Cannabis Should Be Legalized In The United States

Recreational Cannabis is the Future

If people can be helped, why deny the cure? The simple solution is easily excessive. Cannabis should be legalized because governments can earn substantial revenue, decrease the prison population, and can counter other drug addictions.

Marijuana legalization boosts the economy. “The marijuana industry (adult-use and medical) in the United States could exceed $24 billion in revenue by 2025” (Borchardt). “Tourism, banking, food, real estate, construction, and transportation are a few of the industries that benefit from legal marijuana” (Borchardt). Legalizing the sale of marijuana increases jobs, which benefit the communities. The tax money that the state would make, would help out that states schools, colleges

and new roads. Legal marijuana industry generated $7.2 billion in economic activity in 2016, and added millions of dollars in federal taxes paid by cannabis businesses” (Borchardt). “In Colorado, marijuana brings in three times more tax revenue than alcohol. The state raised $78 million in the first fiscal year after starting retail sales, and $129 million the second fiscal year. Washington collected a total of $220 million in tax revenues in its second fiscal year of sales” (Borchardt). Where marijuana has been legalized, more taxes have been generated and this benefits the government. The amount of money the state would have just from marijuana taxes, they would be able to do so much for example, more scholarships, more jobs for the people and even more money to the state.
Legalizing marijuana would end the costly enforcement of marijuana laws and free up police resources.

“Arresting people for marijuana possession costs the United States between $1.19 billion and $6.03 billion annually” (Wegman). “These costs include police, judicial, legal, and corrections expenses. Incarcerating marijuana offenders costs the United States an estimated $600 million per year” (Wegmen). Less tax payer money would be going into prisons and jails, which benefits the state. The amount of money that the state uses to put people in prison or jail for marijuana possessions is outrages. “ Marijuana legalization in Washington significantly freed up law enforcement resources; marijuana possession arrests dropped from 5,531 the year before legalization to 120 the year after” (Becket). “Howard Wooldridge, a former police detective from Michigan who co-founded LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition), said, ‘Marijuana prohibition is a horrible waste of good police time. Every hour spent looking for pot reduces public safety’” (Lee). Instead of arresting people for marijuana, police officers could focus on serious crimes including rape, assault and homicide. The state would be able to save countless amounts of tax payer money making the tax cost go down plus prisons are for criminals not lazy pot

heads.
Crime and drug use goes down when marijuana is legalized. “Studies show that medical marijuana dispensaries decreased crime in their neighborhoods because of an increased security presence and more people walking around the area”(University). Research indicates that people drink less and alcohol sales drop in places where marijuana is legalized. (Anderson). People that are addicts can fight their addictions using medical cannabis. People in a recreational state don’t need hardcore pills that will hurt them later in life. According to FBI crime statistics, violent crime in Washington decreased in the years after legalization: 295.6 violent offenses reported per 100,000 Washington residents in 2011 vs. 284.4 violent offenses per 100,000 people in 2015”(Santos). Stephen Downing, a retired deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said, "There's no question that ending today's prohibition on drugs -- starting with marijuana -- would do more to hurt the cartels than any level of law enforcement skill or dedication ever can" (Downing). Doctors prescribe narcotics to everyone and if medical marijuana was legalized they wouldn’t have to get civilians hooked to narcotics. People don’t have to addicted to opioids, there is a way people can do without pain pills.
Stop paying outrages prices for prescriptions when there is a simpler solution.

You wouldn’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for medicine that may not even work. Marijuana is able to cure many treatments, and many of these treatments are very expensive. The government is making so much money off of treatments that could be cured by cannabis so why would they want to legalize it?

Work Cited

Borchardt, Debra. "Marijuana Industry Projected to Create More Jobs Than Manufacturing by

2020." Forbes, 22 Feb. 2017, www.forbes.com. Accessed 20 April 2018.

Wegman, Jesse. "The Injustice of Marijuana Arrests." New York Times, 28 July 2014,

www.nytimes.com. Accessed 24 April 2018.

Beckett, Katherine, et al. "The Consequences and Costs of Marijuana Prohibition." Washington

Post, 8 January 2018, www.washington.edu. Accessed 25 April 2018.

Lee, Martin. “Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana - Medical, Recreational

and
Scientific.” 2013.
University of California. "Closing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Increases Crime, According to New Study.” Science Daily, 11 July 2017, www.sciencedaily.com. Accessed 24 April 2018.

Anderson, Mark, et al., "Medical Marijuana Laws, Traffic Fatalities, and Alcohol Consumption.” Dmarkanderson, Oct. 2018, www.dmarkanderson.com. Accessed 24 April 2018.

Santos, Melissa. "What Actually Happened to Violent Crime after Washington Legalized Marijuana," The News Tribune, 26 July 2017, www.thenewstribune.com. Accessed 24 April 2018.

Downing, Stephan. "Drug War: What Prohibition Costs Us [Blowback]." LA Times, 6 Oct. 2011, www.latimes.com. Accessed 25 April 2018.