management of the disease. Therefore, marijuana should be legalized in order to exploit its numerous benefits and since it has no adverse effects on its users.
Works Cited
Gieringer, Dale, Rosenthal, Ed, and Carter Gregory. Marijuana Medical Handbook: Practical Guide to Therapeutic Uses of Marijuana. California: Ed Rosenthal, 2008. Print.
Rosenthal, Ed, Kubby, Steve, and Newhart Steve. Why marijuana should be legal. New York: Running Press, 2003. Print.
Yurchey, Doug. “The Marijuana Conspiracy: The Real Reason why Hemp is illegal.” World-mysteries, 2002. Web.