Cannabis In California Essay

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Cannabis in California
In this essay I will explore the positive and negative effects of legalizing Cannabis in California. I support the legalization of Cannabis, these are my reasons why; If California does legalize Cannabis then it would decrease the money spent on drug enforcement and criminal persecution. Legalizing Cannabis would also reduce the value of the black market product. It would also generate revenue for the California economy because it would be a taxable item that is in high demand.
In the last few years there have been a few propositions to legalize Cannabis here in California. In 2009 the Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act was introduced to California legislators. The Act was to “remove penalties under state law for the cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for persons over the age of 21.”, although the proposition lost it was the first bill for the legalization of marijuana to be passed by a legislative committee, the Assembly Public Safety Committee. Since 1996 the Medical Marijuana program has allowed the use of Cannabis to patients that have Cancer, AIDS and other chronic illnesses. As of 2014 Cannabis is illegal to use or obtain without the consent from a doctor. The Cannabis Policy Reform Act of 2014 has not been approved. It is currently undergoing signatures to present it as a proposition during the November election.
The current issues about legalizing Cannabis in California are, if California legalizes Cannabis it still does not mean that federally it is legal. Since Colorado and Washington have legalized Cannabis the owners of the dispensaries are not protected like other businesses. Such as when time comes to transport money to banks the owners of the dispensaries have to us...

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...ging in from 4.7 billion to $29 billion a year.” (Katel). Drug smuggling does cause violent crime and if Cannabis was legal in California it would decrease the amount of violent crime. The Mexican cartels are making billions of dollars when some of that money could be going to the state of California from tax incentives.
The Cannabis Policy Reform Act of 2014 might not be on the ballot in this year’s election. The topic of legalizing Cannabis here in California has been around for over 20 years. After doing research on legalizing Cannabis I have found many reasons why California should legalize it, many of the reasons could benefit our economy. As well as the medical benefits it gives to many people suffering from cancer, AIDS and other illnesses. The pros and the cons both have compelling arguments but I believe that legalizing Cannabis would benefit California.

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