Marijuana Use Should be Legal Essay -- Legalization of Marijuana

Marijuana Use Should be Legal The issue of the legalization of Marijuana is a never-ending battle that the country will never fully win. Marijuana should be legalized because it is a large part of the drug war, which will never come to an end. Society is in the midst of a time of anguish and skepticism of what will become of the nation. With all of the problems happening around us, the government and officials should begin to realize that the time and effort spent on battling the drug, marijuana, could be better used in other areas. One of the first issues of the legalization of marijuana is its comparison to alcohol. Since 1937, marijuana has been prohibited as a legal drug in the United States: â€Å"If the goal of marijuana prohibition is to stop Americans from using it, then it has failed, just like the other prohibition failed to make America a (dry) country† (Wikman). There have been many studies performed to try to prove that the effects of marijuana are worse than those of alcohol. Unfortunately, many of the studies found that marijuana is not as bad as many believe it to be. If one were to compare alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, it is found that the one with the least addictive power is marijuana (Schlosser, 1994, p.41). Alcohol has the potential to cause cirrhosis and tobacco is linked to lung cancer and heart disease yet, smoking marijuana is not directly related to any life- threatening diseases (Wikman). The country’s drug problem is also hurting the prison system. Prisons are already overcrowded and by incarcerating innocent people for minor drug violations, law enforcement is adding to prison population. The population of Americans living in prison has inc... ...marijuana would give our government more money and time to invest in other problems facing our society and nation. Works Cited â€Å"Feds Begin to Bend on Medical Marijuana.† The Science of Medical Marijuana Oct.2001. 4 Oct.2001 â€Å" Grinspoon, Lester. â€Å"Marijuana, The Forbidden Medicine.† 1997: Roesch Lib., University of Dayton., Dayton, OH. 1 Oct. 2001 www.netlibrary.com â€Å"Legalization of Marijuana Long Overdue.† Oct. 2001. 9 Oct. 2001 â€Å"New, Emerging Evidence of Marijuana’s Medical Efficacy.† The Science of Medical Marijuana Oct. 2001. 4 Oct. 2001 Wikman, Eric. â€Å"Prohibition and Marijuana: History Does Repeat.† Marijuana Policy Project 1995. 2 Oct. 2001