The Benefits Of Marijuana Legalization

The Benefits Of Marijuana LegalizationThe economic recess that began around January 2008 has taking its toll on several fronts. The recession has touch on the U.S. labor markets as seen in the rapidly rising unemployment and underemployment issues. U.S. jobs dedicate declined by oer 5 million all over the past 12 months and the unemployment treasure has risen to over 9%. The recession has withal ca purposed a dip decline in present tax revenues. As a matter states atomic number 18 beginning to see actually large bud casts shortages. States are fight to find opposite ways to shore up the loss in revenue that is needed to support public services.California, the Golden State has account a $20 billion bud subscribe to deficit. The state is currently expenditure $400 to $ 600 million more a month that they are salt away in revenues. As the reality of the deficit becomes apparent to the leaders of California, the governor has asked for solutions to their problems. What yo u can expect generally is no taxes and stark cuts, absolutely terrible cuts, verbalise Governor Schwarzenegger to press secretary Aaron McLear. Were non going to get through the deficit we have with give away making some really heavy decisions. (www.sacbee.com)Ho delectation Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, and the states two Democratic U.S. senators have said new federal aid was unlikely, pass awayn that California has already current billions of dollars from the stimulus package.The federal government is not responsible for the state of Californias figure, and we intent forward to hearing a sustainable plan for the state to get its ho consumption in enact, a spokesman for Ms. Pelosi said after the budget was released Friday may 14, 2010. (www.wstj.com)While the state court debates ways to reduce the large deficit one solution has been mentioned, the legalization of ganja. It has been estimated that a legal market for marihuana could yield revenue of $1.5 to $2.5 billion a year. Total retail gross sales would topic in a total economic impact of $8 to $13 billion a year. The state would besides save over $160 million a year in law enforcement monetary value for arrests, prosecutions, and imprisonment. Additional benefits would arise from more sales taxes from spinoff markets such as smokeho enjoyments, industrial hemp facilities and larger amounts of tourism. (www.canorml.org)Over 1.6 million Californians have smoked ganja within the past 30 days, according to the most recent subject area Household Survey on Drug Abuse, which found 5.6% of all Americans over the age of 12 are current cannabis users. According to the survey, third base of this population, or 530,000 Californians are daily users. Taking this survey into con spotration, the California administration conceptualizes there forget be sufficient demand for this product. (www.canorml.org)California has at a time added the Tax Cannabis Act to its November bal desti ny which bequeath be to decriminalise the cultivation, self-denial, and unskilled use of marijuana. So why not legalize marijuana? on that point are several object slighton arguments that need to be considered pays, arbitrator, utilitarianism, caring, sexual abstention and Christianity before any decisions can be made.RightsMarijuana was tossned by The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 in the U.S. in 1937after 162 years of use. In 1937 Anslinger testified before Congress in favor of Marijuana prohibition by saying Marijuana is the most violence causing do medicates in the history of mankind. Most marijuana smokers are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana usage. Marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes. (www.hempcar.org) many an(prenominal) supporters of legalization of marijuana believe that the prohibition laws were passed based on favouritism and lies therefore violating human ri ghts.In general, a right is an private entitlement to something. (pg 73, Velasquez) Rights are a powerful device according to Velasquez, when they are utilize to change the individual to cull freely whether to pursue certain activities and to entertain those choices. (pg 74) obstruction allow work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of lavishness within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a mans appetite by legislation, and arrives a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the actually principles upon which our government was founded. Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President stated during a speech on the 18th of December 1840, to Illinois House of Representatives. Allowing the government to control what individuals freely choose to do when they pose no threat to their community than they are let the government violate their basic constitutional rights.JusticeThe production , distri unlession, and use of marijuana is a criminal offense under the Controlled Drugs and Substance Act. Retributive justice refers to the just imposition of punishment and penalties on those who do ravish. (pg88, Velasquez) In 2007, law in Californian made over 60,000 felony and misdemeanor arrests of individuals possessing marijuana. If charged with possession of marijuana it will carry large penalties for offenders in the United States. The runner offence could be a fine of $500 or up to 20 years imprisonment for third or more offences.These arrests constitute permanent criminal records that could disqualify individuals for schooling, student loans, housing and most importantly jobs. The cost of law enforcement of the marijuana laws in California kick in to the economic problem by over $ one hundred fifty million per year. (pg 97) So the moral question is Does the crime fit the punishment? How fair is this action? These questions of disseminative justice arise when dif ferent people put forth hostile claims on societys benefits and burdens. (pg 88)UtilitarianismThere are no arguments that there are a several side effects that come from smoking marijuana. The advocates for marijuana use believe the lonesome(prenominal) side effect is it elevates the feeling of comfort. Jeremy Bentham states that, the theory which accepts as the fundamentals of morals, utility or the sterling(prenominal) cheer principle, holds that ones actions are right if those actions promote happiness and wrong if they produce negative effects. The happiness is think to produce pleasure and not pain. (pg 62) This ethical theory insists that the desire for happiness motivates human conduct.Taking into consideration the utilitarian calculations, by using marijuana in the privacy of the individuals home serves to increase their pleasure or greatest happiness principle. The government, therefore, has no right to prohibit what is ethically justifiable conduct. On the other hand for those individuals who argue against legalizing of marijuana believe that the use is wrong because marijuana destroys brain cells and could also be a gateway drug to more lethal drugs and narcotics. These advocates have successfully enacted prohibition laws banning the use of marijuana. Utilitarians stress, however, these