Abstract
This paper is about the legalization of Marijuana in the United States. With sources found, I am going to try to prove that Marijuana should be legal within the United States because of the affects of the drug, the potential tax that could be applied to it, and the decriminalization of the drug could free up space in prisons for more heinous offenses.
Thesis
In this paper, I set out to prove that Marijuana or Cannabis should be legalized because of the potential medical effects of the drugs, the potential tax that could be applied to the sale of Marijuana, and the space it could free up in prisons that could house more criminal offenses.
Annotated Bibliography
MARGARET, K. (2013). Legalization of Marijuana. Publications Oboulo. com.
This article talks about the current status of Marijauna in the United States and how it applies to being a crime. It is about how Marijuana possession crimes are treated in the legal system. It includes the criminal offenses of different Marijuana crimes and how they see the punishment as a deterrent to the crime. It threatens users and sellers with the loss of freedom, property, and life in order to deter them. However, it also implies that these so called laws actually do not deter the users at all from committing these crimes and in fact reinforces them to use it.
Joffe, A., & Yancy, W. S. (2004). Legalization of marijuana: potential impact on youth. Pediatrics, 113(6), e632-e638.
This article from the American Academy of Pediatrics talks about the potential impact of the legalization of Marijuana on the youth. It contains historical perspectives on the use of the drug in comparison with the legal status. It states that the decriminalization of Marijuana increases the use of Marijuana by adolescents. However, because there is no country with an outright legalization of marijuana there is no data to suggest the effects of a full legalization of marijuana on the United States. They also make claim that because the alcohol and tobacco companies market to young people that marijuana companies would do the same. The article also includes two in depth reviews that state marijuana should focus on the medical aspects of the drug, not the inhalation of it.
Patton, M. (2010). Legalization of Marijuana: A Dead-End or the High Road to Fiscal Solvency, The. Berkeley J. Crim. L., 15, 163.
This article from the Journal of Criminal Law at Berkeley is designed to debate whether the legalization of marijuana in the United States would be good for the economy or not. The goal of the article is to provide the necessary tools and information to debate whether or not the legalization is plausible or not. For example, it examines the financial aspects of marijuana and how it would affect the current market rates as well as the amount of taxation that would occur to aid the state of California. This article argues that California is in a state of economic crisis and the legalization of marijuana could help generate revenue due to the tax that would be imposed on it.
Johnston, L. (1980). Marijuana use and the effects of marijuana decriminalization. Testimony delivered at hearings on the effects of marijuana, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Senate Judiciary Committee, January, 16, 1975-1981.
This article from the National Institute of Justice includes surveys done at high schools since 1975 that asked students about various drugs and their drug use. It also asked questions about the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana. It concluded that 6 out of every 10 seniors had at least tried marijuana, 5 out of 10 had used it within the last 6 months, and 1 out of 10 used it daily. It also states that although the use of marijuana is high within the high school system, the use of it is leveling off. 60 Percent thought it should be decriminalized or outright legal. Most of the testimonies within the article are from high school seniors, stating that the use of marijuana is prevalent and that it should be legalized (overall).
Johnston, L. D. (1981). Marijuana Decriminalization: The Impact on Youth 1975-80. Monitoring the Future. Occasional Paper Series, Paper 13.
The impact of the decriminalization of marijuana on the youth is debated in this article. It talks about how 10 states have decriminalized the possession of marijuana and its effects that it has on those states. It states that overall, the results indicated that decriminalization of marijuana had virtually no effect either on use or on related attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use among young people in this age group. This means that decriminalizing it had no effect on the students, although it was a survey of high school youths so the data only shows correlation not causation.
