Drug Trafficking in the U.S.
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Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking in the United States
Jeanine Clark
ENG 122
Angela Temple
Sept.25, 2011
Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking in the United States
New tax revenues from legalized marijuana sales could exceed $1 billion just for California. This rich new source of tax revenues nationwide would help lift the U.S. economy out of its worst recession in decades. If marijuana was legalized and regulated, an estimated $8 billion would be saved annually in government spending on enforcement, including for the FBI and U.S.-Mexico border security. “No one has ever died from simply using marijuana.” (Elders, 2004)
The war on drugs is an expensive battle, a great deal of resources go into catching those who buy or sell drugs, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. These costs seem particularly exorbitant when dealing with the drug marijuana. Marijuana is one of America’s top-selling agricultural products.
Prohibition of marijuana is unwarranted government intrusion into individual freedom of choice. Marijuana is no more harmful to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco, which are both legal and widely used, and regulated by the U.S. FDA. In 1972, then-President Richard Nixon appointed the Shafer Commission to study the nation’s rising drug problem. It reported the following: “Neither the marihuana [sic] user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety.” (Troianello, 2011)
Drug Trafficking
From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual’s actions endanger someone else. This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will.
The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the...
Drug Trafficking in the United States
Jeanine Clark
ENG 122
Angela Temple
Sept.25, 2011
Drug Trafficking
Drug Trafficking in the United States
New tax revenues from legalized marijuana sales could exceed $1 billion just for California. This rich new source of tax revenues nationwide would help lift the U.S. economy out of its worst recession in decades. If marijuana was legalized and regulated, an estimated $8 billion would be saved annually in government spending on enforcement, including for the FBI and U.S.-Mexico border security. “No one has ever died from simply using marijuana.” (Elders, 2004)
The war on drugs is an expensive battle, a great deal of resources go into catching those who buy or sell drugs, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. These costs seem particularly exorbitant when dealing with the drug marijuana. Marijuana is one of America’s top-selling agricultural products.
Prohibition of marijuana is unwarranted government intrusion into individual freedom of choice. Marijuana is no more harmful to a person’s health than alcohol or tobacco, which are both legal and widely used, and regulated by the U.S. FDA. In 1972, then-President Richard Nixon appointed the Shafer Commission to study the nation’s rising drug problem. It reported the following: “Neither the marihuana [sic] user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety.” (Troianello, 2011)
Drug Trafficking
From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual’s actions endanger someone else. This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will.
The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the...