Legalising/Decriminalising Marijuana: Analytical Evaluative Essay

"We in this country have to make up our minds. We cannot have it both ways: we cannot be both drug-free and free", as stated by Lester Grinspoon, an M.D., from the Harvard Medical School. In Australia, there has been a significant amount of attention given to debates arising over the legalisation or decriminalisation of the marijuana drug, otherwise known as cannabis. It has been suggested that in comparison to legal drugs such as …

…of marijuana and more money could be used for this. Due to its illegal status, it is difficult for scientists to research the benefits of the drug; this must be corrected. It is clear that current Queensland legislation in association with marijuana is not effective enough to stamp out the drug problem. Legalisation or decriminalisation laws should be implemented. William Buckley noted, "Marijuana is harmful, but people should not go to jail for smoking it".