Marijuana Tax Revenue Essay

519 Words3 Pages

Marijuana tax revenue serves as a great reason for legalizing recreational marijuana in Ohio. While creating a regulatory system that benefits the state and its people may have been difficult before, by modeling a system after other states, it could become much easier and be improved. By legalizing recreational marijuana in Ohio, we could work towards eliminating the black market, using revenue to prevent unintended consequences and create beneficial programs. Many states are trying to implement a marijuana tax rate that is low enough to wipe out the black market and eliminate illegal drug dealers. If marijuana is regulated properly, we could eliminate the black market and make marijuana use safer. Colorado, Washington and Oregon can be used as examples, showing us that a tax rate of 30 percent is not sufficient in reducing black market crime surrounding marijuana. Many proposals suggest that a rate between 10 and 25 percent may be more efficient in eliminating the black and gray market1. If Ohio implemented a tax of 15 percent, they could still produce 192 million …show more content…

Colorado has dedicated a majority of the marijuana tax revenue to school construction, with the remainder of the money being placed into enforcement and general state funds. Washington dedicated 60 percent of its marijuana tax revenue to substance abuse prevention, research, education and healthcare. The remaining money was dedicated to general state funding and local budgets. Although contributing to the general fund does not impact it in a tremendous way, social services and other programs could be strengthened. By improving said programs, people could be helped and new jobs could be created. Revenue allotted to the general fund could also be used in preventing unintended consequences. Addiction programs, regulation and road safety are all things that could benefit from the said