Tram Nguyen
ESOL 0354 Advanced Composition
Theresa Duncan
02 November 2014
Marijuana Should Not Be Legalize in Texas In society today, many people look for a feeling of freedom. Many people go on vacation and spend money but some people choose to use drugs. American society is facing a huge drug problem; in addition, medical marijuana is now legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia. It has become a argumentative issue that marijuana should be legalized or no in Texas. Some people favor to legalize marijuana and believe that it is a helpful medicine, it is not as harmful as alcohol and other drugs. Are they right? No, they are not. Marijuana should not be legalized in Texas by three main reasons: the costs of legalizing, the increase in user, and health harms. First of all, if Texas were to legalize marijuana, we would be faced with the costs of legalizing. The State Treasury can be deficit. For example, the California legalization bill proposes a $50/ounce tax on marijuana, the aim is to keep pot as close to the black-market price as possible, but the black market can easily undercut a $50 tax and shrink that expected revenue stream. People have to be taxed more heavily to compensate for the shortfall. The costs of legalizing marijuana would not only be financial. The users who cannot control turn to crime to pay for their habit because under the influence of marijuana people become irrational, ferocious and violent. Legalizing marijuana would be a big challenged for the government, they could eliminate the black market by making marijuana incredibly cheap, but then use would increase and teens (though barred) could buy it with their lunch money. Another reason is the number users would increase. People will think smoking marijuana is something we can do every day at any time, which increases drug use. There is going to be easier access to marijuana. New marijuana users would not be limited to adults, just as regulations on alcohol and tobacco do not prevent use by youth. Today there are 15.2 million current marijuana users in comparison to 129 million alcohol users and 70.9 million tobacco users. Though the number of marijuana users might not quickly climb to the current numbers for alcohol and tobacco, if marijuana were legalized, the increase in users would be large and rapid with subsequent increases in addiction. People are going to smoke without getting in trouble; then, amounts of using will be increased, leads to negative health effects. Finally, should not be legalized because of the harms it brings to users health. Marijuana use is associated with increases in a range of serious mental and physical problem. A recent Northwestern University study found that marijuana users have been memory impairment and poor concentration to complete a complex work. Other negative health effects are