Marijuanas should be legal essay

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The RAND Corporation reported that after legalization in Washington and Oregon, cartel-related marijuana exports to the U.S. dropped sharply. Legalization is not just a policy choice—it’s a democratic imperative.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Legalization improves safety by regulating marijuana production, labeling, and testing.

  • Crime decreases when black markets shrink and law enforcement shifts focus.

  • Tax revenue from legal marijuana funds schools, health care, and community programs.

  • Medical marijuana offers relief for chronic pain, PTSD, cancer, and more.

  • States with legal marijuana have lower opioid overdose rates.

  • Adults deserve autonomy to make informed decisions about marijuana use.

  • Legalization helps dismantle racial disparities in drug enforcement.

  • Open dialogue about marijuana fosters prevention and early treatment.

  • Harm reduction strategies thrive under legalization, not prohibition.

  • Public opinion strongly supports legalization—it’s time policy followed suit.

Conclusion

The question of whether marijuana should be legal isn’t just a legal or medical issue—it’s a moral, economic, and public health one.

“Cannabis for Medical Use: Analysis of Recent Clinical Trials in View of Current Legislation.” Frontiers in Pharmacology, vol. Lab testing becomes mandatory, allowing users to know THC/CBD levels and avoid dangerous additives like mold, pesticides, or synthetic cannabinoids.

  1. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Teens hide use from parents.

    Reports from organizations such as the Tax Foundation estimate the significant cost savings that can be redirected toward more productive initiatives. Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1999-2010. Reports from sources like Leafly indicate that it provided over 77,000 full-time jobs in the United States in 2020 alone.

    Research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) suggests that while marijuana does pose health risks, these concerns are frequently exaggerated.

    marijuanas should be legal essay

    In some counties, the disparity is even higher. It fosters transparency, education, and early intervention. This shift reduces turf wars, eliminates street-level violence, and makes neighborhoods safer. This is just a sample

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Marijuana has scientifically proven medical benefits for its consumers.

attribute the increased potency to the popularity of indoor cultivation, which involves the practice of cloning from a variety of cannabis with high THC content (2). As of 2025, over 38 states have legalized medical marijuana to treat a range of conditions, including:

  • Chronic pain

  • PTSD

  • Epilepsy

  • Cancer-related nausea

  • Multiple sclerosis

  • Glaucoma
    In 2017, the National Academies of Sciences published a landmark review of over 10,000 studies.

    This reasoning is based on the assumption that, at present, many people who would be users of marijuana are deterred because of the legal action, such as jail time that they would suffer if they consumed the product.

    Houston suggests that this argument is not based on facts since the rate of marijuana use in the Netherlands (a country reputed for its relaxed laws on marijuana, which permit the purchase and consumption of regulated portions of the drug) is significantly lower than in the US where prohibitive laws against the drug are in place.

    Why Marijuanas Should Be Legal: Essay Conclusion

    Marijuana consumption is pervasive in the US, and this drug has become the favorite recreational drug despite measures by the government to curb its supply and discourage its usage.

    Importantly, legal markets promote economic equity when structured to include social equity programs. To contextualize this issue, it's essential to delve into the historical background of marijuana prohibition in the United States, which dates back to the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Legalization changes that dynamic. Legalization not only reduces the strain on law enforcement but also contributes to a fairer and more equitable criminal justice system.

    Legal crops have strict government controls on pesticides, which minimize the risks to the individual. Cannabis has not been shown to increase mortality, and there has never been a verified cannabis overdose death in history.