Crime goes down if pot is legalized, what?Marijuana is criminalized and stereotyped as a hardcore drug. However, the difference is that while drugs such as coke, meth and heroin are all man-made drugs, marijuana can be naturally grown, also classifying it as an herbal substance and as stated previously is used to treat patients with medical illnesses. About two out of three marijuana users never even try harder drugs like cocaine or heroin, and for every frequent user of cocaine or heroin, there are about eight frequent users of marijuana may in fact prevent many users from desiring harder drugs.” (Duke, pg.84). The relationship of crime then becomes a factor in the usage of marijuana causing a drug war within the streets of the United States. Another benefit that comes into play with legalizing cannabis is lower crime rate and lower cost expenses for marijuana drug related crimes. According to The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, ten years ago New Mexico spent a total of 1.23 billion in fiscal costs for marijuana laws in 2006 alone. There were a total of 104.623 arrests in New Mexico with 3,136 of those arrests being for marijuana related crimes and a total of $37.05 million in costs for those arrests.
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Michael Phelps• Professional swimmer
• 18 gold medals, 2 silver, 2 bronze • Suspended for 3 months |
Allen Iverson• Professional basketball player (NBA)
• All star MVP 2 years, NBA MVP in 2001 • 14 seasons • Arressted in 1997 for possession of marijuana |
Nick Diaz• Professional fighter (UFC)
• Two-time world champion • Suspended for 5 years from the UFC for smoking pot |
Randy Moss• professional football player (NFL)
• 14 seasons • Criticize by HBO for smoking pot in his past |