Marijuana Myths and the Medical, Social, and Economic Benefits of Cannabis Legalization

The use of marijuana, even for long terms, is no more harmful, and, in fact, less harmful than other, legal drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco. However, this plant, the most widely used in the world, remains illegal almost everywhere in the world. For years now, there have been a multitude of movements calling for the decriminalization or, even more desirably, the legalization of marijuana and other "soft-drugs". The most outspoken proponents of legalization are members of law enforcement and medical professionals, as they truly know just how ineffective and unnecessary the current prohibitionist stances are. Politicians, on the other hand, often refuse to take a stand on the issue, in fear of alienating some of their constituents. And in the rare instances when a politician DOES attempt to address the inherent problems with prohibitionist attitudes towards marijuana, they face astounding condemnation from their contemporaries, which is a result of their fear of losing the support of their constituents. Many of these fears are based on misunderstandings regarding marijuana, based on campaigns of disinformation from generations past. This paper seeks to confront some of these misconceptions, and explain some of the social, medical, and economic benefits that would come from the legalization of marijuana.

In order to accurately assess the necessity of legalizing marijuana, it is imperative to clear up some of the most popular myths surrounding cannabis.