The Financial Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana

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For over a century, marijuana has been illegal in the United States and in a lot of cases it remains prohibited because it has been prohibited for so long. Laws in California and Colorado are currently popular in the media because they are legalizing and taxing marijuana production and distribution. After adding sales and excise taxes to the sales price in these states, consumers are purchasing marijuana legally for a lower price than its black market price. Revenue gained from taxes in these states is being put towards such things as education and regulation of the substance. The responsible disbursing of marijuana tax is being exemplified in California and Colorado. Be that as it may, people continue to argue against legalizing and taxing marijuana for such reasons as its negative health effects, the ability of individuals to evade taxes on cannabis, and its legalization spreading to other states. Those opposed to changing marijuana laws stand firm in their beliefs that spending tax dollars on incarcerating and policing marijuana users and distributors is beneficial to society. In turn, the current state of affairs remains unchanged, funneling billions of untaxed dollars in to the black market each year. If marijuana were legalized, the black market would see no other outcome than losing that capital to its competitor, state governments and hopefully the federal government as well. The theory that collecting taxes on marijuana, otherwise purchased untaxed through the black market, boosts state economies more than spending tax revenues on policing it as an illegal substance is a difficult theory to disprove.

Although policing and incarcerating marijuana-related criminals certainly costs the government more than generating tax ...

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Oldham, J. (2013, November 4). Marijuana Vote in Colorado Weighs 25% Tax. In Bloomberg | Personal Finance. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-05/marijuana-vote-in-colorado-weighs-25-tax-for-recreation.html

Passie, T., Emrich, H. M., Karst, M., Brandt, S. D., and Halpern, J. H. (2012, June 26). Mitigation of post-traumatic stress symptoms by Cannabis resin: a review of the clinical and neurobiological evidence. In US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22736575

Woo, S. (2009, April 30). Oakland Council Backs a Tax on Marijuana. In The Wall Street Journal | Politics and Policy. Retrieved November 15, 2014, from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB124105239168771233

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