Legalization of Marijuana

Mark Ramsbottom
Professor Holliday
ENGL 1550
30 October 2010
Up In a Puff Of Smoke: Legalism and Marijuana
People have been smoking marijuana for thousands of years while also using hemp for everything from fabric to make clothes and other items. Unfortunately, Harry J. Anslinger with a bit of power and enough determination decided pot was evil and addictive. The struggle continues to this day to overcome the lies about marijuana (“Marijuana (Weed) History and Facts”). There are many benefits to legalizing marijuana and the government should take advantage of it.
Marijuana is even more popular now then it was in the sixties or seventies. Someone knows someone who smokes it. It is almost as easy to get as a pack of cigarettes now, maybe even easier. People always give it a bad reputation because it is an illegal drug and kills countless amounts of people.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2007, 14.4 million Americans aged 12 or older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, which is similar to the 2006 rate. About 6,000 people a day in 2007-used marijuana for the first time—2.1 million Americans. Of these, 62.2 percent were under age 18. (“Marijuana - InfoFacts – NIDA”)
These statistics are truly astounding. The fact that kids under the age of twelve are already exposed to something like that shows that it is becoming widely spread and known. This just shows that it is reaching so many people in the United States and thinks the government should take advantage of that.
The biggest pro for marijuana becoming legal would be for medicinal purposes. There are people out there now who use medicinal marijuana but technically they are breaking the law but it helps with their illness. Some of the biggest users of it are people who are on cancer chemotherapy, AIDS-related wasting, pain and muscle spasms, and Glaucoma ("Pro 's of Marijuana Legalization).
It must be noted that there are two major differences

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