Legalization of Marijuana
Perry Randall
Soc 120
July 16, 2012
Danielle Camacho

There is no doubt that our country is having problem with drugs, and the problem has gotten so out of hand that many options are being considered on how to control and or solve the problem, and trying to end the drug war may seen to be the best answer in the beginning, but those so-called wars on drugs have not been very successful at stopping the drug wars. I feel that there should be some different options, and by legalizing marijuana is an option which hasn’t received much untended, but should be given one. Given that marijuana has known important medical uses, such as the alleviation of nausea, and the treatment of glaucoma, can the government justify banning it just because some individuals use it for recreational purposes? Is it even the business of the government to regulate the private lives of its citizens? I really don’t condone the use of any kind of drug use, but I think drug such as marijuana should be legalized, because marijuana helps people with some medical conditions they may have.
In order for one to solve the ongoing issue of the legalization of marijuana one must take a look at the classical theory of deontology. Deontology is the classical theory where the reason for which an act is done is assessed. (Mosser, 2010) When assessing the issue of the legalization of marijuana, one must question the exact reasons as to why individuals use marijuana and the government’s role in its prohibition. As we know legalizing marijuana does have its consequences, but does should these consequences allow the government to prohibit marijuana all together? In my opinion the government should not be allowed to regulate the lives of its citizens. Just because some high ranking government officials’ may think that legalizing marijuana is un-ethical, they must first look at the reason for which the act is done, and then base their opinion from there. Judging from a deontologist’s standpoint, marijuana should legal because it helps to improve the lives for some individuals. Marijuana can be used for various medicinal purposes. There are various options for the government regarding the regulations of marijuana, such as: removing marijuana from the list of controlled substances or removing marijuana from the schedule 1 of the controlled substance act, and placing it on a different schedule which allows for physicians to prescribe it. (Barnes, 2000) The legalization of marijuana would also help with the ongoing war on drugs and help to bring down the high crime rates in the United States. The prohibition of marijuana reduces the supply and increases the demand for the marijuana, thus increases the crime rates for the individuals who commit the crimes to pay for the drugs. According to David Boaz article, “The Failure of Prohibition,” “…Police officials have estimated that many major cities as much as 50% of crime- including auto thefts, robberies and assaults, and burglaries- are committed by these individuals to support their drug habits.” (1991) Prohibition is a failure because it creates more problems and usually never fixes the original problem. This is another reason why the government should not be allowed to regulate the lives of its citizens. The government cannot justify banning marijuana all together because it is used for recreational purposes, when it is also commonly used to help individuals with serious medical issues.
However, in contrast to the classical theory deontology, “…Relativism argues that moral claims must be evaluated relative to a person, culture or society: rather than something being right or wrong, it is right or wrong relative to the values of a specific community”. (Mosser, 2010) If one was to use relativism to solve the ongoing legalization of marijuana issue they must assess each individual’s culture and/or society before making a conclusion based on right or wrong. To many government