However, they don’t let people smoke marijuana, which treats the symptoms of cancer. It seems as if they allow people to use what is not healthy for our body, but won’t legalize a substance that is for recreational purposes. According to Scott Shane from the article of Entrepreneur, the legalization of marijuana had many economic benefits. “Policymakers can tax sales of the product - and are doing so relatively heavily. Both Washington and Colorado are charging a 25 percent tax on pot sales, with even higher rates in some municipalities. The non-partisan Tax Foundation estimates that Colorado will bring in nearly $70 million in new taxes, with initial proceeds being used for school construction. Because tax revenues are expected to exceed school building needs, Colorado public officials are already thinking of additional ways to use the tax windfall.” The government knew that legalizing marijuana was going to bring in a lot of money and that money would be distributed for good causes, such as construction among those states. By seeing that many people will still continue to use marijuana for their own personal use, they will find other ways to spend that money. A positive effect that resulted from legalizing marijuana was that now law enforcement can primarily focus on the other commonly used illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine. These illegal drugs are more likely …show more content…
Gene Johnson, from Legalizing Marijuana In Washington And Colorado Hasn 't Gotten Rid Of The Black Market states, “ A year into the nation 's experiment with legal, taxed marijuana sales, Washington and Colorado find themselves wrestling not with the federal interference many feared, but with competition from medical marijuana or even outright black market sales.” Since there are many dispensaries, it’s hard for businesses to compete because they also have to raise the taxes. “the number of patients on Colorado 's medical marijuana registry went up, not down, since 2012, meaning more marijuana users there can avoid paying the higher taxes that recreational pot carries. Officials in both states say they must do more to drive customers into the recreational stores. They 're looking at reining in their medical systems and fixing the big tax differential between medical and recreational weed without harming patients.” If the number of patients keeps going up, meaning they will avoid paying the higher taxes, they are going to lose money. That is why they want to fix the taxes so some people are not paying more than