Question

Should Marijuana be legalized? Why or Why not?

Answer 1

Marijuana is only not legalized to incarcerate minorities, predominantly Mexican/Black people. At the turn of the 20th century, cannabis, as it was then commonly known in the United States was a little-used drug among Americans. With the start of the Mexican Revolution in 1910, many Mexicans began moving to the United States, and they brought with them the tradition of smoking marijuana. Anslinger (1930s Harry J. Anslinger, head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics) sought a federal ban on the drug, and to this end he initiated a high-profile campaign that relied heavily on racism. Anslinger claimed that the majority of pot smokers were minorities, including African Americans, and that marijuana had a negative effect on these “degenerate races,” such as inducing violence or causing insanity. Quite ironically Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, and that adults should have a right to use it if they wish. Marijuana could also help with medical complications such as Anxiety and “chronic pain that plagues millions of Americans, especially as they age. Part of its allure is that it is clearly safer than opiates (it is impossible to overdose on and far less addictive) and it can take the place of NSAIDs such as Advil or Aleve, if people can’t take them due to problems with their kidneys or ulcers or GERD” said Harvard University.