Why is a plant that has never been proven to be harmful, illegal? Other drugs that are legal such as alcohol and cigarettes kill millions a year. With the legalization of marijuana, thousands of jobs for Americans would be created. The cartels of Mexico would be dealt a massive blow. Marijuana, also known as cannabis, has other uses besides just for smoking; Marijuana can be turned into a paper, an alternative fuel source, and for pharmaceutical uses. An increase from the taxation of marijuana would help the economy improve. Marijuana was originally banned in the U.S not because it was harmful, but because of other factors such as racism, fear, corporate profits, and ignorance. Though the subject is controversial, I think marijuana should be legalized in the United States.
The first reason I think marijuana should be legal is that it would save our government a lot of money. In the United States, all levels of government (federal, state, and local authorities) participate in the "War on Drugs." We currently spend billions of dollars every year to chase peaceful people who happen to like to get high. These people get locked up in prison, take up unnecessary space and the taxpayers have to forcefully step up and out of their own pocket and pay the bill. We have to pay for food, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses to keep these people locked up.
This is extremely expensive! We could save billions of dollars every year as a nation if we stop wasting tax payers money locking people up for having marijuana. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government would be able to put a heavy tax on it, collect it and we would have more money to pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes. Maybe even fix up our cities and schools. We would have more money to spend on important problems if marijuana were legal.
The second reason I feel marijuana should be legalized is for medical reasons. Doctors could prescribe marijuana for patients that need it for glaucoma, cancer patients taking