The constitution of the United States of America states that every citizen is ensured the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Liberty is defined in the dictionary as the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. That being said, drug laws in America are a direct violation of the principles by which the United States of America were founded upon. I experienced the unjust nature of such rules embedded in society for the first time while I was in 11th grade; I was suspended from my high school for a semester and stripped of my permissive transfer coming to school under the influence of marijuana or "high" and having the burnt residue of the plant in my car. Meanwhile, another student had beat up someone else in the school gymnasium the following Monday. That bully was suspended for a few days and was back in class by end's week. It really got under my skin that I was deemed a greater danger to society for inhaling the smoke of a plant, trying to get an education, and not bothering anyone in the process. Individuals deserve rights to their own their body and should be able to do whatever they desire so long as innocent civilians are not harmed in the process. 

Accordingly, the war on drugs has been a massive failure ever since its enactment under the administration of President Nixon in the 1970s. A former aide of Richard Nixon by the name of John Ehrlichman admitted that this policy was developed in order to target opposing political groups of the Nixon administration  --  African American and liberal "hippies" who were opposed to war. Ehrlichman told Dan Bauhm, a journalist who was writing a book on drug prohibition at the time of the interview in 1994 that the Nixon administration had two enemies: black people and the antiwar left. He was quoted as saying, "we knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities". The drug war has been and continues to be a mechanism used by the government to control Americans through incarceration based on racially biased arrests and propaganda rather than fight against substance abuse (Kloc). Another instance of the racial implications of the drug war superseding that of the actual effects of the drug is the use of opiates in the late 19th century by middle-aged women treating aches and pains who were never thought of as criminals. Yet, when hundreds of thousands of Japanese immigrants moved into America and would use opiates as a way to relax after a long day of work, the general public's perception of the drug completely transformed. Another flaw in the war on drugs is that it places criminalization over the health of citizens. America possesses only about 5% of the entire world population but 25% of the world's prison population, and this is largely due to drug policy. Countries such as Portugal, Switzerland, and Germany treat serious drug addiction as a health issue rather than a criminal act, and because of this, such countries have less crime, better overall health, and more taxpayer benefits (Nadelman). In fact, the state of Washington has already developed a program known as Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD), and it aims to turn individuals who are addicted to and abuse substances into productive members of society instead of merely putting them behind bars and hoping that will improve their lives; this program has a 60% success rate meaning that a majority of the people who are diverted to this program instead of the penal system never repeat offend their drug crimes again (Shwartz).  Therefore, America as a whole should adopt a similar policy that actually treats people of their drug addiction and helps them become functioning members of society instead of sending them into a penal system that labels them as criminals for the rest of their life and in doing so, lessens their quality of life even more.

It is understood that many drugs are illegal in this country because of the potential risks to the health and well being of the user as well as the potential dangers such users may impose on public safety. Marijuana is specifically known to have side effects such as short-term memory loss, breathing issues, and lowered IQ when use is excessive and at an adolescent age, but as for putting one's own health at risk, authorities have no right to dictate what an individual can and cannot do with their own body (National Institute of Drug Abuse). Living an unhealthy lifestyle can be found in nearly all facets of American culture, and if laws were put into which treat all lifestyle choices that could possibly harm citizens at their own will with the same rationale as drug laws in America, then U.S. citizens would start to see the prohibition of beloved sports such as football, for football is known to have a correlation with players receiving a large amount of concussions throughout their career, and many players end up contracting a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE which has links with ALS and could be potentially life threatening (Shmerling). Another treasured part of American culture that would be prohibited based on such a premise would be fast food since fast food is known to contribute to a plethora of health issues such as: kidney disease, diabetes, asthma, lowered cognitive ability, depression, acne, osteoporosis, and the list goes on (Carey & Pietrangelo). In addition to this mindset behind drug laws in America, it also makes no sense to incarcerate a person based on a hypothetical instance of malevolence if no such actions are actually committed. In 2016 alone, upwards of 13,000 gun-related incidents have been reported resulting in more than 3,320 deaths and 6,670 injuries (Gun Violence Archive). In America, people are allowed to legally own and carry around these machines that have the power kill people from a relatively far distance of space with the push of a button, but these individuals would not be arrested simply for potential crimes they may commit with their weapons but rather for actual crimes against humanity. Thus, since owning objects like guns that yield a potential risk to the safety of a citizens and partaking in activities that can cause health issues to the individual doing so are not prohibited by the federal government, then drugs should not be either, especially marijuana because of how natural and relatively safe it is in comparison to other psychoactive substances as well as the potential benefits its legalization would bring to society.

