Snyder: 10 reasons to legalize marijuana

Obviously, a perfectly healthy individual will not be positively impacted mentally or otherwise by marijuana use and may be better off not using the drug, but if citizens are allowed to make their own decisions regarding alcohol and tobacco use, then the argument for keeping marijuana illegal does not have a leg to stand on.  

Stephen Snyder
September 24, 2014

  1. The state of Iowa stands to gain a projected $24 million in tax revenue from the legalization of marijuana.
  2. Nationally, more than $1 billion dollars is spent on imprisonment of criminals convicted for marijuana related offenses.
  3. The United States has the highest rate of prison inmates per capita in the world. The prison industry is partially funded by tax payers. Less prisoners equates to more tax dollars spent elsewhere.
  4. In Iowa, African Americans are eight times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white Iowans, despite similar usage rates. Legalization will diminish racial imbalances in law enforcement.
  5. Marijuana is already the most frequently used illicit drug in the nation. Legalizing it will simply allow the state to make money off of what people are going to do regardless of the law.
  6. Many gangs generate funds through the sale of marijuana. That money is then spent to buy guns which are often used for criminal purposes.
  7. People who are imprisoned for marijuana possession in the state of Iowa are now convicts with fewer employment, housing, and social opportunities. All because they were in possession of a drug that is now legal in many states.
  8. Substances like nicotine, tobacco, and alcohol are more harmful to the human body than marijuana, yet marijuana is the illegal substance.
  9. Medical uses for marijuana have revealed that the drug is not the terror which it has been made out to be by anti-drug interests, even when used for recreational purposes.
  10. Money spent in the war on drugs is better spent focusing on harder drugs such as meth, heroin, or cocaine, all of which are far more dangerous to the user and others than marijuana.