- Support for legalization is growing faster than ever.
In fact over 50% of Americans support legalization as opposed to only about 40% against it. A survey conducted in 1969 estimated about only 12% of Americans were in favor of legalization. That is an enormous increase!
- Penalizing substances which do harm makes sense.
Alcohol abuse kills roughly 75,000 people in America per year, prescription drugs kill over 100,000 per year, tobacco use another 480,000, marijuana kills 0. The war on drugs has failed miserably, mostly because the war has been targeting false perpetrators.
- It makes sense financially.
Harvard drug economist, Jeffrey Miron, has said “Legalizing drugs would save roughly $41.3 billion per year in government expenditure… Approximately $8.7 billion of the savings would result from the legalization of marijuana.”
- There are legitimate medical benefits.
In the last 2 decades sentiment towards medical cannabis has drastically changed. Marijuana has been proven to be an effective treatment for forms of epilepsy, pain, nausea, and more. 23 states in the U.S. have already legalized cannabis for medical purposes.
- Legalization does not lead to increased use.
When substances become regulated usage dramatically changes. In the Netherlands marijuana has been decriminalized for several decades yet approximately 17% fewer Dutch citizens have tried marijuana compared to Americans.
