Legalizing Weed Makes Sense Essay Samples

Jan Diehm, an author for the Huffington Post came up with 12 reasons marijuana use should be legal. The article was published around the time Portland, Me., and three Michigan cities had just passed legalization laws. A year and a half later, some parts of the country are still looking towards legalizing the herb.
Among the top reasons to legalize cannabis is the sourcing of American jobs on marijuana farms, taxes on marijuana can go towards funding schools and other community programs, marijuana use could curb drinking and its consequences, and the government will save money from less arrests due to marijuana use. These benefits can have a huge impact on our economy and our society. Legislators and government officials sometimes look to cutting back school funding in order to spend their money in what they think our better ways. Giving marijuana tax money to the schools can improve education and after-school activities to help develop our future citizens. In addition to some of our most popular news stories in the media, another concern for Americans are the jobs that are being displaced to counties overseas. The production of marijuana farms would create more jobs for farmers and packaging companies. Lastly, one of the greatest benefits is the decrease in alcohol consumption that can often lead to tragedies, such as car accidents and alcohol-related deaths. These facts are all good arguments for the legalization of cannabis, providing benefits for society both locally and nationally.

References

Diehm, Jan, and Katy Hall. "Why Legalizing Weed Just Makes Sense, In 12 Charts." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/14/weed-legalized-_n_4262033.html>.
Marijuana Can Produce Public Health Benefits
As outlined by Jacob Sullum for Forbes Magazine, recent studies have speculated that the legalization of marijuana can have positive health effects for the public. Sullum reiterates one of the best arguments for the legalization of cannabis: the decrease in public alcohol consumption. Every year, thousands of individuals and their family members are affected by the harmful effects of alcohol in the cases of automobile accidents and alcohol-related deaths. However, with the legalization of the herb, these numbers could drop.
Economists at Montana State University and the University of Colorado have found that alcohol and marijuana are substitutes of one another, meaning if the consumption of one is high, the other is low. If more communities legalize the use of marijuana, it is expected that alcohol use will decrease. To support this claim, the two economists found that when individuals reach the legal age of alcohol consumption, their use of cannabis decreases. Additionally, it is hypothesized that driving under the influence of marijuana use is safer than that of alcohol use.
This argument provides a stable foundation for the legalization of marijuana as alcohol-related deaths continue to harm our society every day. Alcohol-related deaths, especially in the form of automobile accidents are so devastating there are organizations such as MADD that exist to fight against and bring more awareness to the problem.
References
Sullum, Jacob. "More Pot, Safer Roads: Marijuana Legalization Could Bring Unexpected
Benefits." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 3 Apr. 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobsullum/2014/04/03/more-pot-safer-roads-marijuana-legalization-could-bring-unexpected-benefits/>.