Persuasive Essay - Why Not to Legalize Marijuana

Marijuana is seen as a relatively harmless drug, though given the chance, it can be as harmful as alcohol or tobacco. Through government regulation and growth conditions, the long term and short term effects of the drug, and the effects it could have on today's youth, it can easily be seen what choice should be made in terms of the decision to legalize the drug. The legalization of marijuana, though making the government a profit, poses too many risks to different areas of the population for it to be a responsible decision. The legalization of marijuana would result in strict government regulations. If marijuana were to be legalized, the government would grow and distribute the product much like it would any other product. This means that it will be taxed at stores, grown in masses with the use of pesticides and other harmful toxins and will incorporate strict laws on the use and distribution of the drug. Unless marijuana is sold in pharmacies, like medical marijuana, it will be sold in most places you can buy tobacco. This means it will be available as just the product alone, or already rolled in a pack, such as cigarettes. Though it is normally cheap to buy, government taxes will make buying them much more expensive. Right now, the growth of marijuana is illegal, and therefore mostly grown in relatively small amounts. People growing the drug feel no need to use things such as chemical fertilizers to grow the product faster or larger than it naturally would be. However, if marijuana was legalized and grown on government fields, they would grow it in very large amounts, using pesticides and chemical fertilizers to keep bugs away, grow it more frequently and in larger amounts. If the legalization of marijuana were to happen, the drug would actually be worse for us than it currently is. Finally, if marijuana were to be legalized there would be strict laws put in place for when and where it is acceptable to consume the drug and the amount you may be able to have

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