The Benefits of Legalizing Cannabis

Cannabis, or marijuana, a commonly known slang term for it, is widely th

ought of as a terrible drug. Some think consuming marijuana will lead someone in
to wasting their entire life. Some say that it will destroy your brain. Some say
its addictive and worse than tobacco or alcohol. However,, most of these stateme
nts have either been proven as myths, or they lack sufficient, credible evidence
. These statements spread like wildfire due to the medias mass misrepresentation
of cannabis and its effects on the human body. Since it is the consumers respons
ibility to make sure information is accurate and credible, many people are misle
ad by what they hear from politicians or news channels. The medicinal properties
of cannabis and the projected tax revenue that would come from it support the i
dea of legalization.
Legalizing cannabis would result in increased tax revenue for the United States.
It would result in less people being imprisoned and therefore, less prison over
crowding. It would result in more time spent on serious crimes. According to Col
orado tax revenue reports, the gross tax revenue from legal cannabis sales was $
11,326,452 in May of 2014 (Colorado Department of Revenue). The gross tax revenu
e of legal cannabis sales about doubled to $11,326,452 dollars in May of 2015, a
nd continues to skyrocket. These tax records support the positivity of legalized
cannabis.
One strain of cannabis, known as Charlottes Web, has been shown to help children
with a special type of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. Charlotte, the first chi
ld to use this strain of medical cannabis, previously experienced a countless nu
mber of seizures a day. After taking this strain of medical cannabis, her seizur
es declined until they eventually stopped (Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado). Man
y other children like Charlotte have also seen life changing effects through thi
s strain of medical cannabis. Legalized cannabis should be available throughout
the US. If not for the people, for children like Charlotte.
One common argument against cannabis legalization is that cannabis is harmful. T
here are no reported deaths for people using solely cannabis (Wing). Cannabis is
a depressant, just like alcohol. This means that no one, under any means, shoul
d operate a vehicle while under the influence of it. However, that is where the
similarities between cannabis and alcohol end. Alcohol is, at its core, a poison
. People suffer liver failure and sometimes even death due to alcohol poisoning
from a legalized substance. Cannabis, on the other hand, is in no way a poison a
nd is even used medicinally in some states. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the
main active substance in marijuana. It has been found to have therapeutic quali
ties for diseases like cancer, AIDS, and glaucoma (Wing).
Another common argument against cannabis legalization is that cannabis is addict
ive and can cause withdrawals. Cannabis can be addictive, and withdrawal is real
. It is however, very uncommon. According to the journal, Drug and Alcohol Depend
ence, The cumulative probability estimate of transition to dependence was 67.5% fo
r nicotine users, 22.7% for alcohol users, 20.9% for cocaine users and 8.9% for
cannabis users, (Brain Blogger). Thats nine out of one hundred people. Keep in min
d, withdrawal happens when cannabis is repeatedly consumed in large amounts. A l
arge majority of cannabis consumers do not even consume enough cannabis in a sho
rt enough time period to become dependant on it. So to recap, yes, cannabis with
drawal is possible. But is it common? Not at all.
One final common argument against cannabis legalization would be that cannabis i

s a gateway drug. Hard drug use is linked to a number of common social factors,
and while cannabis use seems to correlate with these factors, use of cannabis an
d harder drugs do not make cannabis a gateway drug. Cannabis is said to change t
he brain. But in reality, the main reason why people are trying other drugs afte
r trying cannabis is drug education. Children are taught that marijuana is more
harmful than alcohol and cigarettes, or that its as addictive as heroin. When tho
se children become older and learn that cannabis isnt harmful, they start to thin
k that their teachers were lying about other drugs as well. Overall, an honest d
rug education program would put a lot of these gateway drug claims to rest.
So to conclude, cannabis has well supported tax benefits and medicinal propertie
s. It has been proven to be harmless in non excessive amounts, and has helped pe
ople with epilepsy. Cannabis withdrawal has been proven to exist, but it has als
o been shown to be extremely uncommon in studies. Cannabis can be called a gatew
ay drug, but correlation between cannabis and hard drug use does not mean cannab
is is causing the hard drug use. Finally, untruthful drug education is misrepres
enting drugs and teaching kids that their teachers are not the most trustworthy
source of information about drugs. Cannabis has been proven to not be harmful, a
nd many studies have shown that it has medicinal properties. This is why cannabi
s should be legalized.
Works Cited:
1. Debunking The Myths of Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome. Brain Blogger Debunking the
Myths of Marijuana Withdrawal Syndrome Comments. Web. 20 Nov. 2015. <http://bra
inblogger.com/2015/05/13/debunking-the-myths-of-marijuana-withdrawal-syndrome/>
2. Wing, Nick. Here Are All The People Who Have Died From A Marijuana Overdose. Th
e Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. <http://www.hu
ffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/marijuana-deaths_n_3860418.html>
3. Colorado Department of Revenue, Marijuana Sales Tax Records- Web. 20 Nov. 201
5 https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/0515%20Marijuana%20Tax%2C
%20License%2C%20and%20Fees%20Report.pdf
4. Medical Marijuana And Epilepsy. Epilepsy Foundation of Colorado -. Web. 21 Nov.
2015. <http://www.epilepsycolorado.org/index.php?s=12107>
5. Boeri, Miriam, Marijuana Is Not, Repeat Not, a Gateway Drug Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.newsweek.com/marijuana-not-gateway-drug-325358>