Persuasive Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

To add, recreational marijuana is taxable! Therefore, it is money that can be put into our communities. Recreational marijuana as intimidating as some may think, can actually benefit our community in many ways. To begin, many believe legalizing marijuana would cause crime to increase, on the contrary legalizing it will lead to a decrease of crime. Imagine that getting your hands on marijuana was as accessible as cigarettes in a gas station, how many illegal cigarette dealers have been punished in jail with the maximum sentence for selling cigarettes?

An article from the Baltimore Sun claims, “Colorado medical and recreational marijuana market created 12,500 direct jobs and about 18,000 total jobs in 2015 and generated about $1 billion in direct and nearly $2.4 billion in spin-off economic activity.” Looking at how the economy has grown in other states, we could sure hope that maybe the same could happen to us. The same article by the Baltimore Sun also stated, “He called marijuana a rapidly growing small industry ‘that has very high local impacts.” (the Baltimore Sun is referring to Adam Orens, founding partner of the Marijuana Policy

The potential economic benefits alone, including job creation, tax revenue generation, and economic stimulation, present a compelling case for reform. By legalizing marijuana, Texas can tap into a thriving industry that has already demonstrated remarkable growth in states where it has been legalized. This would not only create new employment opportunities but also generate substantial tax revenue that can be directed towards essential public services and infrastructure development, benefiting the entire population of Texas. Furthermore, the legalization of marijuana in Texas would address social disparities and contribute to the creation of a fairer and more equitable society. The current criminalization of marijuana disproportionately affects marginalized communities, as evidenced by research showing higher arrest rates among African Americans and Hispanics for marijuana offenses compared to their white counterparts.

and article ‘Potential Tax Revenue from a Regulated Marijuana Market: A Meaningful Revenue Source’ by Michael R. Caputo and Brian J. Ostrom states, “The demand for marijuana has created a multi-billion dollar industry.” If the Drug Enforcement Administration would allow marijuana to become legal, it could potentially boost our economy due to taxation, create employment through marijuana dispensary collectives as well as stores, and provide another source of revenue in each state. “... A consumption of 13,600 metric tons would entail 38 million people smoking one gram each, 365 days a year ” The concept of taxing marijuana would essentially be exactly the same as how the government taxes cigarettes or alcohol today.

But the financial benefits of legalization go beyond taxing the sale of marijuana and keeping drug money out of the hands of criminals. All across the nation, wherever the drug is illegal, state and local governments spend enormous sums of money on the enforcement of marijuana laws, the prosecution of offenders, and incarceration of the convicted. The Wall Street Journal estimates that the American taxpayer spends $40 billion per year on the administrative costs associated with the criminalization of marijuana (Becker). On the state level, we can again look to the example of Colorado. Conservative estimates by the Colorado Center on Law and Policy show that legalization will save the state $40 million per year by no longer administering marijuana laws (Drug Policy Alliance).

Many people believe the legalization of medical cannabis will bring many jobs and economic opportunities. Although several job openings come with the legalization of this substance the hole that is punched in the economy counteracts the effect. As I explained before the legalization of medical cannabis increases state taxes by 30%. Counteracting the possible job openings that medical cannabis could bring. Some people may also say that medical cannabis is the only way to treat many terminal diseases such as cancer and epilepsy.

The states that have legalized marijuana have seen many benefits due to the increased cash inflow that has contributed too many things

This new income can bolster our state economy without raising taxes on main -street. However, legalizing and regulating medical cannabis will take this profit center away from criminals and transfer it to licensed and regulated businesses. We don’t know exactly the size of the marijuana market right now, and we certainly don’t know what would happen to the price and the demand for marijuana under different levels of legalization. But we do know that legalization would lead to a positive revenue impact on the income and sales tax

Colorado has dedicated a majority of the marijuana tax revenue to school construction, with the remainder of the money being placed into enforcement and general state funds. Washington dedicated 60 percent of its marijuana tax revenue to substance abuse prevention, research, education and healthcare. The remaining money was dedicated to general state funding and local budgets. Although contributing to the general fund does not impact it in a tremendous way, social services and other programs could be strengthened. By improving said programs, people could be helped and new jobs could be created.

Many liked the idea of legalization and many were against it for so many different reasons. Throughout the last decade, we have seen individual states legalize pot for medical or recreational sale. What has this done for those states on a financial level? Colorado was the first state to legalize marijuana for recreational use and their states finances have improved vastly since. In 2014 to 2015, the marijuana tax and fees revenue in Colorado brought in a total of $211,252,961.

Marijuana has been around for many years. Marijuana can refer to the cannabis plant or more specifically the plants dried leaves and flowers. The most active natural chemical is called tetrahydrocannabinol also know as THC. Recently states have been legalizing marijuana for medical use. The states that have are Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts.

Marijuana is used for medical reason that marijuana only can help. The taxes go down because there are way more job openings. If marijuana was legalized the number of people in jail for smoking or having possession of marijuana goes down, but the number of people for harder drugs

Some of the juveniles tested positive, and it turns out that they had significantly high numbers of referrals to a juvenile court for nondrug felonies (Morris 2). The juveniles that tested negative for marijuana had less referrals to the juvenile court (Morris 2). According to a member of the California Police Chief Association, ‘“A disturbing and continuing trend is the increasing number of home invasion robberies and associated violence resulting in the victimization of those cultivating and possessing marijuana’” (Morris 1). The state has argued that medical marijuana laws increased because the dispensaries and grow houses provide opportunities for property crime and violent crimes to occur (Morris 2).

The US government knows that if they legalize Marijuana recreationally, they can apply high tax rates and make a lot of money in taxes. In the first 4 months of sale, Colorado made $18 million in taxes from both recreational and medicinal Marijuana. That money can be used to help the state grow and fix problems. Another factor is jobs. The recent legalization in Colorado has created over 10,000 jobs.

My grandfather is a retired police officer, and is so against marijuana he said he would move out of the state he is in if they legalize it. Even he would have to admit that there are some benefits from its legalization. Colorado is the best example of the impact it has had economically, since marijuana has been legalized there. Regulating marijuana has basically redirected where the money goes for their state.