Marijuana has become very popular in the United States today, but the question still remains open; Should marijuana be legalized or not? For many years this drug was illegal in almost every state in the United States and was given a bad reputation due to the negative effects it may have had on society, but recently researchers have helped change the narrative on marijuana. Marijuana is a substance with a long and controversial history. Bans on its use due to political and social burdens, its resistance and, recently, its decriminalization for recreational and restorative use. Marijuana has raised issues ranging from recreational use to the treatment of disease. Cannabis is a very unique type of drug because it cannot be distinctly placed into one drug category. Marijuana has the power to stimulate, hallucinate, or depress a person's central nervous system, which would classify it as a drug with depressant, hallucinogenic, and stimulant properties. Although many people oppose the legalization of the drug, marijuana should be legalized because it benefits America by lessening the burden on the justice system and helps as relief for sick people. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayMarijuana has become quite popular over the years and will continue to grow. With its rapid growth in society, it is only right that it becomes legal because if the drug remains illegal in most states, there will be more citizens going to prison for petty crime and less money will be made for the government as well. Just as there are ways in which marijuana has managed to produce negative effects on people, in recent years it has been demonstrated why the positive effects of the drug outweigh the negative ones. In Science Direct, author Terra Wiens reports that “the legalization of marijuana has limited their ability to address alcohol-related problems” (Wiens). Since marijuana is illegal, more arrests are made in a year than there are for alcohol-related charges due to the fact that it is used so widely. This is due to the fact that law enforcement sometimes arrests people simply because they had drugs on them when instead the goal should be to arrest someone if a crime was committed due to marijuana such as arrest for alcoholism; Drunk driving or driving while intoxicated. Not to mention that once marijuana is decriminalized, crime rates will decrease and prisons will have much more space for serious inmates because the police will be able to focus their attention on more serious crimes and gross acts committed. According to Gale in Context, author George Gruia states in a newspaper that “there has been a 10.1% decrease in overall crime since 2013 and a 5.2% decrease in violent crime” (Gruia) since the legalization of marijuana for people aged 21 and over. in some states in the US Let's face it, smoking weed or having a little weed on your body should not be illegal and we are abusing the justice system if ever a young adult is penalized for it. Gruia further reports that “a decrease in price will lead to more revenue and, based on the supply and demand model, there is still room for an increase in the market for marijuana retail stores and therefore, due to the surplus of product, demand remains unchanged and the equilibrium price decreases.".