“Caulkins calculates that anywhere from $1.5 billion to $2 billion worth of marijuana might be sold in California each year. The wholesale price per pound is below $3,000, according to locals familiar with the market” (Kolhatkar, businessweek.com). Statistical figures shows that even though marijuana is illegal right now, there are still a number of marijuana trades going on furtively between drug cartels and normal citizens. Those drug cartels make uncountable profits every year by selling marijuana because they are the
Measure 80 – The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act In short, the main purpose of Measure 80 would be for the state of Oregon to allow legalization of marijuana and hemp while putting a tax on it, similar to alcohol and cigarettes. Some features of this Act include accepting mainstream use of hemp fibers (which are twice as strong) for producing paper and textiles. The economics and environmental advantages in marijuana are endless… and this act helps tailor control of the drug (example, potency levels are much higher than they used to be). This can be regulated with help from the government. The Act also makes it clear that no one under the age of 21 years can buy marijuana as well as any one with a history of drug offenses.
Huffman contrasts the two substances, describing the effects of synthetic cannabinoids as " anecdotal, and comes from things like visits to emergency rooms." Alternately, marijuana has been thoroughly researched. He believes "marijuana should be legalized, since its effects are known. 'It should be sold only to people 21 and older. It should be heavily, heavily taxed'" (Schone & Schecter,
Hysterical voters demanded action without seeing or hearing about any scientific research about marijuana or proof of the supposed harm that comes from smoking it. On October 2, 1937, without any open debate, scientific enquiry, or political objection, President Roosevelt signed the Marijuana Tax Law. The law made it illegal to possess marijuana in the U.S. without a special tax stamp issued by the U.S. Treasury Department. In theory, growing and selling marijuana was still legal as long as you bought the government tax stamp for $1.00. However, the Treasury Department did not issue any tax stamps for marijuana, effectively making growing, selling and possessing marijuana illegal under the
al., 2002). Therefore, they implemented the Pure Food and Drug Act, which led to the Harrison Act of 1917, and later the Eighteenth Amendment and Volstead Act of 1920, which limited the use of marijuana that was not for medical use only, making the recreational use of the substance legal. Due to crime rated many believed associated with the substance, as many as 17 states implemented regulations that banned all non-medical use of marijuana by the early 1930’s.That by the time the Marijuana Tax Act was enacted in 1937, 36 of the U.S stated already had their own laws that penalized the use, possession and sell of marijuana (Pacula et. al., 2002). So after the amount physicians prescribing medical marijuana tarred off, because of the tedious paper work that had to be completed in order to dispense it.
No recorded deaths have been recorded as a result of marijuana use, it is not physically addictive like alcohol or tobacco, and doctors will agree it is safer to use than most substances. These are just a few to remind you that maybe legalizing marijuana really isn’t that bad. It is important to realize that the vast majority of deaths on the drug war simply would not happen without prohibition. When drug dealers fight it out over territory and they or their neighbors are killed in the process, it is a symptom of prohibition, much as when we suffered the scourge of alcohol prohibition many years ago. Prohibition makes violence
Where the Question lies Many people in the United States ask the question, “Why marijuana should be legalized?” when the real question is, “Why is marijuana illegal?” Marijuana was once a totally banned controlled substance in all fifty states. Slowly but surely the U.S states one by one are legalizing marijuana for medical reasons and so on. California and Colorado are the two states that have gone through their government and passed the law to legally sell and buy marijuana with the proper ID’s to verify acceptance. Some states have considered it before while other states hate the thought of legalizing this substance. Alcohol is a legal substance in our country yet people die every day from it rather it be liver problems or become a
If the goal of the marijuana prohibition is to discourage use, it has done all but succeed. In 2011, 47,000 8th, 10th, and 12th graders were asked to take part in the "Monitoring the Future" survey. This is a survey that asks questions regarding personal drug use. The results indicated that for the fourth year in a row, marijuana use has increased in teens. Even more shocking, daily use has hit a 30-year high amongst high school seniors (Marijuana Use).
Current law states that us college students won’t loose our financial aid if we do something grotesque like rape or assault someone. Good news if you’re a rapist, but if you’re just the typical college student who gets caught with weed, then your screwed. Federal law states that since a drug offense is a federal offence and you loose all federal support. Ridiculous of course, but what do you expect this is America. I think that the issue has been ran around for far too long, marijuana must be de-criminalized.
Alcohol affects judgment, and contributes to thousands of deaths every year, but it is perfectly legal (as long as you are over 21), and is not considered a public health risk. The Division of Vital Statistics reported that in 2009 there were over 15,000 deaths caused from liver diseases as well as over 25,000 additional deaths related to the use of alcohol. There has never been a reported overdose from the use of just marijuana. Yet drunk drivers are responsible for nearly one half of the highway fatalities, around 65 people