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Off-topic: Why marijuana should be legalized


Troacctid

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Author's note: I wrote this speech in February 2009, but I didn't have a blog then, so I'm posting it here now. It's my case for legalizing marijuana. Enjoy.

 

 

If I were to walk through a local grocery store, chances are Id see all sorts of foods. Naturally there would be bread. There would be dairy. There would be colorful breakfast cereals, brimming with sugar. Not to mention fruits and vegetables, chips, pasta, pickles, and entire aisles devoted solely [pause] to wine. This last one wouldnt be much of a surprise: our home state is famous for its wine. But 80 years ago, Californias multi-billion dollar wine industry could not have been as successful as it is today. Thats because in 1919, the United States passed the Eighteenth Amendment to our constitution, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and distribution of all alcoholic beverages.

 

However, as our thriving modern wine industry can surely testify, Prohibition was an immense flop. Making alcohol illegal didnt stop people from drinking. Instead, it deprived the government of the revenue from taxes on alcohol, and it heralded a massive increase in crime and gang violence. The Twenty-first Amendment eventually repealed the ban in 1933, which means our modern-day vineyards are free to produce some of the finest wines in the world. (Good for them! [thumbs up])

 

Yeah, yeah, groceries, wine, prohibition...where am I going with this? Let me explain. This Monday, Tom Ammiano, a representative from San Francisco in our State Legislature, introduced a bill to legalize marijuana in California.

 

Under Ammianos bill, marijuana would have pretty much the same legal status enjoyed by alcohol: it would be legal to all adults age 21 and over, and driving under the influence of weed would carry similar penalties to driving while drunk. (Lawmaker)

 

It is my strong opinion that this bill should be passed, and I have three main reasons for this stance.

 

First, we really need the money. Our state has just been through a budget crisis and a $42 billion dollar deficit. At the proposed tax rate of $50 per ounce, its estimated new tax revenues would bring in as much as a billion dollars annually. When you consider our ongoing fiscal crisis, we could really do a lot with a billion dollars a year.

 

But thats not all. In addition to potential revenue, legalization of marijuana could save millions, even billions, on law enforcement. Furthermore, it would help reduce the number of prisoners being sent into our overcrowded jails, saving even more money. Just from a financial standpoint, legalization looks pretty good.

 

Second, look at whats already legal! According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, approximately 79,000 deaths occurred as a result of alcohol abuse between 2001 and 2005, and thats not including car crashes involving drunk drivers. (Alcohol) Also according to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 400,000 Americans die every year from cigarette smoking. (Smoking) Thats an average of roughly 45 deaths per hour. Both these substances are highly addictive. Both these substances have tremendous negative effects on the users health.

 

And yet, both these substances are legal. In contrast, marijuana is far less addictive, and its negative effects on the smokers health are far less extreme. Despite this, marijuana is the substance thats banned. This is illogical. We might as well legalize the lesser drug, seeing as we allow more dangerous substances already. When we already associate with serial killers, who are we to shun a mere purse snatcher?

 

For my third reason, lets recall for a moment why Prohibition was such a failure: the alcohol business continued anyway, without the blessing of the government. The same thing is happening with marijuana today. Weed may be Californias biggest cash crop, surpassing even grapes, with an annual profit estimated at fourteen billion dollars. (Walters) Most of this unregulated marijuana gets circulated whether the folks in charge like it or not. Oftentimes the profits (just like with bootleg alcohol in the 20s) are funding gangs.

 

Instead of spending millions and millions on law enforcement, why cant we just allow marijuana to be grown and traded legally? Why cant we just regulate its sale and distribution?

 

To recap, marijuana ought to be legalized because we need the tax revenue. Marijuana ought to be legalized because its less dangerous than other drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol, which are legal already. Marijuana ought to be legalized because it would allow the state to regulate the massive industry that produces it.

 

Anyway, while pot will probably never get its own aisle in the grocery store, and while it will probably never become a symbol of pride for our state, its still worth legalizingeven if it is only about the money.

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I live in San Francisco, and I was just recently flagged down by a petitioner looking for signatures to legalize marijuana. I agree with your reasoning. I don't partake, but I can't deny that we need the money.

 

And, hell, if it works for Amsterdam, why can't it work for California?

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this is really well put and all, but we've heard it all before. People have been trying to legalize marijuana for years and years, probably longer than you've been alive, and it's never worked.

 

and personally, I don't agree with smoking it, although legalizing and taxing it is a great idea. I know tons of people who have stopped smoking mainly because they couldn't handle the rise in prices do too taxes lol

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And, hell, if it works for Amsterdam, why can't it work for California?

A very late answer, but marihuana isn't actually legal in Amsterdam. You're just not getting fined/arrested for owning a small amount. Growing for anything but personal use (anything over one plant, I suppose) is illegal.

 

Anyway I agree it should be legal.

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