Throughout the United States of America, there are a progressing amount of states that are legalizing a certain drug. The drug that these states are legalizing is marijuana, also known as pot, weed, dope and grass. This specific drug is the most widely used illicit drug in the United States of America. There are two main options to legalizing marijuana. The first is for medical purposes, which most of the states that have legalized marijuana, have legalized the medicinal marijuana. The second option is to legalize it for recreational purposes. Recreational marijuana means that it would be legal to grow, sell and buy marijuana with correct permits and age requirements. The very first state to legalize either medicinal or recreational use was …show more content…
This specific drug industry is a non-taxed business that involves a lot of cash, that is, un-taxed cash. The government has had history with prohibition and how that all plays out with people going against laws and making clear profits. The marijuana business is an untapped business opportunity that can make this country millions. Regulating and taxing marijuana, just like alcohol and cigarettes, can bring in a lot of money to the states and the country. This not only brings ion money but saves money in the process. Ed Rosenthal says there are over 10 million Americans in the past thirty years and around 800,000 people being arrested each year being arrested for marijuana charges. By legalizing marijuana, each year almost 800,000 people will not get arrested and sent to jail, this would save states a lot of money by not having to accommodate these criminals. According to a study done in 1999 by the Marijuana Policy Project, the average annual cost per prisoner per year comes to around 20,000 dollars. The total cost to taxpayers of marijuana-related incarcerations reaches more than 1.2 billion dollars. (ED ROSENTHAL