Marijuana costs the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money every year. The government is spending this money to help enforce and regulate marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug for both medical and recreational use. This drug should only be restricted to those who need it for medical purposes. Recreational use of marijuana has become a big drain of tax dollars, to fix this problem marijuana should be only used for medical purposes, and there should be a limit on how much you can have in your possession at one time. Marijuana comes from the hemp plant, and can be grown in a variety of places. Marijuana was first found by Europeans in 1545 in america. It was first used as a household item to cure …show more content…
States across the US have legalized marijuana, even though the federal government has not. Many taxpayers feel they are losing money because of this. The government is having to spend money on more police officers to enforce the laws. The government has hired these officers to help protect the states that have legalized marijuana, to make sure the drug is being used properly.”...this would cut down marijuana related crimes…”(Marijuana). If caught for illegally using this drug, then that person will be arrested therefore wasting more taxpayer money.”Some 19 to 32 million people would no longer be treated as criminals and subject to arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, asset forfeiture and other punishment”(Marijuana legalization). Regulating this drug can save money and allow police officers to spend more time more serious …show more content…
Many advocates that are against legalization of marijuana that since it can lead to health problems down the road, it should be banned entirely. The states that have already legalized marijuana think that it should remain legal because it can help people with pain management caused by diseases. Promoters of the drug also think that if marijuana becomes legalized in every state that it could actually decrease the amount of underage users and abusers of the drug. The United States government has not stated whether or not a law should be passed. Currently there is a law that states the drug is illegal but the states are still protected. According to the 10th amendment, the power is given to the states and the people. This means that the states are protected against government interference. There needs to be a law put in place that does not abolish marijuana, but a law that lets people with medical issues use the drug, but doesn’t allow recreational
A controversial topic often being advocated for by sitting governors is whether the legalization of marijuana is more beneficial or harmful to the economy. Marijuana, also known as weed, is a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the cannabis sativa plant. It’s the most widely used illegal drug in the United States, even though studies have shown results that the benefits of using marijuana for medicinal or recreational reasons far outweigh the negative matters that may be associated with its use. While marijuana is still a controlled substance under federal law, thirteen U.S. states currently have compassionate use laws in place, which allow for regulated medical marijuana use. By legalizing marijuana, the government is helping the economy by reaping medical and financial benefits, not only at the state level, but also at the federal level. Taking into account the numerous studies done with marijuana on whether it is for recreational use or medical purposes, the government cannot go wrong in legalizing marijuana because of such an impact it will have. Marijuana should be legalized for recreational purposes because it will help society economically and socially.
I do not believe that the Federal Government should continue to regulate –and outlaw- marijuana. I believe that the issue should be a concern of the states and not the federal government. According to the Controlled Substance Act, (CSA) (21 U.S.C. § 811), there is no federally recognized difference between medical and recreational marijuana. Importantly no matter what the use is, marijuana is illegal in the United States as far as the federal government is concerned.
Legalizing marijuana will provide an increase in our economy. The first step is that the government needs to stop copiously funding the war on drugs. Over the past four decades, federal and state governments have poured over one trillion dollars into drug war spending. I will admit that the government should keep running advertisements that persuade youths from using methamphetamines, crack-cocaine, and heroine. However, when money is being thrown away by the government trying to convince people that smoking pot is bad for a consumers’ health, that is a sign a change must occur.
Studies have shown that the legalization of marijuana has led to an increase in government spending opposing what was the initial reasoning for the legalization. “The cost of increased law enforcement, drugged- driving incidents, fatal crashes, loss of productivity, and huge spike in gang-related
Legalizing recreational marijuana will help the United Sates economy by combating the war on drugs. Regulation of the drug will bring money into the state and to the nation as well. Moreover, Clare Howard in his article, Why legalize recreational marijuana states, “America has lost the war on marijuana. The cost to taxpayers has been $1 trillion and has resulted in 40 million arrests. The war on marijuana needs to end like Prohibition ended in 1933 with the country recognizing failed public policy and formulating another plan with reasonable regulations and restrictions… perhaps regulating marijuana like alcohol and keeping it illegal for
On average, Americans spend about 5 billion dollars on marijuana every year. Thats about how much the country contributes to the purchase of alcohol! The only problem is that the money made from people selling marijuana illegally mostly goes into the pockets of mafias because they contain the largest portion of distribution in the marijuana chain. On average each state spends right at about 1 billion dollars to make sure the marijuana laws are enforced. Asa Hutchinson, the former DEA director mentioned in a CNBC interview that "The cost to fight marijuana is worth it and the people should not mind the cost, but instead look into the benefits it would bring to the country." However, its difficult to see what the benefits really are, because the law enforcement says that criminalizing marijuana will reduce the number of accidents associated with people under the influence of marijuana, reduce violence caused by the intoxication of the drug, and reduce the number of drug dependents. But these arguments to criminalize the use of marijuana are completely unproven. Alcohol also intoxicates the drinker, which obviously causes vehicle accidents. Tobacco poses health risk to smokers after years of continuous use, but they are still considered legal? Therefore, the reasons given to criminalize marijuana aren't very accurate and unproven. It is ironic that the given effects of marijuana are almost the same that made it illegal and are the same
The government set aside thirteen point seven billion dollars for the 2008 war on drugs and the Office of National Drug Control Policy estimates that Americans will spend ten point five billion for marijuana this year (Dubbin, 2008). That is twenty four point two billion dollars that could have been used by the government for other things. According to Harvard Economic professor Jeffrey A. Miron, “legalizing marijuana would save seven point seven billion a year in government expenditures and add six point two billion in revenue if the wacky tabacci were taxed like regular tobacco.”
