Should Marijuana Be Legalized - 1638 Words

Cannabis Should Be Legalized in the United States In 1920 when alcohol prohibition began the war against cannabis had been going strong for a decade. In 1910 the Mexican Revolution created a surplus of Mexican immigrants in the United States; American citizens were frightened by the Mexican culture, including their recreational use of cannabis (Marijuana Legalization, 2015, para 7). Politicians continued to use fear and racism to grow disapproval and hatred of cannabis. Beginning in 1915 twenty-nine states passed the anti-marijuana law, which was first created and passed by the state of Utah when a group of Mormons who were visiting Mexico returned home with cannabis (Marijuana Legalization, 2015, para 9). The prohibition of cannabis†¦show more content†¦It is also much safer for chronic pain sufferers than prescription narcotics. The country would also benefit from the tax revenue collected by the regulation of legal cannabis. It’s baffling how alcohol and tobacco are legal for recreational consumption but cannabis is not, considering that cannabis is much safer and less damaging to the body. Philip M. Boffey (2014) wrote in an article for the New York Times, â€Å"[marijuana’s] effects are mostly euphoric and mild, whereas alcohol turns some drinkers into barroom brawlers, domestic abusers or maniacs behind the wheel† (para. 5). The immediate effects of marijuana are clearly not as harmful as alcohol to the individual consuming it and for the people around them. In fact, in a situation where alcohol consumption makes a person abusive to their family cannabis may have the opposite effect and calm the person’s nerves rather than get them railed up. Boffey (2014) also wrote that, â€Å"[w]hile tobacco causes cancer, and alcohol abuse can lead to cirrhosis, no clear causal connection between marijuana and a deadly disease has been made† (para. 9). For a person who uses cannabis daily, either medical or recreational, the long-term health effects are nowhere near as damaging as long-term use of alcohol or tobacco. Substances that are legally sold and regulated in the United States every day. If the immediate effects of