Legalize

Legalize

Think to yourself, how often do you hear about a person dying because of marijuana compared to alcohol or other illegal drugs? You don‘t hear it- because the annual death rate of marijuana is zero ("Annual Causes of Death in the United States | Drug War Facts"). So why are substances such as alcohol and tobacco legal for recreational use yet marijuana is not? The people need to be open minded to a simple solution pertaining to many complicated issues. Making marijuana legal throughout the United States would benefit America by lowering death rates by cutting the use of alcohol and cigarettes and contribute more tax money to help save the economy.

How many people are in your classroom right now? About thirty, right? Now multiply that number by sixteen thousand. Imagine that number of people dead due to tobacco and cigarettes or alcohol. The numbers are real. Each year, alcohol causes about ninety thousand deaths just in the United States alone. Cigarettes are responsible for taking four hundred eighty thousand lives each year in the United States ("CDC - Fact Sheet - Fast Facts - Smoking & Tobacco Use"). If marijuana was legal and sold in stores such as these substances, people would steer more toward it and away from their old habits. Replacing alcohol and tobacco, or even heavy illegal drugs, with legal marijuana is ensured to lower death rates. Besides the fact of death, think about the one thing constantly on America’s mind: money.

How could the United States be sure marijuana is safe and profitable before legalizing? The substance is obviously safe if it is used in the medical field. There is a one hundred percent chance alcohol or tobacco has never been prescribed to someone with health issues. Would legalizing marijuana for recreational use profit the state? As of right now, there are three states with marijuana legal for both medical and recreational uses. Take a look at statistics in Colorado. Nearly three years ago, marijuana was legalized...