Research Paper Assignment
Why the use of marijuana should be legal in the U.S.
Stephen Elliott
For over 80 years marijuana has been portrayed as a dangerous drug which in turn has cost the United States around $7 Billion annually. Marijuana Timeline (n.d.). Although marijuana is categorized as a schedule I drug grouped with drugs such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote it still has many practical uses in today’s society. DEA / Drug Scheduling. (n.d.). If the federal government of the United States legalized marijuana for recreational use we could save more than $2 billion dollars spent by the federal government and more than $5 billion dollars spent by the state level by not prosecuting individuals for possession …show more content…
The purpose of this paper is to explain why the United States should legalize the use of marijuana across the country. The amount of money that is generated by the illegal sale of marijuana each year is astronomical. It is estimated that if the state of California legalized marijuana the annual revenue that it could produce is somewhere around $1,400,000,000. Drug War Statistics (n.d.). In order for the state of California to bring in that large amount of revenue the state would in turn need to legalize and regulate marijuana. The state would also need to tax marijuana at a rate that is similar to the rates on tobacco and alcohol. A Harvard economist named Jeffrey Miron has estimated that the U.S. federal government spends more than $2 billion dollars each year enforcing anti-marijuana laws. The High Cost of Marijuana Prohibition in U.S. (2014). That $2.4 billion dollars is in addition to the $5.3 billion dollars that local and state governments are spending to fight the same war on marijuana.Your Tax Dollars on Drugs. …show more content…
The main breakdowns for these incomes are excise tax, sales tax, enforcement savings and the hemp industry. Those numbers are based solely on the tax revenue that could be generated by legalizing marijuana and do not include the amount of money that the United States could save from the reduction of criminal charges including possession. Gieringer, D. (1994, June) Although marijuana has been illegal for around 80 years it is time for the United States to legalize it and start making a profit from something that is so common in our society. Marijuana Timeline (n.d.). Marijuana has been portrayed as a dangerous drug which in turn has cost the United States around $7 Billion annually. The High Cost of Marijuana Prohibition in U.S. (2014). By placing marijuana in the same group of drugs such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote doesn’t make sense due to the medicinal uses that it can have on our society. DEA / Drug Scheduling.
Why the use of marijuana should be legal in the U.S.
Stephen Elliott
For over 80 years marijuana has been portrayed as a dangerous drug which in turn has cost the United States around $7 Billion annually. Marijuana Timeline (n.d.). Although marijuana is categorized as a schedule I drug grouped with drugs such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote it still has many practical uses in today’s society. DEA / Drug Scheduling. (n.d.). If the federal government of the United States legalized marijuana for recreational use we could save more than $2 billion dollars spent by the federal government and more than $5 billion dollars spent by the state level by not prosecuting individuals for possession …show more content…
The purpose of this paper is to explain why the United States should legalize the use of marijuana across the country. The amount of money that is generated by the illegal sale of marijuana each year is astronomical. It is estimated that if the state of California legalized marijuana the annual revenue that it could produce is somewhere around $1,400,000,000. Drug War Statistics (n.d.). In order for the state of California to bring in that large amount of revenue the state would in turn need to legalize and regulate marijuana. The state would also need to tax marijuana at a rate that is similar to the rates on tobacco and alcohol. A Harvard economist named Jeffrey Miron has estimated that the U.S. federal government spends more than $2 billion dollars each year enforcing anti-marijuana laws. The High Cost of Marijuana Prohibition in U.S. (2014). That $2.4 billion dollars is in addition to the $5.3 billion dollars that local and state governments are spending to fight the same war on marijuana.Your Tax Dollars on Drugs. …show more content…
The main breakdowns for these incomes are excise tax, sales tax, enforcement savings and the hemp industry. Those numbers are based solely on the tax revenue that could be generated by legalizing marijuana and do not include the amount of money that the United States could save from the reduction of criminal charges including possession. Gieringer, D. (1994, June) Although marijuana has been illegal for around 80 years it is time for the United States to legalize it and start making a profit from something that is so common in our society. Marijuana Timeline (n.d.). Marijuana has been portrayed as a dangerous drug which in turn has cost the United States around $7 Billion annually. The High Cost of Marijuana Prohibition in U.S. (2014). By placing marijuana in the same group of drugs such as heroin, LSD, ecstasy, methaqualone, and peyote doesn’t make sense due to the medicinal uses that it can have on our society. DEA / Drug Scheduling.