Although it may be hard for some to see, especially when having used the substance, the pros of legalizing marijuana throughout the United States ultimately outweigh the cons.
While I personally don’t smoke marijuana, I believe that the legalization of marijuana will produce much needed revenue for states, provide a safer, more controlled product and perhaps take the forbidden element away which will make it less enticing for young people.
I feel that from an economic standpoint, the legalization of marijuana is a no-brainer. The United States is currently saddled with staggering debt, and the legalization of marijuana could help shed some of it.
The news that Colorado legalized marijuana in 2012 was nationwide news. The law stated that any adult over 21 may possess up to one ounce of marijuana and adults can grow up to six plants for private use. Shortly after, the state of Washington passed a similar law.
When these two states passed the laws to legalize marijuana, many people made assumptions that the people of Colorado and Washington are states full of avid weed smokers. One cannot generalize entirely. In reality, we should look to these states for research on how the recent legalization of marijuana is affecting them and make changes to other states from this.
For every purchase of marijuana, a sales tax is charged. The Denver Post gave statistics stating that a 15 percent excise tax is charged on each sale of marijuana with 10 percent sales tax. These two taxes add up to 25 percent tax in total for marijuana sales. This brings in much-needed revenue to the state.
Robert J. Corry of The Denver Post stated, “Marijuana licensing fees are higher than any other industry in Colorado, up to $18,000 per marijuana store, more than enough to fund regulation.”
President Obama recently spoke out on how he supports the legalization of marijuana. He said that smoking marijuana is “not something I encourage, and I’ve told my daughters I think it’s a bad idea, a waste of time, not very healthy.” However, Obama said he does know that legalized or not legalized, people are going to smoke it.
If President Obama supports this topic, more people should as well. Safety is another point that people would not believe would come out of legalizing marijuana.
Drug dealers are importing marijuana or growing it secretly and there have been multiple cases where users have purchased marijuana, which was laced with chemicals. Laced marijuana is dangerous and can mess with one’s mind permanently. If marijuana were legalized, the law would be regulating the producers of the drug, thus making it safer.
Opponents of legalization need to realize marijuana has been smoked consistently since the 1960s without it being legalized and people are not planning on stopping anytime soon.
The birth of a new industry could give our economy a great high.
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