Marijuana is referred to as the flowers produced by the plant cannabis-sativa, and these buds contain a chemical compound known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC, which has been attributed to causing a mind-altering psychoactive effect when ingested, typically but not exclusively through the act of vaporizing the ground up flower. Because of the effects caused by THC, cannabis has been under federal prohibition dating back to 1937 when the Marihuana Tax Act was put into place by congress. Yet, the origin of prohibition is a tad more complex than the federal government simply seeing a rise in use of a drug and banning said drug. Such prohibition stemmed largely from the xenophobia associated with a large influx of Mexican migrants that took place in the early 20th century. These migrants tended to be work mostly in agrarian forms of labor for relatively low wages and would typically relax at the end of the a long day in the fields with marijuana. Also, marijuana became associated with the new Jazz music community comprised primarily of African Americans, and this new wave of music as well cultures seemed to strike fear in the conservatives of America. Thus, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, headed by Harry J. Anslinger, launched a campaign to use yellow journalism in order to exaggerate the effects of such a drug and make it seem as if one puff of "the devil's weed" would turn a man into a sex-demised, murderous individual (NORML). In addition to being prohibited for sale, use, and possession, marijuana has also been categorized as a schedule 1 drug by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which states that marijuana is a highly addictive drug and possesses no medicinal value. Such a scheduling places cannabis in the worst possible class of drugs from a legal standpoint, and it means that under current drug laws the legal ramifications for possessing cannabis are worse than that of possessing a more dangerous drug, more addictive drug like cocaine which is outrageous, and such a scheduling needs to be changed immediately since marijuana does indeed hold medicinal value.

Medicinal marijuana has been legalized in 23 of the 50 United States because it can treat or at least alleviate the symptoms of such ailments as Alzheimer's, diabetes, arthritis, and depression to name a few (Gustafson & Spelman 18). Cannabis has been known to be a pain reliever, an anti-inflammatory, and an appetite stimulant, which means that marijuana can be effective in treating any forms of pain, certain skin disorders such as acne, and eating disorders like anorexia. The medicinal value of marijuana expands past that of simply consuming the smoke of the vaporized plant. Topical uses of medicinal marijuana exist as well and come in the forms of lotions, oils, and balms that can be absorbed into the skin to relieve inflammation, pain, and soreness; these topical substances provide therapeutic effects with no psychoactive effects, so people can benefit from the plant without ever feeling the cerebral effects that have become accompanied with marijuana use (Hutton 41). Marijuana has also been noted as being beneficial to cancer patients as they go through the rigorous process of chemotherapy while combatting cancer since patients often endure depression, nausea, pain, trouble sleeping, and trouble eating. This leads to doctors wondering why they would prescribe a patient five different prescription pills when one plant could aid the patient just as if not more effectively. At the same time prescription drugs are susceptible to abuse and can lead to brain damage, respiratory failure, seizures, malnutrition, and overdose, while marijuana is virtually impossible to overdose; it would take the consumption of approximately 20,000 joints in 20 minutes to cause an overdose, and even then, the cause of death would be oxygen deprivation (Muir Wood Adolescent and Family). In addition, there has been anecdotal evidence of marijuana combatting cancer itself, and initially people dismissed such accounts as urban legendry, but recent studies have shown that THC and other compounds in cannabis such as cannabidiol (CBD) do have the ability to slow the growth or even kill certain types of cancer cells (American Cancer Society). Few people are aware of this, but in 1976 a man by the name Robert Randall sued the government for his right to marijuana as a medical necessity needed to treat his glaucoma, and he won. The result of this case was the enactment of the Compassionate Investigation New Drug Program, which was created with the intention to provide medical cannabis for life to people who face serious health issues (Rabinski). This program is a blatant case of hypocrisy by the federal government and shows that lawmakers responsible for the rescheduling of marijuana are simply not looking at the facts and evidence associated with medicinal marijuana.

