Legalization Of Marijuana

            
            
             Alysen Rogers: Argumentative Essay .
             Perhaps an issue less debated than abortion or the death penalty, but equally potent, in today's society concerns the legalization of cannabis sativa: marijuana. Though often times this debate is simply written off as a joke, it is extremely relevant, and affects us all. Through careful analysis of facts and various opinions, one, when analyzing the data with an open mind, will inevitably arrive at the conclusion that the legalization of marijuana should transpire.
             One argument which uninformed opponents of marijuana's legalization use to contest its legitimacy is that of health concerns. These opponents attempt to argue that marijuana causes lung cancer and kills brain cells. However, this argument contains no scientific evidence and is just not true. Marijuana has never actually been proven to cause such effects and is merely a myth. Myths like these that surround marijuana have for years been widely propagandized throughout society by the government in order to brainwash society into accepting them as fact so to legitimize the government's resolve in maintaining marijuana's illegal status. Unlike cigarettes and alcohol, which are massive corporations and are able to lobby and buy government support, marijuana is entirely at the mercy of the uninformed populous. By comparing cigarettes and alcohol to marijuana, the fallacy of the legal system is apparent. To this date, there have been no reported deaths as a result of marijuana, while cigarettes and alcohol kill countless numbers every year. .
             A certain percentage of every American's tax dollars goes toward fighting the war on drugs, in particular marijuana. If analyzed, one is able to discern the futility of this war. Americans, like it or not, are going to smoke marijuana. Facts show that over the past forty or so years, the number of smokers has risen steadily. After spending immeasurable sums of money merely detecting and seizing marijuana and its possessor, more money must then be spent on prosecuting and jailing an offender.