Benefits of Marijuana Legalization on Criminal Justice System Essay Example

Despite accounting for fewer than 5% of the global population, the United States possesses approximately 25% of the world's incarcerated population. Putting people in prison for minor infractions serves no purpose other than to overcrowd detention facilities and separate families. President Ronald Reagan’s “War on Drugs” declared that narcotics posed a direct danger to national security in the United States. These offenders faced lifetime in prison. It was no surprise that, under his presidency, crime rates increased dramatically. The problem began with Ronald Reagan’s drug war; however, according to Udi Ofer, he was not only to blame. President Clinton’s crime bill encouraged mass incarceration to grow faster; the bill gave states the ability to arrest more people for longer periods of time. In order to ensure the safety and well-being of United States’ citizens, the justice system must put a stop to the “War on Drugs.”

In the documentary titled “Prison State,” by Frontline, Corrections Director, Mark Bolton, explains just how overcrowded Louisville Community Correctional Center gets. With an estimated 1,790 beds, inmates are shoved in “nooks and crannies, on the floor, in any available space” (“Prison State” 12:50). On any given day, the prison houses 2,000 inmates, with some days even reaching 2,200. Locking up those who constitute a risk to society, according to Bolton, makes sense; but, incarcerating people for not paying their traffic fines, possessing minor amounts of narcotics or marijuana, and the mentally ill who commit crimes due to their illness just doesn't work. These minor offenses should remain that — a minor offense.

There are solutions to stop the increase of American incarceration. In 2018, 660,000 arrests were made involving marijuana. 92 percent of those arrests were for possession. Ninety. Two. Percent. For simply having dried cannabis sativa flowers. The removal of marijuana will lower the number of people in the criminal justice system, particularly African Americans and Latinos, who are disproportionately affected by the drug war. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “a fatal overdose caused solely by marijuana is unlikely.” This is because cannabis is a relatively “safe” drug. 

Marijuana can be very beneficial; for example: people use it to relieve pain, anxiety, and stress, as well as a medication to help with sleep. In 2011, 180,000 veterans were incarcerated in the United States, says Jennifer Bronson, writer for the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Of those, includes Charles McDuffie, a Vietnam war veteran serving time in Louisville Correctional. McDuffie explains on “Prison State” his struggles with PTSD from the war. His only instinct was to turn to drugs. McDuffie says the marijuana made life easier to handle. Adam Smith, a veteran currently living with PTSD, explains how substance abuse in war vets isn’t uncommon. Smith believes that the present approach in society is to treat the symptoms rather than the patient; “healing the entire person takes a whole lot more than that.” Marijuana has been proven to drastically improve the living conditions of those with anxiety, stress, and pain because of the effect it has on the amygdala — the part of the brain responsible for emotion and long-term memories. Smith has a lot of confidence that marijuana will help block out some of the memories that trigger fear and anxiety in not just veterans, but every-day people. 

Legalizing marijuana wouldn’t just help decrease the amount of prisoners nationally; it would help those seeking alternative treatments. A large amount of studies suggest that smoking marijuana can aid with nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy. Mary Jo DiLonardo, writer for WebMD, explains the use of medical marijuana. She says that it gives cancer patients strength to do every-day activities, and even shows signs of preventing inflammation.

If the United States legalized marijuana, the government would save an average of $35,000 a year per inmate. The money that would have been spent on prisoners could be redirected and put into programs for veterans — American heroes. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs would have more money to provide free healthcare to war veterans. Veterans who struggle with PTSD. Current inmates incarcerated for the use of marijuana should immediately be released upon legalization. A pain-relieving medicine should not prohibit a child from growing up without a parent.