Marijuana is an illegal drug in the U.S. that many people have debated on whether or not it should be legalized. Marijuana should be legalized in this country. The legalization of marijuana would greatly reduce crime rates. Weed (a slang term for marijuana)  is less harmful than tobacco products and alcohol and they are both legalized. Law enforcement would be much more efficient without laws restricting marijuana use. The largest cash crop in the U.S. is marijuana and the country can not benefit from it without it being legal. Marijuana provides many beneficial medical uses.

If marijuana was legalized, it would help reduce crime rates. Marijuana is one of the most sold illegal drugs. This is because it is easy to get and is easy to sell. Because of this, many criminals sell it. They use the money they earn from this to provide them with weapons and other things that promote criminal activity.

Marijuana is much less harmful to one’s body compared to tobacco products and alcohol yet they are not illegal. Tobacco and alcohol cause much more harm to an individual than weed. Both can result in a physical addiction that is very hard to break. Marijuana does not cause any type of physical addiction and a person can stop using it anytime they want. Although marijuana has been proven to potentially cause harm to those that smoke it, he/she can easily stop before any actual harm is caused.

If marijuana was legalized, law enforcement would become much more efficient. Marijuana related charges are very common which forces police to focus more of the their attention and resources on cracking down on weed. Police should be more worried about more important crimes than catching some kid for smoking weed. If it were legalized, police would be able to focus their time and resources on preventing other crimes that could potentially cause harm to people’s lives.

Marijuana is the largest cash crop in this country but the government will not get anything from it as long as it’s illegal. Billions of dollars are spent on the production and sale of marijuana every year. Unfortunately, the government is not able to benefit from it. If it were legalized, the government could put a tax on it and could get a large portion of this billion dollar industry. Also, it is actually costing money to try and keep illegal marijuana use under control which is very similar to the prohibition era. The government should learn from its own history and legalize it.

The opposition states that smoking marijuana can be very harmful. However, marijuana has been prescribed to many people for multiple different illnesses. Many states have already legalized medical marijuana. Weed has been proven to help people with certain illnesses. Marijuana has not only been used for medical reasons recently but has been used throughout history. Since marijuana is a plant, people such as the Native Americans used it for many years. The fact that it is a plant also means that there are not any adverse side effects, unlike most legal drugs.

In conclusion, marijuana is a very beneficial drug which is not being utilized in this country. Marijuana needs to be legalized for this country and its people to benefit from it. Legalizing weed would help reduce crime rates. Tobacco and alcohol are much more harmful than marijuana. Legalization would make law enforcement much more efficient. Marijuana is the largest cash crop in the U.S. and if it were legalized, America would get billions of dollars from it. Marijuana provides many safe and beneficial uses.