It is said that marijuana comes from ancient Chinese and Indian tribes where the plants were used as treatments (Leaf Science 2014). It was used to treat arthritis, pain, and others illnesses. In current surveys, a majority of doctors believe that marijuana should be used in modern medicine, just by the amount of relief and improvement it showed in humans in the past.
Marijuana derives from the hemp plant, scientifically named cannabis sativa and cannabis indica. Marijuana consists of dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant. The cannabis plant is one of mankind 's first cultivated plants and has many applications (How). One of the most common and most misunderstood uses of marijuana is obtaining the well spoken of high as well as recreational uses. Most people believe that there is
Some people believe that through the legalization of marijuana, our nation’s tax revenue will significantly increase. On the contrary, like many other drugs, such as alcohol and tobacco, taxation of the drug will cost the nation money. For example, as stated by Marty Nemko, a psychologist and career coach, knowledgeable on the effects of legal marijuana, states that “legal pot does not yield tax dollars, it costs tax dollars”(Nemko). As with the taxation of alcohol and tobacco, tax dollars are not increased as commonly thought due to the cost of dealing with addiction, driving under the influence, and domestic abuse or illness. (Miller) Likewise, if marijuana were legalized, its accessibility would cause a total loss in tax revenue. The Drug Abuse Resistance Education estimates “legalization…[of marijuana] would bring with it additional substance abuse in [states] and long-term public costs… that would vastly exceed the ... amount of new revenue legal weed might import.” (Miller) The California Board of Equalization estimates that treating the taxation of marijuana like alcohol or cigarettes would result in a tax revenue increase of a dollar while the nation would be spending $8.95 for treatment of marijuana drug abuse related cases (Miller) Since, the taxation of legal marijuana
The Government should legalize the use of marijuana because of the economic benefits it would offer, The debate over whether the federal government should legalize marijuana has been escalating and states such as Colorado, and Oregon have legalized the use of medical and recreational use of marijuana due to the realization that marijuana could greatly benefit their economies, such as the creation of jobs, tax revenue, and young business leaders. The legalization of marijuana is highly beneficial to the United States government because it will save the government billions of dollars. According to Jeffrey Minron a Harvard economist “If marijuana were legalized, the government would save $7.7 billion dollars annually in law enforcement costs, and it could bring an additional $6.2 billion a year” (3).If the government were to legalize marijuana nationwide, there would be billions of dollars, which could be used to solve actual problems in the United States like education, poverty, Instead, the billions of dollars are being wasted to loosely enforce the ban.
Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (“Marijuana” 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel “high” or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (“Marijuana” 1). Like most drugs, marijuana has a very long history. People have been using the plant around the world for thousands of years. The oldest record of the marijuana plant dates back to 2727 B. C. in China where the plant was used as a medical herb for treating conditions like rheumatism, gout, malaria and even absent-mindedness (“Cannabis, Coca, & Poopy: Nature’s Addictive Plants” 1). Slowly, the plant started spreading around the world. By 1545, cannabis was starting to appear throughout the western worlds. Being introduced to South America by the Spanish to be used as fiber. The crop also had many other common uses around the world. In North America, cannabis was often used to make paper, ropes, clothing and other materials (“The Origins of Cannabis” 1).
Believe it or not if the government where to legalize drugs, the amount of money they would save is tremendous. In fact pot legalization could save the United States $13.7 billion per year- according to 300 economists on huffpost.com. The United States spends about 40 billion dollars on enforcing drug prohibition per year. Money spent on law enforcement. Violence that deals with drug trade, decreases economic development and keeps millions in poverty. Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker speculates that drug prohibition increases addiction because it makes users reluctant to seek out treatment- according to Quartz Media. As research shows a lot of people are all for the legalization due to the increase of money the government would be savings and receiving, money that could be going to states. As we all know prohibition was set into place during the 20th century because woman felt as if men were getting out of control, spending all of their money on
In today 's world, people are very one-sided on the issues of smoking. There are many types of things that you can smoke but marijuana and cigarettes seem to be the most controversial. Countless amounts of people are against smoking in general, smoking cigarettes, and/or smoking marijuana. Because of the certain setbacks and outlooks on these smoking impacts, the economy adjusts with consumers and non-consumers of both substances. The economy is mainly determined on the types of consumer behavior and responses towards certain laws and events that go on in the world, including smoking cigarettes and marijuana. The government also plays a role in this use because it officially made cigarettes legal for adults and also gave each state the
Marijuana comes from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Its discovery could have been as early as 2700 BC in China. Despite the Cannabis Sativa plant producing Marijuana it also produces hemp, which is a very useful cash crop that can produce several textile materials. Aside from hemp, Marijuana was used in America up until 1937, when it was banned by 47 states as a result of increased usage due to the 1920 amendment that