advocates are acting unethically because they are decreasing the greatest happiness principle covered in the shield of upholding what is an essentially contested conceit (pg 60), namely, the common good.Utilitarianism is also the basis of the techniques of economic cost-benefits analysis. This type of analysis is used to determine whether its present and incoming economic benefits outweigh its present and future costs. (pg 63) The California administration believes that by legalizing marijuana they can tax it which will help eliminates the states budget deficit problems. This will also eliminate the $150 million dollars that are spent to each one year by enf orcing the ban on marijuana.CaringDrugs that are deemed politically, amicablely, medically, or religiously unfit for amateur use are often banned. Ethic reasoning based on caring sees our communities and communal relationships as a fundamental value that should be preserved and maintained. (pg 103) The position on the legalization of marijuana is different for each individual. Those positions range from blanket prohibition to permitting use in small doses.Advocates believe that legalizing the drug would be a good thing because it forces manufactures to meet standard guidelines just like the manufactures of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Currently legal drugs must have ingredients lists, checking labels and purity levels clearly stated on the containers. By providing a legal supply chain of the currently illegal drug the prices will fall which would theoretically lead to the collapse of the current illegal drug industry and also lead to a reduction in crimes affiliated by th ose illegal organizations. They also argue that there will be no change in the amount of demand for marijuana repayable to the inelasticity of the demand.On the other side of the argument, advocates believe the state should not be involved in the distribution of substances that are considered unhealthy. They believe it is the states job to protect each citizens health and not contribute to exposing them to risky items. These advocates truly dish out for their communities by exhibiting the faithfulnesss of concern and love. (pg 103) These advocates are very concerned that the marijuana use will be dangerous to others beside the user. They are worried that it will contribute to the rise in health costs, create more violence that is eternally accompanied with drug use and most importantly contribute to the neglectfulness of children that is always seen in drug-addicted parents.VirtueThe debate going on in California over legalization marijuana has been a very controversial issue. It has been debated by both advocating sides of the issue. The advocates for legalizing marijuana argue from Aristotles moral equity stop of view. A person lives according to reason, Aristotle argued, when the person knows and chooses reasonable in- among ground in his actions and desires Moral virtue is a mean between two vices, one of excess and the other of deficiency and it aims a contact the mean in desires and actions.(pg 110) With respect to consumable goods, temperance the virtue of macrocosm reasonable by indulging the desire but not in excess. Marijuana advocates reason that as long as it is used only for recreational purposes and not abused there should be no issues from Aristotle point of view for not legalizing it.The advocates against legalizing marijuana argue from another moral virtue point of view. They argue that economic institutions or governmental administration make people greedy and large bureaucrat organizations make people less responsible. These organi zations are morally uncollectible because they tend to create morally defective individuals. (pg 113) These advocates fear that the State of California only concern is to fix its budget deficit problems at the expense of its citizen well being.ChristianityThe advocates against legalizing marijuana argue that the use of any mind-altering drug is morally and spiritually damaging therefore should be kept out of reach. The book of Galatians 519-21states, The acts of sinful character are obvious sexual immorality, impurity and debaucherydrunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not acquire the kingdom of heaven. Keeping this scripture in mind, by participating in these deeds of the flesh will excluded one from the kingdom of heaven. This scripture also proves that smoking marijuana would not be a good Christian activity one would motive to participate in. The bible predicted that people would want to participate in bad behavior in a letter the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 31-5 which states, There will be terrible times in the last days. raft will be lovers of themselves, lovers of moneywithout love, self control, not lovers of goodlovers of pleasure, or else than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. The argument is made that people will be lovers of the pleasures in intent rather than lovers of God. The final argument is how can an individual focus on doing good works if their minds are clouded with marijuana smoke.On the side of the debate advocates for legalizing marijuana argue that the current laws are an invasion of individual rights to make their own moral decisions concerning what they do in their own homes. Prohibition is allowing the government to make moral decisions for individuals and not allowing ones to be morally accountable for their own actions. The scriptures do talk somewhat keeping church and state separate in L uke 2025 which states, He said to them, and then give to Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods. Jesus also talked about this separating in buns 1519, If you belong to the world, it will love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you. It is also argued that although marijuana is not directly mentioned in the bible it does talk about how God gave humans plants and herbs to use for food. Then God said, I give you every herb bearing seed plant on the face of the square earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it .They will be yours for food. (Genesis 129)The legalization of marijuana appears to have a lot of support in California. Activists believe that taxing marijuana production and sales would bail out the cash-strapped state. The point has been made that prohibition law has been a big disaster because it has wasted billions of dollars in law enforcement resources and made criminals out of normally law bidding citizens. There are on the other hand still a lot of activists that oppose decrimalizing marijuana. They argue that with recreational marijuana use comes impaired driving, crashes and injuries to innocent parties. Critics also worry social costs far outweigh the revenue it will bring in to the state. There are several measures that need to be met in order to grow support. First sales should not be outright legalized but regulated. Next the state would need to create laws to manage the production, distribution, and sales of marijuana. last marijuana should be managed and controlled using the guidelines the alcohol and tobacco industries follow.