Legalism of Marijuana
...erous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco. Individuals deserve the right to choose whether or not they should use marijuana. The government has no right to tell individuals what to do as long as they do not harm others. Another reason that marijuana should be legal is because prohibition doesn't help. There is no evidence that prohibition decreases drug use, and there are several theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use. One unintended effect of marijuana prohibition is that marijuana is popular in American high schools. Why is this? Because it is available the students. You don't have to be 21 to buy marijuana, marijuana dealers don't care how old you are as long as you have money to buy it. It is actually easier for many high school students to obtain marijuana than it is for them to obtain alcohol, because alcohol is legal and therefore keeps it away from kids. If our goal is to reduce drug consumption, then we should focus on open and honest programs to educate youth about the effects of marijuana, regulation to keep drugs away from kids, and treatment programs for people who have drug problems. But the current prohibition scheme does not allow such reasonable approaches to marijuana; instead we are stuck with 'D.A.R.E' police officers spreading lies about drugs in schools, and policies that result in jail time rather than treatment for people with drug use problems. Some other reasons that marijuana should be legal for are that marijuana can be medicinally as it helps to stimulate appetite and relieve n...