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How Does Legalizing Marijuana Affect The Economy

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Introduction
Marijuana is a popular illicit drug used in the United States with many benefits, despite the many penalties there are for using it. In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed the CSA, the Controlled Substance Act, which attempted to minimize drug trafficking and usage in the United States. The current role of the Controlled Substance Act is to regulate illicit drugs and combine all the existing drug laws into a “tent” of one act. There are five schedules, each separating drugs based on their level of abuse potential, accepted medical use in the United States and likelihood of causing dependence when abused. Establishing the Controlled Substance Act categorized marijuana as a harmful drug in order to regulate it in the same way …show more content…

Marijuana legalization, both recreational and medical, may positively impact the United States economy because of the taxes placed on the plant in several states, and instead of taxing the population, the government receives great revenue. The Marijuana Legalization and Taxes: Lessons for Other States from Colorado and Washington report by Tax Foundation describes the key findings of tax effects, Colorado and its effects tax rate totaling 29 percent, a projection of taxes in Colorado likely to exceed $140 million a year, Washington imposing a 37 percent excise tax, and many more statistics backing up the benefits of certain taxes and legalizations. The legalization of marijuana in present day clearly shows that the economy of the states where this “harmful” drug was legalized went straight up by a high percent in tax revenue. The United States must consider legalizing the drug across the country because not only will it raise the economy, it will also greatly reduce marijuana trafficking incarceration’s which proved to be a huge problem in the country. If the United States legalize marijuana, the crime rates and incarcerations will definitely …show more content…

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