Legalizing and Taxing of marijuana

It is also one the the drugs that is less dangerous for the public than other drugs that are not legalized. Marijuana should be legalized in the rest of the states because it would reduce crime rates, generate revenue by the taxation of the substance, and its less dangerous of a drug then some of the depressants out there. Legalizing marijuana could bring down crime rates from each state. Instead of having to go to risky places to buy marijuana when you can just go to a local dispensary. According to Toke of the Town “ the rate of crime would go down cause they would be selling it in stores and would not have to go to the black market to get it and other crimes to buy it” ( Toke Of The Town).

Marijuana became dramatically more popular after its prohibition than it ever was before. Over one hundred million Americans have tried it, including the three most recent occupants of the Oval Office. Billions, perhaps tens of billions, of dollars are spent and earned illegally on it each year. Marijuana is routinely described as the first, second or third most lucrative agricultural crop in many states. And taxpayers are obliged to spend billions of their own dollars each year in support of futile efforts to enforce an unenforceable prohibition.

Marijuana… Pot... Weed...- all of these names define the illegal Cannabis. Most people argue that cannabis shouldn’t be legalized. They don’t know the positive factors of marijuana. The factors that can allow the economy to skyrocket. Marijuana should be legalized for three main reasons: as a crop, it’d bring in billions, it’d drop the crime activity, and marijuana has many health benefits.

One of the more controversial topics in America right now is the legalization and use of recreational marijuana. Currently two states (Colorado and Washington) have legalized its use for individuals who are 21 years or older. Colorado collected slightly more than $2 million in taxes on the sale of recreational marijuana in the month of January (Ingold, 2014). Extrapolating from those figures, recreational marijuana businesses did slightly more than $14 million in retail sales during the month (Ingold, 2014). In this piece, Colorado will be used as the model for the current state of recreational marijuana, additional tax revenues that are being generated (statewide), savings that could be realized by the government, and what impacts it may have if it were legalized on a federal level.

Many people believe that the legalization of marijuana with a high tax is sensible because it would place the demand curve in the same place as if it were criminalized, except with a tax the government would make money from the tax revenue. However, the issue of morality and then the costs and benefits to society must be taken into consideration to decide whether it should be legalized or not. Microeconomics always poses the questions of “What good to produce,” “How to Produce this good,” and “For whom should this good be produced?” In this case, the “What” that gets produced is marijuana in a private market. “How” this would be produced depends on the ideal of the economy. In a laissez-faire economy, the market would determine how much and if machines would be used to grow and tend marijuana.

The thought of arresting that many citizens for something so harmless is ridiculous. Marijuana should be legalized because it would increase national revenue, it has medical benefits, and it less harmful than alcohol and tobacco. What could our country do with 42 billion dollars? Perhaps the U.S Government could feed the poor or make higher education affordable. Those are just two of the many good causes that need funding from the American Government; however, the funds of the United States are as unhealthy as ever.

Were cannabis federally regulated, it would be far safer. The current war on drugs is not working and, were it legalized, a different, more effective approach could be taken. Finally, the potential tax revenue from the market is enormous. All of these reasons add up to one definitive answer: marijuana should be legalized in Utah. To start, I would like to address the current war on drugs.

With all these benefits, why is marijuana still illegal. The positive effects of legalization clearly outweigh the negative effects. Think of how many things would benefit if marijuana was legal: the economy, trees, unemployment, the national debt, and people who need that extra help to relax and have a good time. We should take advantage of what the plant has to offer, and stop trying to prevent a couple of kids getting high.

Other drugs? Definitely not. The health and social ills pose too great of a risk to society to legalize those kinds of drugs. But marijuana on the other hand helps people with health issues, produces tax revenue from states and takes drug money off of the streets. In my own opinion I believe marijuana should be the only dug legalized.

Marijuana, if legalized, will almost certainly be taxed by the federal government, generating cash-flow while still keeping prices reasonable. The price of marijuana would also drop exponentially, because the dangers of smuggling and police raids will be eliminated. Legalized marijuana would likely to legal to grow as well, but require some sort of permit, or license to distribute. Just like any other... ... middle of paper ... ...0080205147/cannabis-news/marijuana-replaces-ritalin-in-treatment-for-add/adhd-video.html>. Jillette, Penn, and Teller "War on Drugs."