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.
Marijuana As A Crop
As a crop, cannabis would bring in more money than corn and wheat combined; around 100 billion dollars annually. The illegal market of it already brings in 10 to 100 billion yearly. If cannabis were to become legal, there’s a possibility that it’d even pass the smartphone market. Just imagine it: a country where the smartphone market makes less money than a plant. Colorado did the bright idea and legalized it; same with Washington.
“In 2013, 52% thought that marijuana should be legalized with 45% opposed” Just legalization of this plant would allow the economy to boost. “Residents can currently purchase up to an ounce of marijuana at one time for recreational purposes. Non-residents can purchase up to a quarter ounce. State officials expect up to $578,000,000 in first-year sales revenue, as well as $67 million in tax revenue, which will be used to build schools and fund regulatory efforts” (Miles). That’s quite a bit of money for just a plant. If state officials expect that much from first-year revenues, then wouldn’t it be a smart idea to legalize it?
Legalization
Not only would legalization cause the economy to experience a large growth, it’d also drop plenty of the crime activity. “The 658,000 arrests for simple possession of marijuana [are] made annually. That’s equivalent to the population of Boston being handcuffed e...
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Miles, Chris. "This Is the First Map to Prove How Valuable Legalizing Marijuana Would Be For America." PolicyMic. N.p., 09 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. .
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...Marijuana is also a major cash crop and has the potential to be America’s largest cash crop. Medical Marijuana has been legalized in twelve United States including California. California has legalized medical marijuana and has had great success. Marijuana is California’s largest cash crop, raking in billions of dollars a year which is helping California’s debt. If America legalized and taxed marijuana, we could see the economy flourish and could help us break this recession.
middle of paper ... ... Should Marijuana Be Legalized? San Diego, CA: Reference Paint, Zoll.
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The legalization of marijuana would let loose the floodgates of free enterprise allowing capitalism to generate marijuana distribution and manufacture corporations which will generate billions upon billions of dollars. 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...
Marijuana is the cause of much commotion and debate, as the question of legalization becomes more of an issue. Drugs are a major influential force in countries all over the world today. Legalization is an option that has not had a chance, but really should be given one. Although many people feel that legalizing marijuana would increase the amount of drug use, legalization would benefit for the following reasons: 1)reduction of money spent on law enforcement 2)increase in the countries revenue 3)lessen crime 4)useful in treating certain medical conditions. Many feel today we are losing the war on drugs.
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 Budgetary Effects of Marijuana Prohibition claim that prison expenses add up to around $14 billion a year for tax payers (Friedman). Marijuana is truly a menace and the high level of police attention required is eating up tax payer’s money. This constant battle known as, “The War on Drugs” has been going on for around 75 years now and has only gotten worse in the recent years. Not only is this drug harmful to society in the sense of money, it can also impair vision and reaction time. Researchers have found that THC activates microglial cells, which are immune cells in the cerebellum.
Following the federal legalization of cannabis, the United States economy will strengthen and America’s crime rate will decrease because of the legal, taxed distribution of the drug. Lawful marijuana use in the United States will increase our medical and environmental resources, our economy as well as decrease the national crime rate. Overall, the legalization and regulation of marijuana will improve the lives of Americans nationally by a decreased crime rate, a boost in the economy, as well as local dispensaries. Soon it won’t be drug dealers on your street corners, but rather proud business owners.
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).
Walsh, John. "Q&A: Legal Marijuana in Colorado and Washington." The Brookings Institution. Washington Office on Latin America, 21 May 2013. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
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...
Benton, Jim. "Marijuana Legalization as an Economic Stimulus." Mytpmblog.com. 13 Feb. 2009. 27 Apr. 2009.