Marijuana Legalization Marijuana Should Be Term Paper

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Secondly, because the law does not differentiate between hemp and marijuana, I believe that the legalization of marijuana would provide a major industrial and agricultural opportunity for hemp farmers and manufacturers. Hemp can be used in a variety of applications from specialty pulp, composites for autos, construction and thermal insulation, and geotextiles (Small & Marcus, 2002). If marijuana is legalized, money can be saved as the product no longer needs to be imported from foreign countries, hemp would become a viable cash crop, and it could be used in more industrial settings as listed above.

I believe that the billions of dollars that could potentially be saved by legalizing marijuana should be used to regulate marijuana and hemp production and distribution to generate more revenue and ensure that the public, which continues to use marijuana at an increasing rate despite its present illegality, is protected and made aware of the risks and benefits of the drug, thus distributing accountability between producers, government, and consumers. Furthermore, I believe that marijuana users, if properly educated, will use educated judgment in making their decision to use or abstain from marijuana, and to accept the legal ramifications of using the drugs, which may include the same penalties as alcohol intoxication, which I believe marijuana should be compared to in terms of regulation and legislation.
References

Bates, S. (2004). The economic implications of marijuana legalization in Alaska. Alaskans for Rights & Revenues. Accessed 22 May 2013, from http://www.cannabis-commerce.com/library/Bates_Alaska.pdf

Miron, J.A. (2003, August). The budgetary implications of marijuana legalization in Massachusetts. Accessed 22 May 2013, from http://ukcia.org/research/MassachusettsBudgetaryImplications.pdf

Miron, J.A. & Waldock, K. (2010). The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition. Cato Institute. Accessed 22 May 2013, from http://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/DrugProhibitionWP.pdf

Office of National Drug Policy. (2011, October). Marijuana legalization fact sheet. Accessed 22 May 2013, from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-284.html

Small, E. And Marcus, D. (2002). Hemp: A new crop with new uses for North

America. p. 284 -- 326. in: J. Janick and a. Whipkey (eds.), Trends in new crops and new uses. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA. Accessed 22 May 2013, from http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-284.html.....

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