Dear Future President,

I am writing you today to share my views on the legalization of marijuana. I believe marijuana should be legalized in all 50 the states for medical and recreational purposes. There are many benefits to legalizing marijuana. These benefits would be for both United States citizens and the government. Although I have numerous reasons for my beliefs, I would like to point out a few of them that I find very important.

One reason marijuana should be legalized is because it could tremendously impact the medical field. Marijuana could be used as potential treatment in to relieve side effects from other drugs or diseases. According to a report by The Institute of Medicine there is “Scientific data [to] indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief,control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation.” I believe that what the Institute of Medicine had to say is something that should be recognized, thought about and taking into too serious consideration. Here is an example of marijuana helping a patient. A little girl suffering from Dravet Syndrome had three hundred seizure a week and after she used medical marijuana her seizures went down to one a week. I hope with results like that you will see the benefit for our citizens and their quality of life.

I can not understand why marijuana is illegal while alcohol and tobacco remain legal. There were approximately 88,000 deaths in the United States due to alcohol and more than 480,000 deaths in 2015 related to smoking. However there has not been a single death reported from the over use of marijuana. Those numbers do not take into account for how many people suffer from acute diseases associated with alcohol and tobacco use. Alcohol is involved in about 40% of violent crimes. Whereas marijuana use was only accounted for 3.1% of violent crimes. As you can see, things just don’t add up.

Finally let’s talk about money. The United States spends about 3.6 billion a year keeping marijuana illegal. In 2012 there was 658,000 arrest made for the possession of marijuana, the majority being low level offenders. This keeps law enforcement busy and takes them away from more pressing issues. It just seems like a waste of resources. If marijuana were legalized this would free up our resources. One in four people that are in prison today are there because of marijuana. If it were legal, we would not have to carry the financial burden of providing for these prisoners. That turns out to be a huge amount of money savings for taxpayers. Legalizing marijuana would create revenue for each state. It would also create jobs which would lower the unemployment rate.Lowering the unemployment rate is another savings for the state. This would boost the economy and could give some people a better quality of life. During Colorado’s first year marijuana was legalized it generated 63 million in revenue and another 13 million from fees and licenses due to the legalization. Just think of what that kind of income could do for each state and the federal government.

I believe you are the type of person who wants to do what is best for your country and their people. Based on the information I provided you regarding legalizing marijuana, I would hope you take a good look at what a great and helpful opportunity this would be for everyone. I would like to thank you in advance for your time and attention to this matter. Please remember your country is counting on you to make the right choice.

Sincerely,

Dylan

Links: “State Medical Marajuana Laws”, National Conference of State Legislation(NCSL), 9/29/2016, Link: http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/state-medical-marijuana-laws.aspx, Accessed: 10/24/2016

Bellware,Kim, “Here’s How Many People Fatally Overdosed On Marijuana Last Year”, The Huffington Post, 12/28/2015/ updated December 30, 2015, Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/marijuana-deaths-2014_us_56816417e4b06fa68880a217, Accessed: 10/25/2016

Rough,Lisa, “10 Arguments in Favor of Legalizing Cannabis”, Leafly, Statistics from 2012, Link: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/top-ten-arguments-for-legalization, Accessed: 10/25/16

Anderson,Dave, “Top Ten Reasons to Legalizing Marijuana”, ListLand, January 9, 2015, Link:http://www.listland.com/top-10-reasons-to-legalize-marijuana/ Accessed: 10/25/2016