Marijuana has become a controversial topic, whether it be to legalize it completely, legalize it medically, or to continue the illegalization of it. Although there are many different opinions about whether or not to legalize marijuana, it will remain a controversial topic. In the past year, Governing.com states that Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, Maine, and Alaska have legalized the use of marijuana medically and recreationally, but have set limits on how it is used in their state. The recreational and medical use of marijuana should be legalized in the United States. Marijuana should be legalized medically as well as recreationally in the United States because it is safer than alcohol; it has been proven effective as a medicinal drug; and, the tax revenue in the US could increase drastically.
Marijuana is a
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She has written books produced videos, teaches and produces her art” (Beard). The use of marijuana cured her MS, and she got to live her life as a normal person. As seen from factual information, medicinal use of marijuana should be utilized into hospitals to help save and better the lives of people.
With marijuana being a popular recreational drug, people are starting to consume, grow, and sell the drug to get a profit. If cannabis is put onto the market in the United States and taxed, revenue would increase drastically. In the article “State Taxation of Marijuana Distribution and Other Federal Crimes,” author Robert A. Mikos, asserts, ̈Commentators suggest that legalizing and taxing marijuana could generate substantial revenues for beleaguered states governments as much as $1.4 billion for California alone" (Mikos). If the government would tax the drug, the United States and would get abstract amounts of revenue. The US could use this income to expanding and improve our country for the better. This money could also go to help pay the debt that the US has with China and other countries in the
and article ‘Potential Tax Revenue from a Regulated Marijuana Market: A Meaningful Revenue Source’ by Michael R. Caputo and Brian J. Ostrom states, “The demand for marijuana has created a multi-billion dollar industry.” If the Drug Enforcement Administration would allow marijuana to become legal, it could potentially boost our economy due to taxation, create employment through marijuana dispensary collectives as well as stores, and provide another source of revenue in each state. “... A consumption of 13,600 metric tons would entail 38 million people smoking one gram each, 365 days a year ” The concept of taxing marijuana would essentially be exactly the same as how the government taxes cigarettes or alcohol today.
But the financial benefits of legalization go beyond taxing the sale of marijuana and keeping drug money out of the hands of criminals. All across the nation, wherever the drug is illegal, state and local governments spend enormous sums of money on the enforcement of marijuana laws, the prosecution of offenders, and incarceration of the convicted. The Wall Street Journal estimates that the American taxpayer spends $40 billion per year on the administrative costs associated with the criminalization of marijuana (Becker). On the state level, we can again look to the example of Colorado. Conservative estimates by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy show that legalization will save the state $40 million per year by no longer administering marijuana laws (Drug Policy Alliance).
Everyday patients are visiting their doctors in a desperate search for help with their problems, some physical and some psychological. Far too often in today’s troubled society a doctor is quick to hand their patient a prescription for a powerful and potentially harmful substance. The prescriptions could include drugs such as benzodiazepines for psychological problems and epilepsy, or opioids for pain. Both of those substances can have substantially dangerous and adverse effects and could lead to addiction and even death. Marijuana is a much safer and more naturally occurring substance that can be used for all of the previously listed purposes.
(Rabinski, 2015) The Huffington Post listed the many economic advantages of legalizing medical marijuana in the story “14 Ways Marijuana Legalization Could Boost the Economy” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/07/marijuana-economy-14-reasons_n_2089107.html). Some of the surprising benefits include: • $13.7 billion saved on prohibition enforcement costs • Estimated $500 million in tax revenue for Washington State • Estimated $60 million saved by Colorado legalization • Legalization could reduce marijuana prices • Huge prison cost savings (for prisoners on marijuana-related charges) • Marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers $41.8 billion a year • California marijuana crop worth $14 billion a
The Colorado Springs Business Journal reports that Colorado made 60 million dollars for the state in combined savings and additional tax revenue. This is just another example to show that marijuana has a great track record in helping the state and local economy. The Huffington Post also states that “TIMES reports say that marijuana growers account for 14 billion dollars a year in sales in California, making it the state’s most valuable cash crop”. If
Marijuana is not only seen as a drug, but seen as a vital medication. To some people, it’s used as a cure. They don’t use it to get “high” or to relive their teenage years, but they use it to keep themselves out of pain and suffrage. Some patients spend hundreds of dollars on medication
Then the government could legalize the sales and would be able to control it. Governments could ensure that people are being given high-quality cannabis, so they would not have to risk the dangers of obtaining it illegally. In addition, the government would tax its sale therefore increasing government profits and boosting the economy. In one year, for example, Oregon raised over 6.7 million dollars in marijuana taxes, which it used to pay for other state health programs (Krulick). Legalization would also allow more studies on the subject, leading to a better understanding of its long-term health effects.
