(Clark, n.d.) In November 2012, voters in Washington and Colorado agreed to directly challenge the federal marijuana prohibition and legalize the growing, selling and consuming of marijuana for all people age 21 and older. State officials have spent the last few months working on regulatory schemes that would not run afoul of federal authorities, who have so far taken a hands-off approach to marijuana enforcement in both states. (Clark, n.d.) What message does this send to the users of marijauna and to those who continue to sell and distribute marijuana illegally? In part, that's because legalizing drugs takes away a significant deterrent against drug use. Moreover, for as long as we have monitored drug use, we have seen that whenever there is a decrease in the percentage of young people who perceive marijuana use as harmful, the percentage of users increases.
In 2009 an estimated 858,408 individuals were arrested for marijuana violation. Out of those whom were charged approximately 89 percent were only charged for possession. Depending on the state, the government spends 1 billion to 10 billion dollars annually on the prohibition of marijuana. According to economics professor Jeffery Miron of Harvard University the statistics prove that the American government is further crippling the U.S. financially. After endless amounts of research it has been concluded that legalizing cannabis would be the best financial decision for the United States.
Many people debate over whether or not marijuana should be legalized. They argue about the moral issues or moral conflicts that would arise with the legalization of it. Although there is a lot of we could say for each side, if we put aside our personal feelings and see it from the economics point of view, we would realize that legalizing marijuana would be the right thing to do (especially with the recession we are in). In this paper I will be discussing why the government should legalize marijuana by analyzing the financial costs of keeping it illegal and the financial gain we would receive from being able to tax every sale. First reason why the government should consider legalizing marijuana is because expenditures on drug enforcement would
Dylan Kelley Rough Draft 11-15-10 Yes We Cannabis Should marijuana be legalized in the United States? Should people be punished for smoking a harmless natural plant? The legalization of marijuana is a topic that most Americans have a powerful say in. Some believe it should remain illegal because they believe it’s a “gateway” drug or because it causes violence. Others, like me, think that the government shouldn’t have the power to outlaw if it’s not harming or endangering others.
Although legal in the state of California, the sale and use of marijuana still remains illegal under federal law. Despite the overwhelming support of the voters and medical professionals, prop. 215 continues to be a controversial issue. The U.S.
The government’s most recent drug survey, the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “over 800,000 adolescents ages 12-17 sold illegal drugs during the previous 12 months preceding.” (NSDUH). Marijuana has damaged and brought chaos to lives of many young Americans. Medically, it is not addictive, but some people say that they begin to form a habit, and it becomes a psychological, rather than physical, addiction. Although marijuana is less harmful than other substances that are legal, chances are that if more people smoked marijuana because it became legal, there would be an increase in health problems. A study was done by the DEA in 2004 in which 19.1 million Americans aged 12 or older used illicit drugs in the 30 days prior to the study.
The topic of legalizing marijuana is a very controversial issue in American politics today. Marijuana has been vilified in America for over 70 years. Despite it’s many practical uses, medicinal and industrial, our Federal government insists on maintaining the status quo that the growth, possession and use of marijuana is criminal despite the evidence that the legalization of marijuana would have a positive influence on America. The illegality of marijuana has hurt society more than it has helped, legalization would benefit America both economically and medically. Twenty years ago, only 16% of the public said the use of marijuana should be legal and 81% said it should not be legal.
Many of the citizens disagree with medical marijuana cultivation and sales causing social conflict. Another reason residents are moving out of the county is because the crime rate has risen. Other citizens believe costs associated with treating individual for marijuana outweighs the revenue from taxing medical marijuana (Pacula, 2009). However, medical marijuana users believe any type of negative reform is discrimination. among the stakeholders in the debate over medical marijuana include California taxpayers, medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-SF), Attorney General Jerry Brown and Mayor Gavin Newsom of San Francisco (gubernatorial candidates), Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA), and Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Arlen Specter (D-PA).
Pot smokers can really stretch their dollars on the West Coast. It’s cheapest in Oregon, where high-quality pot sells for about $210 per ounce, followed by Washington ($232 per ounce) and California ($245 per ounce). Medical Marijuana is usually milder than its black market counterparts, in part because medical Cannabis users seek out varieties that treat specific conditions like nausea or arthritis. Of the 23 states that have legalized Medical Marijuana, only Arizona, California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New
This is because the federal government would regulate and tax Marijuana, similarly to alcohol and tobacco. The federal government on average collects close to 7 billion dollars a year just from tobacco. If Marijuana were to be legalized the taxes would be projected to be the same. This means an extra 7 billion dollars a year for use on programs and could be used to prosecute criminals for harsh crimes such as murder and robberies. An estimated 1,663,582 arrests were issued in 2009 alone, this is an extreme amount of arrests, and it’s aiding to the overcrowding of jails.