This study will consider the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana from a sociological perspective, concluding that the drug should be legalized. The study will consider two sources, an essay by former Presidential advisor Hodding Carter II arguing for legalization, and an article by Faye Fiore on a critical view of legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes only.
Carter presents a compelling and well-reasoned argument that the "war on drugs" is a failure and should be replaced with a policy which legalizes marijuana. He favors legalization of all drugs, which is beyond the scope of this study, but a number of his points focus on the social significance of legalization. He argues that one of the most destructive effects of the illegality of drugs and the war on drugs is the corruption of law enforcement officials. He compares modern corruption of police with corruption in the days of Al Capone:
Prohibition-era corruption . . . was penny ante stuff compared with what is happening in the United States today. From Brooklyn police precincts to Miami's police stations to rural Georgia courthouses, . . . sheriffs, other policemen, and now judges are being bought up by the gross (Carter 9).
Worse, drug money "is also buying up banks, legitimate businesses and, to the south of us, entire governments" (Carter 9). There is no doubt about the monumental social costs of such corruption, based on the huge amounts of money involved in the sale of marijuana and other illegal drugs. Whatever one's objections to the legalization of drugs and the end of the war on drugs, it is undeniable that such a radical change in policy with respect to marijuana would at least begin to reduce this corruption of public officials and agencies. Such legalization would at least begin the process of putting the "big" criminals out of business and saving "little" criminals (users of marijuana) from prison time and the stigma that follows.
The le...