In the United States, five states have already changed their laws to legalize a small portion of marijuana. These five states are Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. In the 2014 election, Alaska, Oregon and Washington, D.C., voted to legalize marijuana for adults. These three states felt the same way as Colorado and Washington, who legalized marijuana use in the 2012 election. On the other hand, there are four states that would approve marijuana use this year. These states include California, Florida, Nevada and Massachusetts. New polls show that there is more public support for reform than there ever was before; more than half of the country is leaning towards legalizing marijuana use. Legalizing and regulating marijuana will bring a large amount of money under legal rule. This will lead to many jobs and economic opportunities in the economy rather than the criminal market. Law enforcement resources will be used to secure public safety, as well as reduce corrections and court costs. …show more content…
The Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which is a proposal lead by Sean Park, is supported with advocates and doctors in California. This proposal would have an excise tax of fifteen percent on all retail sales of marijuana in California. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act would allow individuals to hold no more than one ounce of marijuana and six marijuana plants. If cities in California do not want to have local dispensaries located in their communities, then the Adult Use of Marijuana Act gives them the option to decline dispensaries to operate. Businesses in the medical marijuana market would get precedence if they were to apply for recreational marijuana licenses. All the money earned from the Adult Use of Marijuana Act would be used to fund the state’s community