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Persuasive Essay On Legalization Of Marijuana

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About 42% of Americans in the United States smoke weed. That’s about 160 million people. Legalizing marijuana will make the government money, create jobs, and reduce harm. The legalization of marijuana has already begun in some states. Legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the United States would greatly benefit the country. One reason marijuana should be legalized is because it will make the government money. The sale and distribution of marijuana will increase tax revenue. This tax will help the government with projects like road repairs and new parks (“19 Primary Pros and Cons of Legalizing Weed”). Police officers will be able to focus more on safety instead of people smoking marijuana which will reduce corrections and court costs (Marijuana Legalization and Regulation”). The current estimated size of the marijuana market is $45 billion per year. This is about 0.28 percent of gross domestic product and that consumed by year is over 26 million pounds of marijuana. A marijuana industry could have an income of $28 billion in tax revenue for local, state, and federal government including federal tax revenue of $7 billion. Of this $7 billion, $1.5 billion was from income and payroll taxes and $5.5 billion was from business taxes. The federal tax on tobacco is about $23 per pound and when that tax is put on marijuana it could produce $500 million per year. If they instead put a 10% sales tax on it, it could produce $5.3 billion a year (Ekins and Bishop-Henchman). In

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