[420 Girl]

Many have heard and become a fan of John Mayer’s single, “Who Say’s I Can’t Get Stoned?” This question is one that many people don’t bother to ask. Marijuana is a commonly used drug by all ages, sexes, ethnicities, and religions. The battle of drug legalization is one that has been going on for numerous years. To answer John Mayer’s question to who says he can’t get stoned is simple however…“the law.”

The government has spent over 75 years trying to condone the use of marijuana, sparking the Drug War. Seventy-five years later, however, over 25 million people have used marijuana at one time, and 3 million use pot on a regular basis. Marijuana is being grown more than ever all over the planet. Marijuana is illegal for mainly one reason; it is categorized in the “drug family.”

Marijuana, however, is not even close enough to be related to *******, meth, ecstasy and any other hardcore, life-threatening drugs. Hypothetically speaking, comparing marijuana to hardcore drugs such as ******* is like saying your 12th cousin is a part of your immediate family. Annually, 400,000 people die from tobacco abuse, 100,000 from alcohol abuse, 20,000 from legal drugs,15,000 from illegal drugs, 2,000 from caffeine, 500 from aspirin, and zero from marijuana.

In 1980, there were 401,982 total marijuana arrests in the United States. The number nearly doubled to a mind-boggling 872,720 just 30 years later. Imagine what that number will be in another 30 years; it could be well over a million. Research says back in 2006 to 2008, 45 percent of all drug arrests in this country for the most part were marijuana offenses. American citizens’ annual taxes are being spent reprimanding these individuals for their marijuana use in prisons. If marijuana was legal, that money could be used to benefit our country with prospering schools, roads, security, and establishing jobs.

The government would save 10- 14 billion dollars annually to legalize marijuana. Not to mention, pot is estimated to be the largest cash crop currently grown in California, with annual revenues approaching $14 billion. A 10% pot tax could yield $1.4 billion in California alone. With the legalization of marijuana, thousands of new jobs in agriculture, packaging, marketing and advertising could be created. The legalization of marijuana in the United States would help the economy to boom and our country to prosper tremendously.

Many are uneducated about marijuana and its effects. Researchers and medical analysis’s such as Tenet Healthcare Corporation suggests, marijuana has agents, which calms the nervous system and relaxes the muscles in the body, allowing those who suffer from digestion problems, chronic pain, nausea from chemotherapy or other conditions to feel well enough to be able to move with less pain and to eat. Marijuana works to calm anger issues and stress as well as helping those with sleep insomnia.

Many individuals that argue marijuana will cause long-term mental instability. The fact is there no proof shows marijuana to cause any long-term mental issues and does not permanently alter a person’s behavior. Another myth people will argue is marijuana is highly addictive and withdrawals are painful. The truth is less than 1% of people who smoke pot on a regular basis will have few, if any, withdrawals. If they do, symptoms are very mild. Individuals opposed to the legalization of marijuana also argue marijuana is damaging to the lungs and can cause cancer, bronchitis, and emphysema. The truth is marijuana smokers are at a minimal risk of health damage. Those who regularly use tobacco are much more likely to suffer from permanent health damages. This is due to the fact those who smoke marijuana do not use it nearly as frequently as tobacco users.

Marijuana has already begun the legalization process, without to many people’s consent; medical marijuana is becoming extremely efficient. Medical Marijuana is legal in 14 states in the United States. Marijuana has been in medical remedies however for thousands of years. China and India used marijuana for medical reasons from as early as 3000 B.C. It was used to ease pain during childbirth, relieve asthma and epilepsy, and improve appetite. Some of the more common conditions and symptoms treated with medical marijuana as of present day include chronic pain, nausea, glaucoma, seizure disorders, cancer, diabetes, muscle spasms, and many more. Marijuana is commonly used by cancer patients to stop vomiting and severe nausea caused by anti-cancer agents.

Marijuana is actually less dangerous than alcohol, cigarettes, and most over-the-counter medicines or prescriptions. Pot in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances that exists on our planet. Alcohol is much more dangerous than marijuana, but alcohol is legal in the United States. The results of a large intake of alcohol can result in a person not being able to stand on his two feet, drive, and even speak legitimately. Over 400,000 people die annually from alcohol related activities while zero has died for marijuana-related activities. If an individual consumes too much marijuana, the most that can happen to them is they go to sleep.

Marijuana has never killed anyone, it is not a behavior adjusting drug, it aids in medical misfortunes such as cancer. The legalization of marijuana would free up jail and prison space, and the taxation of marijuana by the government would create more jobs and provide the United States with more money which could aid in ending the recession. So the question John Mayer really should have been asking in his song “Who Says I Can’t Get Stoned is,” “Why Can’t I Get Stoned?”

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