Forty-two percent of Americans ages 12 and older have smoked marijuana at least once in their lifetime (“Questions About Marijuana”). The majority of these people have smoked for medical or recreational reasons. Many people find the high in marijuana as its major benefit, while others may use it to relieve pain or other harmful symptoms due to diseases they have contracted. Twenty-three states (as well as the District of Columbia and Guam) have allowed medical marijuana as substance to treat pain and keep certain medical conditions under control, whereas four states have also legalized the recreational use of marijuana (“State Marijuana Laws”). The states which have legalized it for either/both medical and recreational use find the state as a whole as well as the individuals of society themselves benefit from the legalization in many ways. Legalizing marijuana not only saves a state’s money, it also increases the tax revenue within the state, while also encouraging institutions and universities to conduct more research on the plant. Likewise, marijuana also has several medical and health benefits. One of the benefits of legalizing marijuana within a state is increasing the tax revenue. The White House claims the California Board of Equalization reported that within a state, …show more content…
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Legalization claims, “Decriminalization removes the consumer--the marijuana smoker-- from the criminal justice system. Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually and results in the arrest of more than 693,000 individuals per year.” Clearly, “Marijuana prohibition causes more problems than it solves” (“About Marijuana”). Permitting marijuana use will reduce the amount of individuals in American prisons, slashing taxes even