Legalizing Marijuana: Help or Hindrance? Essay

Cannabis has been illegal since the Marijuana Tax act of 1934. Yet out of a population of 284 million American citizens, 70 million Americans claim to have smoked cannabis at some point in their lives. Prohibition of cannabis is therefore apparently ineffective at changing the habits of a population, just as prohibition of alcohol was ineffective in 1919-1933. Making otherwise law-abiding citizens fugitives does nothing more than fill the prisons and alienate the populace from their government. In fact the total cost to taxpayers of solely marijuana-related incarceration (in local, state, and federal prisons and jails) of 15,400 people exceeds $1.2 million per year.

Marijuana these days is causing indefinite amount of problems because it is not legal. Since it is not legal in the U.S., Drug Cartels are taking advantage of that and illegally importing their products across the border by the use of “Drug Mules” or underground tunnels. That hurts us tremendously, since we invest millions of dollars every year to strengthen our border security to, but they always find a way to get it into the country because of high demand and price for illegal marijuana. Drug Cartels are also taking millions to billions of dollars illegally out of our economy, which is not helping our National Debt. If we legalize marijuana we can prevent the Drug Cartels from making money because people will have an easier way to buy it and we can also regulate how

Marijuana is a naturally grown plant that has beneficial properties and the ability to create textiles, paper products, and other goods. Marijuana is currently illegal in many states in the United States. The legalization of Marijuana will produce enormous tax revenue, reduce crime, give us a renewable resource, and give sick and suffering patients a new effective medicine. The legalization of Marijuana in the United States would both benefit the well-being of its citizens as well the economy.

The legalization of cannabis has a variety of good things that can come with it. Such as money. Money is the main priority in today's society and legalizing cannabis can not only help Americans with that but also the United States in general. It will produce more jobs and create better opportunities for some people in our society. Another good reason to allow marijuana to be legal is that it can lower crime rate.

Marijuana has many advantages and disadvantages attached to it. There will be an almost, never ending debate on whether or not marijuana should be legalized. Due to the good that it would cause; the medical benefits and the money that would come from it by taxing it, and the money we would save from trying to fight it. We could have a larger budget for more important things that are in need tat the moment, if marijuana were legalized there would have to be regulations on it, much like those of alcohol, This would make it safe for freedom of use.

are less than that of marijuana. From 1991-2000, arrests for marijuana violations have doubled while arrest for more illicit drugs, such as heroine, have fell to about thirty-three percent. (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana, 2003) Violations of marijuana is said to be the fifth most commonly violated law in the United States. In 2006, FBI databases showed that more than 80% of the 700,000 plus arrested were charged with possession of marijuana; costing taxpayers close to forty billion dollars in criminal justice costs, as well as tax revenue loss. (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana, 2007) Repercussions of a marijuana arrest alone are significant by itself. Some penalties may include, but are not limited to probation and mandatory drug testing, loss of driving privileges, loss of federal college aid, asset forfeiture, revocation of professional licenses, loss of certain welfare benefits such as food stamps and removal from public housing, loss of child custody, etc. (Armentano, 2005) Regardless of whether marijuana offenders serve time in prison or not, there is a large portion of generally honest- integral individuals whose lives are unnecessarily decimated over a non-violent charge.

By legalizing marijuana less harm will be caused. This creates high levels of crime; addicts are forced to commit crimes to pay for a habit that would be easily affordable if it were legal. Police sources have estimated that as much as half the property crime in some major cities is committed by drug users. More drastically, because drugs are illegal, participants in the drug trade cannot go to court to settle disputes, whether between buyer and seller or between

The time and money being used to help fight marijuana has proved to be an unsuccessful cost and could be used in more beneficial uses like education or fighting violent crime. By legalizing marijuana the government would be able to save about $7.7 billion a year (geekpolitics). Not only would law enforcement costs be cut by legalizing marijuana but the government would also receive an increase in tax revenue. If marijuana would be legal it would be sold in the same method as alcohol and cigarettes. This method would allow the government to keep a close watch on the production of the marijuana and control the business cycle of the drug (geek). The legal marijuana would be taxed in the same ways as cigarettes and alcohol and the companies who would produce the product would also be taxed. Licenses for the sale of the legal marijuana would also be applied which would allow tight restrictions on the sale of the drug as well as provide safety.

First, let’s talk about the funds spent on marijuana. “60,000 individuals are behind bars for marijuana offenses at a cost to taxpayers of $1.2 billion per year. Taxpayers annually spend between $7.5 billion and $10 billion arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations” (Marijuana Decriminalization Talking Points). Legalizing marijuana will allow citizens to walk into a dispensary and pay for it

This would increase additional revenues for various agencies and projects throughout the land. According to Miron, “A 2007 study from George Mason University reports that lost revenue from failing to tax a $113 billion business, as well as costs incurred enforcing marijuana laws, cost U.S. taxpayers $41.8 billion yearly.)” That massive amount of extra revenue pouring into the economy and that money alone could help solve many financial shortfalls we are currently facing. One would think as eager as politicians are at increasing taxes that they would see legalizing pot as just additional money for military spending and other

     In addition to wasting valuable taxpayer money, the criminalization of marijuana has prevented the government and industry from experiencing an economic windfall. In Canada alone, about 50, 000 people are charged with

“In the past year, the population in America’s jails and prisons has grown to 6.9 million, including those on probation and parole. A 1999 study showed that 60,000 individuals were behind bars for marijuana use. This cost taxpayers $1.2 billion.” (Stevens) There are more arrests made on marijuana charges than violent crimes combined. These violent crimes include assault, rape, robbery and murder.

The legalization of marijuana has upset many citizens, as is defies societal norms in the eyes of numerous people. In addition, this industry has led to a massive gray area in terms of the legal aspects, and it has also become a source of tax revenue, one that has become extremely lucrative in a short period of time. It has gone

Another very good reason to legalize marijuana is how much it could save our government money, and maybe even make money out of it. Marijuana is very hard on our justice system financially. If the policy was changed and it was legalized it could be taxed and used for government funding. It has been studied and many studies show that weed could create very good revenue . Not only can legal marijuana help make money but it can also help out the justice system a lot. Over 750,000 people are arrested for marijuana a year. This number is crazy if you think about the danger level of marijuana.

Marijuana has always been illegal to cultivate, smoke, or to have in your possession. What would be the perks of legalizing it though? What we used to think was harmful has actually been proven to have medicinal benefits. This is the main reason people think it should be legalized, but what's behind the scenes? The are millions of dollars to be made off of marijuana sales, and the tax they put on it could bring in insane profits for our government. Marijuana legalizations would make less calls for our law enforcement making their jobs safer and allowing them to focus on more potent crimes like harder drugs or violent crimes. With the sales being made by U.S. business this would decrease the amount of U.S. money going cross border powering