by Matt

Every second the government spends two hundred dollars more to fight the war on marijuana. Although marijuana is possibly the least harmful of all legal and illicit drugs, it is still the main focus of prohibition. This idea is extremely ridiculous considering it takes money away from fighting crimes that are actually important like murder and the use of more harmful drugs such as PCP and heroin. A better alternative would be to legalize marijuana, regulate its use, and tax it. This would not only generate capitol for the government, but would also cripple the black market and diminish violence associated with the selling of marijuana. Why don’t we just take a look back at the past? The prohibition of alcohol was disastrous and made life tremendously dangerous. Battles between gangs frequently broke out, alcohol producing mobsters killed each other competing for selling rights, and thus the mafia became the most predominant organization next to the government. Legalizing marijuana would be beneficial to the police, crime fighting organizations, and the government’s pocket book as well as the American taxpayers’. The legalization of marijuana needs to be seriously considered by the U.S. government before its deficit spending on the “war on drugs” contributes to an economic collapse, as did prohibition in the 1920s.

The “war on drugs,” better named “the war on select socially unacceptable drugs,” was started by Ronald Reagan in his term in office. He was seeking to eliminate all remnants of controlled substances by any means without reverting to a police state. This did not work of course because the government forgot to investigate the problem before trying to solve it. The “war on drugs” is also greatly costing the country’s government and taxpayers. Billions of dollars a year are spent on trying to enforce the prohibition of marijuana. That is billions of dollars that can go to education, health, and enforcing useful laws. Taking the focus off fighting crimes and robbery is leading to higher crime rates. This war also channels money from the government to the black market which has been gaining more and more power since the prohibition of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana needs to happen soon or else the government will become overwhelmed with many more complex problems standing in its way.

If marijuana is illegal because of its adverse effects on human health, other legal and “acceptable” drugs should be too. Many people would say in ignorance that the THC in marijuana is worse for you than the nicotine in tobacco products. This statement is a very common misunderstanding; marijuana isn’t worse it’s just illegal and cigarettes are not. In fact, there have been very few deaths directly linked to marijuana opposed to smoking and the use of tobacco products which are the main cause of death in the world. The death toll equals that of homicide, illegal drugs, suicide, drinking, and car crashes combined. Do you still want to tell me how much worse marijuana is than cigarettes? Four hundred and sixty people an hour die from cigarettes. That makes it so every year tobacco death rates are four million. So why would do we legalize cigarettes? The answer is because tobacco use is socially acceptable and marijuana use is not. The government is able to put warning labels on tobacco products, discouraging people from using them and they tax it and make money. We could do the same thing with marijuana; make it legal, regulate it, tax it, and set an age minimum. Plus the US government gets billions of dollars from the tobacco companies by taxing them and receiving large “donations” from the companies. Next time you think about how much worse marijuana is than tobacco, consider the facts. About 80 years ago during prohibition and the great depression, gangs fought and criminal organizations like the mafia were started. Many people, like the infamous Al Capone of Chicago-who gained about sixty million dollars a year from illegal dealings with alcohol- sold alcohol illegally and used their money to bribe corrupt government officials. This was the start of gangs and the mafia. It was also horrible because when normal people saw the law being broke every day, it seemed ok to make breaking the law a habit for people who would usually be following the rules. Even with prohibition, alcohol was always being manufactured and smuggled. The money gained from the underground alcohol clubs or “speakeasies” were often given to gangs and the mafia who, because of this, became tremendously powerful. It is made obvious by the past that prohibition is definitely not the right answer to reducing crime and trying to make the world a safer place.

Legalizing marijuana is the best decision, for the economy, the American taxpayers, the Criminal Justice System, and for third world countries that are controlled by drug cartels who cater to the American market. The fifty years of prohibition has failed to stop the use of marijuana, and instead has created a large criminal class out of otherwise, law-abiding, peaceful, productive members of society. The legalization of marijuana needs to happen NOW!