Legalizing marijuana

Introduction:
A number of movements to legalize the use of marijuana have been gaining steam lately. There are places in California where it’s already legal for medicinal purposes. Much of the American public now believes that the drug should be legalized (41 percent according to a Zogby International Poll) Up from 34% in 2001 but others are still concerned about health damage and other adverseaffects.
In 1996, California became the first state to make it legal to sell marijuana to people with doctors’ prescriptions. It is the medical marijuana law. The other states that allow some use of marijuana for medical purposes are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Gallup reports that support forpot legalization was in the 25 percent range during the 1970s through the 1990s, but jumped to 31 percent in 2001 and has been rising throughout this decade. In the most recent CBS News poll on the subject, conducted in July, 41 percent said they thought marijuana should be made legal.
new poll from Gallup shows that 44 percent of Americans now support legalizing marijuana, with 54 percentopposed. This is the highest-ever support for legalization in the Gallup poll.

A very serious problem
Vidéo obama: http://www.esquire.com/the-side/richardson-report/obama-marijuana-legalization-122308

I. Arguments for legalizing marijuana

A. Medical marijuana benefits (treatment for medical and emotional problems with doctors’ prescriptions)
1. The drug generally isn’t moreharmful than alcohol or tobacco if used in moderation. As you’ll see by reading research studies from the related links section at the bottom of the page, the studies of the harmfulness of marijuana are inconclusive and contradictory. Most doctors would agree that it’s not very harmful if used in moderation. It’s only when you abuse the drug that problems start to occur. But isn’t abuse of almostany bad substance a problem? If you abuse alcohol, caffeine, Ephedra, cigarettes, or even pizza, health problems are sure to follow. Would you want the government limiting how much coffee you can drink or how much cheesecake you take in? Most doctors believe that marijuana is no more addictive that alcohol or tobacco.

The risk of addiction is less problematic than for alcohol and other drugs.For instance, of the people who had used marijuana, only 9 percent became addicted, according to a 1999 study by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, a nonprofit research organization on science and health.

Voir schema.
2. There are medical benefits such as the those for cancer patients. As detailed in the related links section, there are a number of medical benefits ofmarijuana, most notably in the treatment of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Others believe it helps in the treatment of depression. Certain states like California have brought initiatives to legalize the drug for at least medicinal purposes.

B. Economical reasons (tax revenue: $1.4 billion annually, risk making increase smuggling)

3. It could be a source of additional tax revenues.An enormous amount of money is raised through government taxation of alcohol, cigarettes, and other « sins ». The legalization of marijuana would create another item that could be taxed. I’m sure the government would have no problem spending all that extra money.

If drugs were legalized and the market liberated, the sales taxes would bring extra revenue to the governments, possibly enabling themto launch social policies.
Supporters have encouraged legalization as a potential boon for sales tax revenue — up to $1.4 billion annually, according to some estimates

Conclusion: ethical
4. Limiting the use of the drug intrudes on personal freedom. Even if the drug is shown to be harmful, isn’t it the right of every person to choose what harms him or her? Marijuana use is…