The market of cannabis, however, extends even further than medicinal marijuana; recreational marijuana is also holds the potential for a large market.. The legal marijuana industry is estimated to make as much as 46 billion dollars annually, and the plant is noted as one of the top three cash crops in 30 states (Schneider). States like Colorado, Washington, and California are already using the tax revenue from legal sales to improve public education and provide shelters for homeless people. Although legal marijuana industry in these states follows state laws accordingly, many business owners still feel the effects of federal prohibition, and this makes it arduous for industry to reach its full potential. For instance, there is a law that was put in place by the federal government which states that because marijuana was illegal prior to the first shops being open, initial business owners cannot legally purchase the first seed needed for production; they must either illegally obtain seeds from other states where marijuana is legal or the black market. Additionally, the federal government holds many restrictions on banks, which discourage such institution from doing business with those involved in marijuana commerce. This means that marijuana business owners must look for alternative ways to store their money such as money laundering. Above all, marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, and this means that even a well-run business abiding by all of the states regulations could still be susceptible to a search and seizure of all of its assets by the federal government at any time. For reasons such as these, it becomes apparent that the federal government needs to back off completely and leave marijuana laws up solely to the decision of the states so that marijuana industry can thrive to its fullest ability.

The potential marijuana industry encompasses more than merely the sale of combustible cannabis; hemp products offer a copious amount of economic opportunities. Hemp is a type of cannabis that contains less than .3 percent THC but is still illegal under federal law regardless of the fact that it yields absolutely zero psychoactive effects. Hemp, which features strong fibers, can be manufactured into materials such as clothing, canvas, and foundation blocks for buildings. In many ways, the use of hemp as clothing is superior to that of cotton, for hemp can be farmed nearly twice as efficiently and producesa more durable, higher quality product. Also, hemp and hemp seed oil are both viewed a "superfood" since they contain a near perfect ratio of the essential fatty acids Omega 3 and Omega 6 as well as contain every important amino acid. Furthermore, Hemp has proved to be an excellent building block when formed into a material known as Hempcrete; it is superior to wood in that it is resilient to typical issues of decay. Hempcrete is noted as fireproof and impervious to termites the list of use goes on as it can also be used a plastic that is biodegradable and noticeably stronger than steel panels. In fact Henry Ford was known to use hemp-and-sisal cellulose plastic to build car doors and filters. Ford even wanted to utilize hemp oil as a source of fuel for his automobiles, but John D. Rockefeller ensured that only petroleum derived fuel was used in America's transportation system (Rabinski). That being said, it is clear that the current drug laws in America are impeding the ability of a vast amount of economic possibilities that should be attainable in a country founded on free enterprise.

The laws currently in place under the federal government regarding drugs and marijuana in specific are oppressive in nature and need to be revised immediately. In the latest poll a majority of Americans, 58%, believe in the legalization of marijuana (Gallup). It is hard to imagine living in a so-called democratic society where the majority's opinion is overlooked by lawmakers, so a change will probably come soon, but it is not soon enough, for every hour that marijuana laws are not changed, nearly 80 people are arrested, most of which are nonviolent drug offenders (NORML). These arrests stay on these people's permanent records for life, and being labeled as a criminal is certainly more detrimental to one's wellbeing than smoking marijuana will ever be. It is time that policy makers in America acknowledge that denying one rights to his or her own body directly violates the principles by which this country was founded and lifts the oppressive prohibition of marijuana, so that citizens can reap the benefits of legalization and enjoy life as they choose to.

