Unrevised Draft Page

The basic premise for opposing the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana is that drug use is a crime because it is immoral. Before we even attempt to discuss the morality of drug use, considerable thought should be given to whether or not the state of Texas should be allowed to punish marijuana users. To begin with, drug use should be compared to other crimes that merit punishment. The reason we incarcerate people is because they hurt society as a result of committing a certain act. A marijuana user does not encroach on the rights of other citizens in the same way that other criminals do. However, prohibitionists insist that marijuana users do indeed harm people. Many conservatives are adverse to the idea of legalizing marijuana because they believe that greater availability of the drug will result in an increase in its consumption and thus lead into an overall corruption of society. This fear is actually very similar to what early 20^th century religious Americans of the temperance movement felt when they pressured the Senate into proposing the 18^th Amendment. Almost immediately, problems sprang up as a result of this national decree. The National Prohibition Act or the “Volstead Act” prohibited the sale of alcohol which in turn prompted consumers of alcohol to illegally purchase bootlegged versions of the substance. As a result, the money that was being spent on alcohol was no longer circulating throughout the entire economy or being taxed despite the fact that it was still being consumed. Furthermore, the government did not even have the means, let alone the desire to enforce the law.

Such is the case with the marijuana market: the prohibition law hurts the economy in the same way it hurt America in the past. Forbidding the possession of marijuana in Texas, means that the state government is preventing the local economy from growing. To make matters worse the criminalization of marijuana means that tax payers lose money every time the state government actually attempts to enforce the prohibition act. In other words, each time a marijuana consumer is put in jail taxpayers lose money. This is due to the fact that taxpayers actually bear the burden of providing the government with the means of enforcing the prohibition of marijuana. This entails providing adequate food and supplies for imprisoned marijuana consumers as well as paying for the salaries of prison guards. If prohibition were not in effect, however, the state government would be able to invest this money in noble and more beneficial causes (such as the improvement of schools throughout the state of Texas and rebuilding freeways to prevent traffic congestions). Clearly then, the prohibition of marijuana hurts the economy and actually prevents the improvement Texas. Thus, conservative objections towards the legalization of marijuana are founded on irrational fears because the prohibition of marijuana is far more detrimental than the legalization of marijuana. In other words, by opposing the legalization of marijuana in Texas, conservatives are setting themselves up for a self-fulfilled prophecy and hurting society because they are allowing pious guidelines to blind them from reality.