Marijuana legalization
lets make Marijuana leagle.
If marijuana were legalized, it would accomplish several objectives. First and foremost, it would remove billions of dollars per year from the pockets of organized crime, a portion of which ends up in the hands of international terrorist groups.
Second, it would take much of those same billions of dollars and put it back into the legitimate markets, spurring job growth in the sectors of cultivation, processing, distribution and sales. Also, taxes imposed on legal marijuana would pump those dollars into the public coffers, allowing federal and state governments to lower (or at least fail to further raise) other taxes to gain the same revenue.
Third, studies in countries where marijuana is not illegal have shown that the negative emotional side effects of marijuana use (paranoia, depression, reduction in motivation, psychological addiction, etc.) seem to occur only in countries where it is illegal. It is interesting to note that no study ever done anywhere has concluded that marijuana is chemically addictive.
Fourth, by making a legal market (as opposed to an illegal market) for domestic marijuana, it would significantly reduce the demand for cross-border smuggling, reducing the strain on the staffing of the DEA.
In addition, the elimination of searches, citations, arrests and convictions for marijuana-based offenses would free up millions of man-hours and millions of dollars being wasted every year by law enforcement, courts and penal institutions on a failing endeavor. This would free up those resources for police agencies and penal institutions to reallocate them, potentially reducing violent crimes, burglaries, etc.
Put simply, the war on drugs as it pertains to marijuana is failing in exactly the same way and for exactly the same reasons as alcohol prohibition in the 1920s. It is also having the same negative impact on society and positive impact on organized crime as prohibition did. The legalization of marijuana would have the same reduction in these negative impacts that repealing prohibition did, without the addition of a chemically addictive substance (such as alcohol, tobacco or caffeine) back into society.
Second, it would take much of those same billions of dollars and put it back into the legitimate markets, spurring job growth in the sectors of cultivation, processing, distribution and sales. Also, taxes imposed on legal marijuana would pump those dollars into the public coffers, allowing federal and state governments to lower (or at least fail to further raise) other taxes to gain the same revenue.
Third, studies in countries where marijuana is not illegal have shown that the negative emotional side effects of marijuana use (paranoia, depression, reduction in motivation, psychological addiction, etc.) seem to occur only in countries where it is illegal. It is interesting to note that no study ever done anywhere has concluded that marijuana is chemically addictive.
Fourth, by making a legal market (as opposed to an illegal market) for domestic marijuana, it would significantly reduce the demand for cross-border smuggling, reducing the strain on the staffing of the DEA.
In addition, the elimination of searches, citations, arrests and convictions for marijuana-based offenses would free up millions of man-hours and millions of dollars being wasted every year by law enforcement, courts and penal institutions on a failing endeavor. This would free up those resources for police agencies and penal institutions to reallocate them, potentially reducing violent crimes, burglaries, etc.
Put simply, the war on drugs as it pertains to marijuana is failing in exactly the same way and for exactly the same reasons as alcohol prohibition in the 1920s. It is also having the same negative impact on society and positive impact on organized crime as prohibition did. The legalization of marijuana would have the same reduction in these negative impacts that repealing prohibition did, without the addition of a chemically addictive substance (such as alcohol, tobacco or caffeine) back into society.
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