Nearly 55 million Americans are current Marijuana smokers, according to a new survey from Yahoo News and Marist University. If so many Americans are now smoking “weed” and it’s becoming more and more widely accepted with its known pros to health and the economy, so why won’t the U.S. government make it legal? 

Marijuana has many health benefits for people who are I’ll and need it, the government could also make marijuana one of America’s biggest cash crops. Making it legal would also stop the flow of black-market marijuana, which could be laced. Making Marijuana legal would bring in money, help people medically while also being a safer alternative for a recreational substance, and overall it would make everyone’s mood a lot happier. 

Marijuana has been used for thousands of years for its stimulating effects even as far back as 2,500 years ago by the ancient Chinese. It was used for many medical conditions throughout history, but in modern times its commonly used to treat PTSD, schizophrenia, Eating disorders, cancer, loss of appetite, and others. This drug can help improve the lives of those fighting major health problems by adding comfort and soothing them with a drug that has a low risk of negative health impact. It helps relieve pain, and reduces nausea. It can help calm patients that are extremely distressed and can help people have a full night’s sleep. Marijuana would also be a safer alternative recreational drug, then other legal drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol. 

The United States could make a whopping $132 billion in federal tax revenue and create 1 million jobs, according to the Washington Post. This could decrease jobless adults and bring in billions for the government. The trade within the country would be prosperous, but trade with other nations could bring a huge chunk of foreign trade money and improve foreign relations with those said countries. Many other countries are on the edge of legalizing but just haven’t gotten there yet. An influential country such as the United States, making Marijuana legal, could inspire these nations to do the same and the global business/trade economy could even benefit from its trade growing.  

With marijuana becoming more available adults, young and old, are trying it, but because most states don’t allow it, these people have to resort to buying it off the streets. The biggest danger of this is that weed could be laced or synthetic. Making marijuana legal would make it so people would have to buy from dispensaries that have laws on what they can and can’t use on the marijuana plant. Therefore making it safer and stopping deaths from laced and synthetic weed. The Black Market would suffer as well making illegal dealing less frequent because the demand for black market weed would be less.

Many people claim that kids can get it easier if it becomes legalized and it could have a negative impact on the youth, which doesn’t really make sense. Kids can get their hands on weed from the streets easier than at dispensaries. In fact, most states have laws were people under 21 can’t enter a dispensary, and they have a police officer standing watch outside during the dispensaries opening hours. This leads teens to resort to dealers, which, even with marijuana being illegal, you can’t stop the black market completely. According to a Vox article, A study from Emory University found that The legalization of marjiuana did rise the binge drinking risk in adults 21 in over. This could be an issue, but a small on at that.

In conclusion, this plant could greatly increase jobs and the economy in the United States, while also providing an opening for foreign trade. It can also help people medically and provide a safer recreational drug alternative to other more destructive legal drugs, as well as lowing the use of laced/synthetic weed and injuring the black market, therefore making illegal dealing less frequent. Hence it should be made federally legal by the United States Government.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2018/01/10/study-legal-marijuana-could-gener

ate-more-than-132-billion-in-federal-tax-revenue-and-1-million-jobs/

http://maristpoll.marist.edu/yahoo-newsmarist-poll/

https://www.civilized.life/articles/next-countries-legalize-marijuana/

https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/8/20/17938388/marijuana-legalization-more-use

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167629615000351

https://www.webmd.com/pain-management/features/medical-marijuana-uses

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/new-study-suggests-risks-marijuana-use-have-been-overestimated/

https://www.albomadventures.com/marijuana/