Essay on Legalizing Recreational Marijuana in the United...

The topic of legalizing recreational marijuana in the United States has been a very controversial one. States such as Colorado and Washington have gone on the offensive and have legalized recreational marijuana and have enjoyed the high revenues brought in from cannabis sale. On the other hand other states have kept low profiles because they are wary of the possible negative outcomes of legalizing recreational marijuana and are using the states of Colorado and Washington as guinea pigs to see what their next course of action on this controversial topic should be. This is not only a highly debated topic among politicians, but also by the people. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Center 52% of Americans†¦show more content†¦This has led many teenagers to switch over to marijuana and by legalizing it the switch to a safer drug would continue and it would also make it cheaper than other illicit drugs. This correlation can be seen with the statistics provided by the NIDA 2011 study. 25% of teens surveyed said they tried marijuana at least once last year and 6.6% of 12th graders admitted to smoking weed daily. Marijuana use has been the highest since 1981, but at the same time cigarette and alcohol usage have reached historic lows. 11.7% of U.S. teens reported having smoked a cigarette in the last 30 days, compared to 12.8 percent in 2010. Also alcohol usage has reduced, the proportion of 8th graders reporting any use of alcohol in the prior 30 days has fallen by about half (from 25% to 13%), among 10th graders by more than one third (from 43% to 27, and among 12th graders by about one fourth (from 54% to 40%). Legalizing marijuana would not just help teenagers choose a safer drug, it would also hurt drug cartels and benefit the U.S. economy. Drug cartels operating out of Mexico have made billions and billions of dollars by distributing illicit drugs all over the United States. According to RAND corporation Mexican drug cartels make 6 billion dollars of illicit drugs every year in the United States. They make most of their profits of marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. TheShow MoreRelatedLegalizing Marijuana For Recreational Use926 Words   |  4 PagesLegalizing Marijuana in Texas for Recreational Use The well known debate over the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in The United States has been ongoing since 1935. Recently Colorado and Washington have legalized the use of marijuana for recreational use. By doing so, the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana has become more of an issue than it already was and now brings other states to question whether or not they should legalize marijuana (Breecher). Which brings aboutRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1269 Words   |  6 PagesAbu Matar 1 Mahmoud Abu Matar English Composition 2 Research Paper 14 April 2015 Legalizing Marijuana Marijuana is most commercialized drug in the world, so why not just legalize it? Although there are legal restraints against marijuana, 1 in 3 Americans have tried it, out of curiosity at least once. Multiple studies have proven that, marijuana is psychologically and physically healing. Medical marijuana should be legalized for its beneficial advantages, such as, treating or preventing health conditionsRead MoreStatistical Analysis Of Medical Marijuana807 Words   |  4 Pageswhether the percent of a state identifying as liberal has an influence on the passage of marijuana legalization referenda, statistical analysis was conducted. The results are presented below. First, the results of a univariate analysis are presented. Then, the results of a bivariate Pearson’s correlation coefficient are given. 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Twenty three states and the District of Columbia has legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes in the United States. Legalizing marijuana has many benefits to it. Not only has marijuana been proven to counter act someRead MoreEssay about Should Marijuana be Legalized?968 Words   |  4 PagesShould marijuana be legalized for recreational or medical use? This is a debate that has been happening for quite some time and this is not just a debate that is happening among people. There are many that have taken sides including medical personal and government officials. Currently in the United States there are two states in which recreational use of marijuana is legal; Colorado and Washington. There are three states currently that have pending legislation to l egalize recreational use; CaliforniaRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay1372 Words   |  6 Pagesis marijuana, and surprisingly it is all around us. 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