Marijuana Should Not Be Legalized Essay

The gambling precedent suggests strongly that illegal drug suppliers would thrive by selling more potent marijuana products outside of the legal channels that would be taxed and otherwise restricted.

The gambling precedent suggests strongly that illegal drug suppliers would thrive by selling more potent marijuana products outside of the legal channels that would be taxed and otherwise restricted.If marijuana were legalized, the only way to eliminate its illegal trade, which is modest in comparison to that of cocaine, would be to sell marijuana untaxed and unregulated to any willing buyer.Marijuana is currently the leading cause of substance dependence other than alcohol in the U. In 2008, marijuana use accounted for 4.2 million of the 7 million people aged 12 or older classified with dependence on or abuse of an illicit drug. were to legalize marijuana, the number of marijuana users would increase.

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Future drug policies must be smarter and more effective in curbing the demand for illegal drugs including marijuana.

Smarter-drug prevention policies should start by reducing illegal drug use among the 5 million criminal offenders who are on parole and probation in the U. They are among the nation’s heaviest and most problem-generating illegal drug users. Results of the 2007 National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers. (DOT HS 811 175) Washington, DC: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In the discussion of legalizing marijuana, a useful analogy can be made to gambling.

Mac Coun & Reuter (2001) conclude that making the government a beneficiary of legal gambling has encouraged the government to promote gambling, overlooking it as a problem behavior.

In a recent national roadside survey of weekend nighttime drivers, 8.6 percent tested positive for marijuana or its metabolites, nearly four times the percentage of drivers with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 g/d L (2.2 percent).

In another study of seriously injured drivers admitted to a Level-1 shock trauma center, more than a quarter of all drivers (26.9 percent) tested positive for marijuana.

Though the number of marijuana users might not quickly climb to the current numbers for alcohol and tobacco, if marijuana was legalized, the increase in users would be both large and rapid with subsequent increases in addiction.

Important lessons can be learned from those two widely-used legal drugs.

While both alcohol and tobacco are taxed and regulated, the tax benefits to the public are vastly overshadowed by the adverse consequences of their use.

Alcohol-related costs total over 5 billion while federal and states collected an estimated .5 billion in tax revenue; similarly, tobacco use costs over 0 billion but only billion is collected in taxes.