By taxing marijuana it could put money back into our government when people buy it. America taxes anywhere from $10-14 billion per year, money that could be spent on education and health. Almost 8.2 million people were arrested for weed related crimes between 2001 and 2010, 52% of the drug arrests were pot related incidents. Of the 8.2 million arrests, only 6% were for sale marijuana. Most people were going to jail for possessing the
California has benefited greatly from being the first state to legalize medical marijuana; other states have benefited greatly from legalizing marijuana, just like California. Considering the growing scientific research that supports its effectiveness in the medical field, medical marijuana should be legalized across the United States. It should be legalized because it reduces pain and can slow down side effects of disorders, medical professionals support its legalization, it has no health risks to the user, and it is non-addictive for medical purposes. Medical marijuana has been proven to alleviate pain in patients with diseases or disorders that cause them daily pain. The way that marijuana is processed is through the brain receptors.
Taxing medical marijuana is not a bad idea either in Colorado’s dispensaries brought in $200 million in sales in the year 2000. Colorado only has a 2.9% sales tax on medical marijuana. This shows that if we put a little bit of a sales tax on medical marijuana and made in legal here we could make a lot of money off it. This idea would also lower Government spending. As taxpayers a big portion of the taxes we pay is to keep people in jail, in particular, would be the people sitting in jail who self medicated with medical marijuana because they feel they should be allowed to, and they are
The prohibition of Marijuana has caused tremendous social expenses and has ultimately failed citizens of the United States. Legalization of this substance has proven in many areas to be beneficial, and by doing so could create jobs, save lives, and save you tax dollars. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, 52% of all arrests in 2010 were for marijuana. From 2001 to 2010, of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests, 88% were made due to the civilian simply being in possession of the substance; which is legalized in multiple states. States waste an average of $3,613,969,972 enforcing marijuana laws, which has miserably failed at keeping Americans away from the drug, while an average of 30 million citizens use it every year.
In the medical field, scientist and doctors are always trying to find new ways to help patients. Whether it is surgery techniques to new medicines. Marijuana would truly help patients off all sorts of sickness, it helps with cancer, diabetes, AIDS/HIV and many others.
Why Marijuana Should be Legal Marijuana is a very prominent issue in society today. Many false and slanderous things have been said about marijuana in recent times. But the truth about marijuana continues to reveal itself. Sadly these truths are being criticised because of the stereotypical view that many people call the typical “pot smoker”.
“We don’t know the size of the marijuana market right now, and we certainly don’t know what would happen to the price and the demand for marijuana under different levels of legalization,” Carl Davis, senior analyst at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy told The Huffington Post. “But we do know that legalization would lead to a positive revenue impact on the income and sales tax side.” The researchers assume that legalized marijuana would be taxed similarly to alcohol and tobacco and that the income earned by pot producers would be subject to standard income and sales tax. Taxes aren’t the only source of revenue that would come from legalizing marijuana , according to the study. State and local governments also stand to save billions of dollars that they currently spend regulating marijuana use.
The dispute to legalize marijuana in the United States has been a constant battle throughout its existence. Marijuana has been proven to provide a very positive impact on American society for many reasons. Marijuana should be legalized to assist America’s economy, health benefits, and crime rate. Legalizing marijuana can benefit the economy because there are billions of dollars being lost.