Legalizing Marijuana has been a common subject for debate in the United States. As the debate continues on in the political system, marijuana has become the most popular illegal drug in the United States. There are many arguments for and against the legalization of marijuana ranging from the effects on the mind and body to the economic possibilities after legalization. Both sides embrace strong facts and stronger support, but much of these facts consist of similar research with contradicting results. The side that tends to have the most and the strongest support in the most prominent arguments, economics, health, and criminal association, is the group for legalizing marijuana. Drug dealers and cartels finance their operations and become rich off of their black market drug sales. This begs the question, if they can do it why can’t the American government achieve the same while also erasing the business away from the cartels? An Attorney (Andrew Cohen) says “income from such taxation could generate billions in new revenues and billions more in enforcement savings”. In fact it is estimated that the taxation of marijuana would produce revenues of approximately $2.4 billion per year if marijuana was taxed like any other normal consumer good. (Time to Legalize Marijuana?) If, however, the tax was similar to that of alcohol or cigarettes the produced revenue would be closer to approximately $6.2 billion per year. Over 500 economists support the legalization of marijuana including many notable economists such as Milton Friedman and George Akerlof. (Time to Legalize Marijuana?) Marijuana legalization has the serious economic benefits of producing billions of dollars of extra revenues which, in times like these, could be a large s... ... middle of paper ... ...r own will. Cigarette smokers have used this excuse to be allowed to smoke in many public places. Not only is marijuana less dangerous than cigarettes and alcohol, but it can also be used for medicinal purposes. This is all without saying that hemp, the plant itself, can be used for many more reasons such as a cheap substitute for paper, to make clothing, and even a possible new fuel source. Marijuana is commonly used medically for a variety of reasons, including the use of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, to help with certain conditions. Not to mention how much the legalization of it could help the economy. Works Cited http://economics.about.com/od/incometaxestaxcuts/a/legalize_pot.htm http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/25/opinion/courtwatch/main4828659.shtml http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/30 http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/
The people who would benefit the most from the legalization of marijuana are the terminally ill. These people are not criminals at heart, because they only require marijuana as a way to bring relief from their ailments. Moreover, a government should feel obligated to provide terminally ill patients with marijuana to relieve pain. Governments such as Canada and the United States are supposed help its’ people, and by legalizing marijuana, many terminally ill citizens will feel less pain and suffering. If marijuana were to become legalized, governments could make a large amount of revenue through taxes. In the United States, billions of dollars each year in revenue are produced through tobacco taxes (Caputo and Ostrom 484). If marijuana became a manufactured product, the government could set taxes on the sale of that product. Once legalized and regulated by the government, the money raised through taxes could be used to improve the country.
...es more paper than a regular tree, so people who consume the hemp products is another way to help the forest grow, and allow the animals to footing instead of extinct. Moreover, legalizing marijuana is able to create a lot of jobs for many people for production because hemp can be used to make oil, clothing, soaps, lip balms butter, and rope. Therefore, legalizing marijuana will be made the society safer and more valuable.
Here, I am writing about topic “Should Marijuana Be Legalized in the United States?” Since 1961 marijuana has been ill-gotten within the U. S. however within the 2012 election Colorado and Washington voters determined they needed that to alter. Marijuana has terribly valuable medical use to patients laid low with some terminal diseases. It additionally features a terribly valuable industrial use with the cultivation of hemp from the cannabis plant. In conjunction with this marijuana is additionally a fun narcotic that's employed by several to make a fun social surroundings among friends. The legalization of marijuana would create it therefore enforcement might stop wasting their time with non-violent marijuana users and pay it on finding the $64000 criminals within the U.S... There are some arguments from the people who want to Marijuana should be legalized.
Marijuana has a greater beneficial impact on society then many people realize. Marijuana should be legalized for medical as well as recreational purposes. This is a highly controversial issue that is being debated throughout the country. In essence marijuana is evaluated by the effectiveness of the drug. It is defined as the dried flowered clusters and leaves of a hemp plant smoked for the intoxicating effect. Whether it should be legalized or not is the real question.
The legalization of marijuana has been a highly debated topic for many of years. Since the first president to the most recent, our nation’s leaders have consumed the plant known as weed. With such influential figures openly using this drug why is it so frowned upon? Marijuana is considered a gateway drug, a menace to society, and mentally harmful to its consumers. For some people weed brings a sense of anxiety, dizziness, or unsettling feeling. Like alcohol, tobacco or any other drug, those chemicals may not respond well with their body. For other people marijuana brings joy, a sense of relief, and takes the edge off of every day stress. For those who are associated with cannabis, purposes usually range from a relaxant, or cash crop, to more permissible uses such as medicine, and ingredient to make so many other materials. We now need to look at what would change if marijuana were legal. Benefits to the economy and agriculture, health issues, and crime rates are three areas worth looking at. Deliberating on the pros and cons of this plant we can get a better understanding for marijuana. From there it will be easier to make a clear consensus on what is best for the nation.
The cannabis plant has been the topic of much debate throughout the history of this country. Many people don't know that it was not the effect of cannabis that originally spurred its banning. It was actually originally the work of the cotton industry who put big money behind illegalization for the plant's mind altering effects. The cotton industry was afraid that hemp, a product of the cannabis plant, would soon overpower the strong hold of cotton since it was a more durable textile that required less work, less ground depletion, and could be grown almost anywhere. Since the time when cannabis first became illegal it has been grouped with other narcotics as a counterpart. The truth is cannabis has many benefits to society and other than the effects of smoke inhalation has very few negatives. Those against legalization try to put cannabis in the same light as other more potent drugs like cocaine and heroin. There are many misconceptions about the substance and it is clear it should be looked at separately.
