Speech - Marijuana Legalization

General purpose: To persuade

Specific purpose: To persuade my audience to vote for the legalization of marijuana.

Introduction

I. Ghanja, Funk, Kif, Cheeba, Endo, Grass, Herb, Skunk, Pot, Weed.

II. Statistically speaking, most of you have tried or actively smoke marijuana. I tried it once or twice, but I did not inhale. (Culture-Type)

III. I am a registered member of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML.

IV. In the next few minutes, I'll give a brief history of why marijuana is illegal, the cost to keep it that way and describe what you can do to remedy the situation.

TRANSITION: In order to find a solution, we have to get to the root of the problem.

Body

I. The criminalization of cannabis is costing citizens (Alliteration) and law enforcement, time and money.

A. In summation of the (1)Transcripts of the Congressional Hearings for the Marihuana Tax Act, the United States first criminalized marijuana as a way to arrest Mexican immigrants, who were virtually the only ones using it in the early 20th century. It was said that marijuana produced a "reefer madness" that could turn people into violent, sex-crazed and irresponsible maniacs.

1. The prohibitionists even claimed it could give people almost superhuman powers.

2. (2) Washington Post Metro columnist Courtland Milloy was quoted saying, "Under the influence of this weed they have enormous strengthÐ'... it will take several men to handle one man while under ordinary circumstances one man could handle him with ease."

TRANSITION: Thus began the war on pot that would ultimately cost the American people more than they know.

B. Currently, marijuana arrests are at an all time high.

1. According to the Uniform (3) Crime Report released by the FBI, on average, a person is arrested on marijuana charges every 42 seconds.

2. American taxpayers are now spending more than a billion dollars annually to incarcerate its citizens for pot, according to the (4) U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics.

C. Criminal justice approaches have not only failed to solve the problem, they have made matters far worse.

1. Taxpayers for Common Sense commissioned a report on federal drug spending from (5) Harvard economist Jeffrey A. Miron.

2. Miron reported, "Marijuana use rates are little different now than in 1975, despite a substantial escalation in federal marijuana spending over this time period." And: "The fact that trends in marijuana use bear no overall relation to federal marijuana spending casts doubt on whether these policies reduce marijuana use."

TRANSITION: Now, I'll go over the benefits of legalizing it and what you can do to help.

II. Decriminalizing marijuana will greatly benefit the US economy.

A. (6) According to another report by Jeffery A. Miron, (a professor of Economics at Harvard University) Milton Friedman, a famous economist joined with 500 other economists in signing An Open Letter to the President, Congress, Governors, and State Legislatures on the benefits of legalizing marijuana.

1. The report shows that marijuana legalization (replacing prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation) would save taxpayers $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods.

2. If it were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as $6.2 billion annually.

B. Other than economic benefits, the actual cannabis plant has a variety of uses, too many in fact to cover. But some of its main uses are textiles, food and energy.

1. Cannabis or hemp, (the stalk or fibers of the plant) can be used to make paper. It can produce 4 times the amount of paper/acre than 20-year-old trees and will grow in almost any climate.

2. With hemp seed, a vegan or vegetarian can survive and eat virtually no saturated fats. One handful of hemp seed per day will supply adequate protein and essential oils for an adult.

3. The hydrocarbons in hemp can be processed into a wide range of biomass energy sources, from fuel pellets to liquid fuels and gas. Development of biofuels could significantly reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and nuclear power.

C. I'm sure