Legalize It?
I am sure many have either heared of or been involved in a debate for or against the legalization of marijuana. Our nation has been working hard on "THE WAR ON DRUGS" since I can remember. When you think about the cost of this war on drugs it is almost hard to understand why we shouldn't just legalize marijuana. Looking at all the resources it takes to catch those who buy and sell drugs, the court costs, legal fees, and the tax dollars that go into keeping these drug users/sellers in jail it is a very large sum of money that could be used elsewhere. Many will argue that marijuana may have some pros to it from a medical or social aspect but I am focusing only on money. The money that could be made by the government if legalization was done could be a massive amount. Look at the taxes our goverment puts on cigarettes as it is today. One may argue that if marijuana was legalized everyone would just grow their own? I don't think so because why doesn't every tobacco smoker have their own tobacco plant in thier house? The average costs per half gram of marijuana today is $8.60 and the average cost of production is only a $1.70. That means per half gram of marijuana a $6.90 profit is being made. Sure, that profit would go down some if the legalization were to occur but there still such a large sum of money to be made. Currently these profits are being taken in by drug dealers who most likely take the money and turn it into another criminal activity. Health issues also exists when discussing the legalization of marijuana but it seems to me marjuana has equal or even less harmful effects as alcohol and cigarettes do on your body. Sure, you may catch a buzz (but not near as big of one as if you consumed a legal handle of liquir), and yes it is harmful to your lungs (but no worse than a smoker who legally smokes two packs of cigarrettes a day). The economic benefits from marijuana legalization occurs both as a taxation profit and a way to save money our government is already spending and there is most assuredly other ways our government could more effectively being using this money.......or is there?
2 comments:
I agree with the above comment, to a point. Yes there would be more smoking related deaths, and cases of people driving while high would also increse, but there would be less (in fact, no instances) of marijuana related drug busts, or instances of the police "tracking down" the use of marijuana. These officers could be shifted to the highways patrol and perhaps be very helpful with finding and stopping drivers under the influence. In the end, it all seems to be a trade off of many different factors.
I agree that legalizing marijuana would be reasonable considering the financial resources that can be saved and put to better use. I would much rather have my tax dollars spent tracking down a dangerous rapist instead of a kid who sells in order to make car payments. However, my high school history teacher brought up a good point What if the legalization of marijuana turns sour? It would be nearly impossible to prohibit it again because it was once legal. An excellent example of this would be the prohibition of alcohol, which was doomed from the get-go.
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