Introduction
In the United States of America, the debate about whether recreational drugs should be legalized or not has been going on for decades. This debate is certainly no small matter, since it often sparks conflict between so many parties. As of September 2017, states in the western gulf such as California, Oregon, and Washington have legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, making six states in total fully supportive of the use of marijuana, sixteen states only legalizing for medical use, and the rest of the US still hasn’t had a clear law regarding the use of marijuana (State marijuana laws in 2017 map, 2017). This paper will emphasize the support of legalizing marijuana as a recreational drug. The use of marijuana as a recreational drug should be legalized because of three important reasons. The first reason why the use of marijuana as a recreational drug should be legalized is because marijuana use does not have a dangerous side effect compared to other substance such as tobacco and alcohol. Secondly, the criminalization of marijuana as a recreational
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If marijuana is taxed as much as tobacco, $500 million can be produced to federal taxes per year (Ekins & Henchman, 2016). In Colorado alone, a very high increase as high as 57.2% in marijuana taxes from 2015 to 2017 fiscal year. As of January, Colorado has successfully collected $119 million in taxes, much higher than the tax collected from alcohol which only produced $38 million. Among these marijuana tax revenue, the state has been able to put $16 million for the Affordable Housing Grants and Loans (Borchardt, 2017). If only the government focuses on the budget allocations and taxation, the nation would gain more economic benefit than they already have rather than spending billions for a criminal justice system which has shown little to no
In the past decade, a number of movements to legalize the use of marijuana has been gaining momentum. According to the 2016 Gallup survey, a record high 60% of Americans say that marijuana should be legalized and this figure marks a 9% increase compared to 2014. Support for legalizing marijuana was 31% in 2000, 50% in 2016 before reaching 60% last year. This shows that despite government efforts to eliminate its use, marijuana is becoming more popular. It is clear that
But the financial benefits of legalization go beyond taxing the sale of marijuana and keeping drug money out of the hands of criminals. All across the nation, wherever the drug is illegal, state and local governments spend enormous sums of money on the enforcement of marijuana laws, the prosecution of offenders, and incarceration of the convicted. The Wall Street Journal estimates that the American taxpayer spends $40 billion per year on the administrative costs associated with the criminalization of marijuana (Becker). On the state level, we can again look to the example of Colorado. Conservative estimates by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy show that legalization will save the state $40 million per year by no longer administering marijuana laws (Drug Policy Alliance).
The War on Drugs has been a long battle between the government and drugs in the United States. Legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes can have a great impact on society and legalizing marijuana for recreational use can have a much larger impact. Some people believe that legalizing marijuana would do more harm than good; but this is not the case. In this essay, I will be arguing for the legalization of marijuana because it reduces the stats for the number of criminals, it saves taxpayers money, it strengthens the economy, it is beneficial to health, and it is less harmful than other drugs, along with countering the common misconception of marijuana as a gateway drug for teenagers its abuse. Elliott Currie proposed two prominent solutions
Legalization of Marijuana Introduction There have been a lot of debates on whether marijuana should be legalized or not. The debates on the legalization of marijuana have also been based on astringent research. As such, whether the debate is made from a political, medical, or economical perspective, the main concern has been if the Federal Government should be the sole decision maker when it comes to determining whether the use of the product is good or not. This paper will try to give an argument on whether the use of marijuana should be legalized or not by giving arguments from both sides. Reasons for legalizing marijuana
Along with this, the the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics states that American taxpayers spend more than $1 billion a year incarcerating citizens for using pot. Jon Gettman, who has a Ph.D. in public policy at George Mason University, suggest that “$10.7 billion can be saved each year in annual criminal justice
The first month that Colorado’s legalization policy took effect they raised “$2 million in taxes related to the sale of recreational marijuana” (Phillips). Colorado used the first forty million dollars of this tax revenue for school construction immediately benefitting the Colorado community. Legalization of marijuana would also create an entirely new industry in the United States creating jobs a healthier economy. Marijuana benefits the economy at such a large rate that “500 economists signed a petition urging a renewed debate on the benefits of legalizing the possession of marijuana” (Newton). This proves that marijuana legalization would provide a variety of benefits for all Americans, cannabis consumer or
For years now, marijuana has been labeled as a schedule 1 controlled substance; this means that it is classified in the same category as the dangerous street drug heroin. The spot on this list is a result of the United States Government prohibiting the sale and use of weed with the federal Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 (Sullum 2). Removing the prohibition of marijuana in the United States would boost the economy, lower the crime rate in densely populated areas, and provide medicine to those who do not have access to it currently. The time for change is now, and we need to remove this negative outlook on marijuana in this country. Keeping weed illegal actually costs the taxpayers of this country half of what it costs to pay for public schooling.
Mary Jane Marijuana should be legalized for many reasons. Dubbed “The Devils Lettuce” by some and “The Angel Plant” by others .There are no serious health issues tied to it, In fact doctors prescribe it to treat various diseases and disorders. The Government could save a ton of money while also make more from taxing it. Police wouldn’t have to arrest as many people, this resulting in less crowded prisons.
Just because marijuana can bring great economic benefits to local government doesn’t mean that local governments should ignore its serious negative effects. All the states should say “no” to marijuana decriminalization expect for harsh medical
According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data, “there were a total of 1.5 million drug arrests made nationwide in 2011, and out of those arrests, about 750,000 were for marijuana or 49.5%”. This proves how much time is being spent in stopping people with this marijuana when instead they could be stopping rapist, killers, or real delinquents. With the legalization not will only the US government lower the income of the mafia but it will relieve itself from so many prisoners who were arrested from being caught with
When Colorado first legalized this drug in 2014 they ended up with $63 million and another $13 million for fees. $30.5 million goes back to the taxpayers. Colorado expected to triple the value by the middle of 2015 and they did. Imagine how much money the country would make if the entire U.S. legalized marijuana. Studies have shown that if the entire country legalized marijuana, the U.S. would be able get over $3 billion in just tax!
Plus, the revenue that could be made in taxes would benefit each state individually along with the country as a whole. “Between the dollars that customers spend and the money business people invest in their crops and shops, pot is generating more wealth and activity than almost anything else on a pound-for-pound basis” (Pyke). Since Colorado legalized marijuana, it has created 18,005 full-time jobs and it added around $2.4 billion dollars to the state’s economy (Pyke). The United States need to take this in concentration and see that marijuana has helped Colorado out and could benefit many more states and the country itself. The United States have people without jobs, homeless, and are starving, and with marijuana being legal we could help them out and give them a job which will give them money to get food and shelter over their head.
Therefore, marijuana should be legalized in the United States. This is because; the drug helps improve the quality of life, it will create a new source of jobs and revenue, it is better compared to other legal drugs, and a majority of people support its legalization.
Within the last year $2.4 billion have filtered into the state’s economy (Pyke). This is a great way for Colorado to use the extra tax to put towards their civil engineering, which helps their roadways, sewer system, and parks. Recreational marijuana also created 18,005 full-time jobs, with crops, packaging and retailers, which helps with the unemployment rate in Colorado (Pyke). Recreational marijuana “is generating more wealth and activity than almost anything else on a pound-for-pound basis” (Pyke). The statistics on the benefits of recreational marijuana have led five other states to legalize recreational use of marijuana.
The legalization of Marijuana has become more and more acceptable as the years have gone by. Fifty-five percent of Americans believe that marijuana should be legal for recreational purposes. As every year goes by more Americans are starting to realize that maybe marijuana isn’t as bad as it seems. As a personal pro marijuana advocate I believe that marijuana is helpful to many people on a daily basis.