User:WonD

Nissa's portion so far...: With any piece of legislature there are pros and cons. There is always a chance that something unexpected will happen and the plan will fail. But if a legislative plan is well thought out it is likely that the plan will succeed. It is no different with the issue of drug legalization. When addressing this issue there is some question. Which drugs should be legal? Who should be able to legally buy and use them? Even though there are risks that come with legalizing drugs, there are advantages also. Some drugs like PCP, methamphetamine, and heroin are dangerous and should be kept illegal. These drugs can be extremely harmful, not only to the individual but also the community by increasing crime. Marijuana, however, is not one of these drugs. In moderation marijuana is just as harmful as alcohol. It is not one of those drugs that significantly harm people for life. One advantage of legalizing drugs is that it would reduce some drug related crime. If drugs were legal then people could just go to their local seven eleven and pick some up. There would be less drug deals gone wrong. Having marijuana be illegal is like the eighteenth amendment prohibiting drinking alcohol. Prohibition led to boot-legging, speakeasies and organized crime. Just like illegal drugs lead to “pushers”, organized crime, and drug houses. By making marijuana legal it would put them out in the open and therefore they could be more easily regulated. Legalizing drugs would also earn money for the state through taxes. If a sin tax were put on the drugs then money for things like new roads and schools could be earned. Even though it seems a little wrong to earn money for children’s educations through someone’s vice, it is actually really smart. It discourages drug use by jacking up the price, just like what is done with cigarettes and lottery tickets. This strategy is useful during tough economic times since it helps the state earn much needed money. Billions of dollars are spent on fighting drugs every year. If marijuana was made legal then less of the tax payers money would go to enforcing drug laws. It is estimated that 600 dollars is spent on drug law enforcement each second. That isn’t including local government spending. Just think of where a portion this money could go if it wasn’t spent on eradicating illegal marijuana use. Schools, roads, power lines, public services, and many more of these types of important things could be happening in the community if marijuana was legal. To a lot of young people drugs are mysterious and alluring things. This is attributed mostly to the fact that drugs are illegal. Nothing is as much fun when it’s allowed, especially to teenagers and young adults. Why do teenagers do stupid often illegal things? Because they aren’t supposed to. Legalizing drugs would take away a lot of that mystery and allure, making the use of drugs less exciting and fun for teenagers. All medicine is checked and approved by the Federal Department of Agriculture to make sure that is safe to take. The same process would occur with drugs. The FDA would make sure that all the drugs being sold are safe. This would reduce death or injury because of not pure drugs, or drugs that were made incorrectly. When buying weed openly it assures that the user knows the concentration of the drug, diminishing a percentage of accidental overdoses. If one was to buy a bag of weed on the streets there is no knowing the concentration of the batch. So when people who aren’t used to a high concentration use the drug there is a possibility that they took too much. Just like alcohol has a legal limit marijuana also would. If someone were to be found to be driving under the influence of marijuana then it would be treated like if someone were driving under the influence of alcohol. A lot of corrupt people depend on money from the drugs they sell. By legalizing drugs the government would be taking away most, if not all, of their business. Some of these drug dealers are terrorists and depend on this drug money for a living. Even though most marijuana dealers aren’t terrorists, there are still a lot bad people who get money from selling weed. It would take away their source of income. Even though the United States has a “fair” criminal justice system, once someone is in the books as a criminal they live their whole life with that label. So what should they do when they get out of prison? It is extremely hard to find work with a record, and sometimes these people have a family to support. With no income they are led to stealing and dealing. Once you are in prison there is no escaping your past. It turns into a vicious cycle. If petty drugs, like marijuana, were legal then many of these criminals would not have ended up in this vicious cycle in the first place. If these criminals could get work the economy would not have to worry about them messing it up with unemployment. Economically making at least marijuana legal would make a difference.

This still isn't 4 pages it's about 3 and a half... Just a rough draft of part of it...anybody else have anything????????????????????????????????? Even double spaced??? - kinzie