High Dreams: Taxing Marijuana

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High Dreams
Taxing marijuana would be an asset to this country’s economy by helping them with the debts, rebuilding schools, and lowering crime rates. According to Matt Ferner of the Huffington Post, since Colorado legalized marijuana the state has made $600 million in combined wholesale and retail sales (Ferner). This can be great because the United States could pay off much of its debts. That amount of money was earned through a 25 percent tax on retail purchasing, including a 15 percent excise tax, and a 10 percent sales tax (Ferner). Another asset of taxing marijuana is that the government can give some of the money to the public. Some of this money can go to schools, hospitals, and medical treatments. The rest can go to creating new office buildings for people that have no jobs or got laid off can go start a career with a new company. This taxation money can used to fix our roads and fix all the bumps that people are hitting and popping their tires.
According to Nick Allen, Colorado was the first US state to license and tax sales of the drug for recreational use (Allen). Nick Allen, a reporter for the Daily Telegraph, there are now 163 cannabis shops in the state (Allen). Allen said marijuana is currently selling for more than $202 an ounce. The governor said the latest estimates were based on “a number of assumptions of the new industry” and included “variables” like the number of tourists visiting to buy the drug (Allen). The state is using the first $40 million it collects in taxes each year to build schools (Allen).
Although marijuana is legal there are efforts by the government to control use. Since marijuana use is only for adults 21 year of age and up, it would include efforts to prevent cannabis use by teenagers, ...

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... Apr. 2014.
Harpaz, Joe. "How Tax Could Blunt The Growth Of The Legal Marijuana Market."
Forbes. Forbes, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Hotakainen, Rob. "Marijuana Industry Eager to Pay Taxes and Cash in on Deductions."
McClatchy Washington Bureau 16 Aug. 2013: n. pag. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
Migoya, David. "Lack of Banking Opens Private Money Doors for Marijuana Properties." San Jose Mercury News 7 Apr. 2014: n. pag. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
NBC. "NBC: Co Pot Tax Revenue Could Be Double Alcohol." KGW. KGW, 3 Feb. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.
"Pot Legalization Could Save U.S. $13.7 Billion Per Year, 300 Economists Say." Huffingtonpost. Huffingtonpost, 17 Apr. 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Wilson, Reid. "Growing Is Slow For Washington State's Marijuana Industry."Washington Post 9 Apr. 2014: n. pag. LexisNexis Academic. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

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