According to research from Amanda Froelich, over 100 studies have found that zero people have died from marijuana each year, whereas more than 480,000 people die from cigarette smoking, 38,329 from abusing pharmaceuticals, and 30,722 people from alcohol poisoning annually, all things that are still legal in the US. Today more and more people are coming to the realization that marijuana has more than just one use. It can help the government create billions of dollars of revenue, it will decrease crime rates, and it can save thousands, if not more, people's lives. Marijuana should be legalized in the US because of all the additional revenue and the lives it will save.
Though some think marijuana is used as a drug for hippies and losers, Violent crime and property crimes have both decreased in Colorado since the state legalized recreational cannabis, and the London study referenced in 5 cannabis misconceptions article led to a large drop in crime rates after cannabis was decriminalized for a year. (Leafy). There is
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“We don’t know the size of the marijuana market right now, and we certainly don’t know what would happen to the price and the demand for marijuana under different levels of legalization,” Carl Davis, senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy told The Huffington Post. “But we do know that legalization would lead to a positive revenue impact on the income and sales tax side.” The researchers assume that legalized marijuana would be taxed similarly to alcohol and tobacco and that the income earned by pot producers would be subject to standard income and sales tax. Taxes aren’t the only source of revenue that would come from legalizing marijuana , according to the study. State and local governments also stand to save billions of dollars that they currently spend regulating marijuana use. (Huffington