Pro Legalization of Marijuana Paper Com 220 Uop

The Time Has Come To Decriminalize Marijuana

Noelle Wilson

University of Phoenix

Axia Program

The Time Has Come To Decriminalize Marijuana

Legalizing marijuana is taboo and controversial in the company of most. Documentaries such as “Reefer Madness” of people smoking marijuana and behaving in erratic, frightening fashion and other such propaganda has been fed to the public throughout the years, creating a belief that marijuana is nothing more than a dangerous drug that is used to get high. The truth is, marijuana deserves another look. The facts behind what the media has shown are compelling. The time has come to separate fact from fiction. While marijuana is not entirely safe, the United States could benefit greatly from the decriminalization of marijuana, provided it is properly regulated.

U.S. Citizens are concerned of the potential negative impact decriminalization of marijuana may have on American Society; however, other countries have experienced little to no increase in social problems after decriminalization. One of the most widely known countries that have legalized marijuana is the Netherlands. Because of this, Americans have the common perception that the Dutch are frequent users. However, the rates in which the Dutch people use marijuana and harder drugs remain much lower than that of their American counterparts. Even their crime rates overall and pertaining to drugs are lower, as illustrated by the below table. (“Drug War Facts”, 2005)

Table 1

A Comparison of Crime Rates Between the United States and the Netherlands

|Social Indicator |  Comparison Year   |  USA   |  Netherlands   |

|Lifetime prevalence of |2001 |36.9% 1 |17.0% 2 |

|marijuana use (ages 12+) | | | |

|Past month prevalence of |2001...