Should Marijuana Be Legalized - 1714 Words

Julie Nguyen Nguyen 1 Professor Gary Jason Business Ethics 312 18 April 2016 Drugs in the United States There has been controversy centered around the thought of legalizing drugs in the U.S and the effects of legalizing or not legalizing drugs. There are several drugs such as cocaine, heroin, opium, to name a few, with the most common being marijuana. The question raised on this topic is whether we should prohibit drug use, making it illegal or only allow marijuana to be legal. Discussions on this topic mention that drugs will be available in the market despite marking it illegal and will still be accessible in the black market regardless whether we choose to have this option available. However, some argue that these†¦show more content†¦$8.7 billion in savings would result under marijuana alone, and 32.6 billion on the scale of other drugs, like heroin and opium. Nguyen 2 Many see the legalization of drugs an opportunity for financial growth in the economy. This would garner interest in California, as the state government faced a budget deficit of around $20 billion during the year 2011. Following this argument, both Waldock and Miron mention that costs saved from legalizing drugs are greater than the option of decriminalization. They argue that this result is the cause of three reasons, first, jail sentences or even arrests made for possessing a small amount is significantly decreased. Second, costs related to prosecution or incarceration in comparison to decriminalization, which is shown to be much more minimal in savings. Third, a tax can be placed in drug production and also for being sold as well. In addition, another benefit in which legalizing drugs can provide would it’s health benefits. This argument is more applicable for the drug, marijuana, as there are many uses for this drug for medicinal purposes. Massachusetts, California and New Jersey are some states that legalize marijuana and use of the drug under certain conditions. A medical condition that marijuana has proven to have shown a positive effect on is cancer. Many patients diagnosed with cancer who experience and have to go under chemotherapy find that marijuana helps in aspects of mood, nausea and vomiting and