Legalize Marijuana in PA

Legalization of Marijuana

            Marijuana is a non-addictive preparation of the cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug. It is legal in two states for recreational use, Colorado and Washington, but there are plenty of people in other states who are calling for the legalization of recreational marijuana all around the country. In my opinion, recreational marijuana should be legalized for recreational use in the state of Pennsylvania because of its economic benefits and its lack of harmful side effects.

            First, marijuana should be legalized because it would have a large positive influence on the economy. Taxing marijuana could support funding such as criminal justice programs which would be less busy with marijuana being a legal drug anyways. This would mean newer equipment, more officers and an overall stronger justice system for the state of Pennsylvania. For example, the legalization of marijuana in Colorado brings in an estimated 60 million dollars annually for the state economy. Also, the price of marijuana would be significantly lower if it became legalized. This would mean that regular marijuana users would have more money to spend on other things that will help the economy.

Next, marijuana should be legalized in Pennsylvania because it not only has less harmful effects than alcohol or nicotine, it also has some positive effects on communities. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that there are about 37,000 alcohol related deaths in the United States annually. To put that in perspective, the CDC does not even have a category for marijuana related deaths. Meanwhile, at the six month anniversary of the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado, overall crime rates were down 10.1 percent and violent crime rates were down 5.2 percent. Therefore marijuana not only is less dangerous for the consumer than alcohol is, but it is actually reducing the rate of crime in states that have legalized it for recreational use! To conclude, marijuana should be legalized for not only medicinal use, but also recreational use in the state of Pennsylvania because of its positive impact on the economy, it is less dangerous than alcohol and is not even directly lethal in any circumstances and it has an overall positive effect on the community.

 

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