The Social Benefits Of Legalization Of Marijuana
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In the societies narcotics constituting taboo and users are isolated by societies. In our days narcotics are a tremendous problem with a lot of effects on the societies. I want to give the definition of Marijuana that is important for my research. “Marijuana is a mixture of leaves, stems and flowering tops of the hemp plant.”(Marijuana, 317). Today in most countries soft narcotics and especially narcotics like marijuana are illegal. Marijuana is a misunderstood drug that is thought of as dangerous but it isn’t. Because of people’s ignorance and gullibility marijuana has become illegal for all the wrong reasons and should be re-examined for legalization. Society today cannot understand that there has been a culture behind marijuana for many centuries, and has been used by different ethnicities, for religious reasons or for spiritual and medical use. According to Wikipedia, “Marijuana has a long history of religious use especially in India where it has been used by wandering spiritual sadhus for centuries” (Cannabis, 2). Because of people’s ignorance and gullibility marijuana has become illegal for all the wrong reasons and should be re-examined for legalization, because will have many benefits like financial, quality and a decrease in violence associated with marijuana.
With the legalization of marijuana are going to have some financial benefits from the elimination of black market, the taxation of marijuana and we will have an increase in industry around marijuana. With the legalization the black market from marijuana which is very bad for the economy will be limited because the drug users will buy marijuana from places controlled by the state. “As long as drugs that people very much want remain illegal, a black market will exist” says legalization advocate David Boaz of the libertarian Cato Institute. In the countries that marijuana is illegal drug users are forced to buy marijuana from the black market which is illegal for the drug users. With the legalization the state will define places controlled that drug users can buy marijuana legally. Another financial benefit is the taxation of marijuana. Marijuana would be taxed like tobacco and alcohol are today. The website www.legalize.org supports that the money from taxation of marijuana can invest by the government to create a health program to help drug users. According to Hannah Rasmussen “marijuana legalization — replacing prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation — would save $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods. If, however, marijuana were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as $6.2 billion annually”. (The economics benefits of a legal, Regulated Marijuana industry).
Also we are going to have an increase in marijuana industry. A research from California NORML saws that: “A legal market would generate additional benefits in the form of tourism and spin off industries, such as coffee shops, paraphernalia, and industrial hemp. Extrapolating these figures to a legal marijuana market with 25% – 40% as much retail sales, one might expect $8 -$13 billion in total economic activity, with 36,000 to 58,000 jobs, and $1.2 to $1.7 billion in legal wages, which would generate additional income and business taxes for the state. With California taking the lead in marijuana legalization, especially strong spin off benefits could be expected. For instance, Amsterdam-style coffeehouses would create jobs and be a magnet for tourism.”
Another benefit is that if we legalize marijuana we are going to have a decrease in violence associated with marijuana use. Today the crime level is high in many countries, which have not legalized marijuana. In countries which marijuana is legal like Holland and Belgium criminality has been reduced. Also as its pointed by the author Nadelmann the legalization will result in lower prices and fewer crimes like theft which are now done by drug users in order to buy their dose in the current high prices (c3). Moreover in a recent study of prisoners who have committed crimes like theft, robbery and burglary the results have shown that 33% of those crimes have been made in order to purchase drugs. In addition, these criminals are responsible for the 75% of all robberies, thefts and burglaries. Much research shows that when narcotics are cheap the rates of the drug related crimes decrease. Moreover, the legalization of marijuana will reduce the problem of overcrowded prisons and the numerous accusations against drug users. As it is referred by Nadelmann the U.S. national costs from 1981 to 1987 for law enforcements against drugs tripled from lower than 1 billion per year to 3 billions. In 1988 this amount was 6 billion. Moreover in 1986 local authorities spend 5 billion on anti-drug activities. Therefore in federal prisons the numbers of prisoners count for 33% of the 50.000 total cases, while prisoners for similar crimes in state prisons are 30.000. A similar situation takes place in courts, from the 583.000 cases the 135.000 are related to drug crimes. The costs for keeping in prisons all these people have become a tremendous amount. Despite of the money the criminality, neither the citizens nor the drug lords have felt no change. Today the annual arrests for violation of drug laws are more or less 750.000 in US. In particular, 75% of these are done by citizens who just possess small quantities for personal use. In most of the times the possessed drug is marijuana (Nadelmann, c3).
With the legalization the government can control, check the quality of marijuana products and invest