In the last fiscal year alone, marijuana brought 70 million dollars in tax revenue in the state of Colorado. Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana recreationally in the fall of 2012, and since then three other states and the District of Columbia have legalized the plant. Based off of sales in states that have legalized marijuana recreationally, if all fifty states legalized marijuana, they would bring in a combined 3 billion dollars in tax revenue yearly. That much money from sales of the plant alone could help to stabilize the suffering economy. Moreover, the American Government would be able to control the plant and distribute it how ever they see fit. The economic growth marijuana legalization could bring to the United States outweighs any argument against
The legalization of marijuana has the potential to bring our economy back to life if it were to be legalized. There are a number of ways in which legalization could improve the economy. We could use the revenue from taxes on marijuana to provide for a better quality of life for Americans in need. Legalizing marijuana would also save us money by cutting the cost of putting someone in jail for harmless marijuana related charges that waste tax money. Also it would put more money into circulation by keeping the profits off the black market and into the legal and taxed market. With an estimated twenty-five million active marijuana smokers in America that consume nearly thirty-one million pounds of marijuana each year, we are missing out on extreme revenue that this country cannot afford to go without for much longer (Krulick).
Let’s begin with US revenue gain that would occur from legalizing marijuana. Marijuana Offers Extreme US revenue boost in several different ways. Shouldn’t we want to collect revenue due to taxation other then criminalization? Marijuana is too expensive for our justice system and should inst...
Cannabis is a natural plant that has been made illegal by the United States, and has been a controversial topic ever since the 1920’s. Marijuana is a substance that has been used hundreds of years ago as an herbal medicine and also can be used for textile products from hemp, which is from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Because of marijuana being categorized as a schedule one substance, it has no medical value and cannot be researched in the United States. Marijuana is said to be a gateway drug and is very unhealthy for adolescents with premature brains. The marijuana prohibition should finally come to a close because there are many benefits from cannabis and it is less harmful than both alcohol and tobacco.
The legalization of marijuana will have a huge impact on the economics of the United States to the point that I feel that government will assist in the continuation of these companies. If it is passed in the government the selling of marijuana could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. Colorado is the latest state that has approved the selling of marijuana for recreational use. This topic has been tossed around by the officials for years now. Legislators in Colorado have “consider excise and sales taxes on marijuana of up to 30 percent combined” (Frosch, 2013). With the rapidly growing market and marijuana industry rules and regulations had to be put into place. Even this tax charge needs to be implemented and enforced. “These taxes are set high enough to finance the administration of new laws, but not so high that customers are driven back to the black market” (Frosch, 2013). There are many financial benefits as a state can help pay for the enforcement and other fundamental issues. One bad thing about taxing so high is that you can simply crowd out the regulated market. It is important to find the right balan...
Against Marijuana Legalization Should Marijuana Be Legalized? In society today, many people look for a feeling of freedom. Many people go on vacation and spend money. The most common escape for people is drugs. Our American society is facing a tremendous drug problem.
With America’s war on drugs being highly focused on the increased use of marijuana, there is not much time for officers to focus on crimes of greater importance. Crimes related to illegal marijuana use are becoming more problematic due to drug deals that go bad, occasionally ending with murder. It has been estimated that one marijuana-related arrest is made every 42 seconds. With marijuana being illegal, keeping crime related activities under control cost the United States approximately twenty billion dollars per year (Sledge). According to Brian Bremner and Vincent Del Giudice, “A 2010 study by the libertarian Cato Institute, forecasted that states could save $17.4 billion annually from reduced drug enforcement costs and increased tax revenue, assuming marijuana production and sales were legal nationwide” (11). Several law enforcement hours are exhausted with pursing, questioning, and arresting citizens that are in possession of or consuming marijuana. There would be a decrease in the number of misdemeanor possession cases that are pending hearing. These cases would be dismissed, decreasing costs affiliated with each case. There are excessive numbers of people who remain incarcerated for nonviolent crimes related to illegal marijuana use. Legalizing marijuana would allow these people to be released, opening jail space for the true criminals. Legalizing marijuana would free up law enforcement officers from focusing on illegal marijuana use and allow focus to be put on more serious
For thousands of years human beings have attempted to find ways to get passed the struggles of their lives. With the pain of the world stopping people from enjoying simple pleasures, sometimes there is a need for help. Marijuana brings millions of people relief from the pain they feel on a day-to-day basis. This completely natural plant which helped so many people has puzzled the leaders of our nation for a long time. The THC in marijuana causes its users to experience a mild-huluciginic or high. The effect that marijuana has on a person has prevented the product from being legalized. Many other details about the plant, like the speculation of it being a gateway drug, have put another blockage on its legalization. Even though there are speculations about the plant, the benefit that it brings to the table most definitely out way its disadvantages. The plants help benefit by supplying us as a natural ingredient for medicine; however, nowadays, some people have been using it wrongly. Should marijuana be legalized? Many Americans have this question roaming through their heads. Marijuana is an illegal drug in the U.S. and many other countries; it comes from dried flowers and leaves of the hemp plant. It has been available since the 1960s, but is 20 times more potent than before. Many youngsters believe that marijuana should be illegalized. However, they fail to know its many long term side effects. In the long run marijuana usage has a very high effect on the person’s body. Also, it’s known for a fact that marijuana has a high rate for addiction. Some people also believe that marijuana is accepted as medical use; however this is not true. In my eyes, marijuana is illegal for extremely powerful reasons, and it should stay that way. As...
In the perspective of America's war on drugs, marijuana is one of the biggest enemies. And since alcohol and tobacco, two life threatening substances, are legal it is a relevant question to ask why marijuana is illegal. The taxpayers of America can partly answer this question when they fill out their tax forms and when they hear the hash rhetoric used against marijuana by the government. The fact that marijuana is illegal is sufficiently caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. In other words, the government cannot turn back now.