The Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana

Historically a topic of sociological debate, the legalization of marijuana has recently emerged as a significant topic in public discourse today. Proponents of cannabis legalization believe that current laws discriminate against certain groups of people and violate the constitutional right for people to smoke marijuana rather than consume alcohol or tobacco (Bloomquist 346). The media, popular culture advocates of medical cannabis and political leaders have articulated confusing messages regarding both the harmlessness and adverse consequences caused by consuming cannabis. Colorado and Washington have already legalized marijuana use, and twenty-one other states have legalized the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Ultimately, the legalization of marijuana will reap great financial and therapeutic benefits in various ways. Marijuana should be legalized in the United States because cannabis will reap great economic benefits to a country deep in debt, it will alleviate overcrowded prisons and the social and economic detriments high incarceration rates entail and ultimately provides proven vital medicinal benefits.

One major benefit of legalizing cannabis lays in the economic benefits it would provide. Many proponents of legalization ground their advocacy in cost-benefit calculations. More than 500 economists including noble laureates such as George Akerlof cite a study by Jeffrey Miron in favor of legalizing marijuana. Miron’s study demonstrates that legalizing marijuana would generate revenues once the government replaces the prohibition of cannabis with the taxation and regulation of the substance (Miron). Economists concur that in a similar fashion to alcohol and tobacco, legalizing marijuana would generate ample tax revenues while also saving both state and federal governments a considerable amount of money. Colorado, the only state that has legalized the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis, generated over one million dollars in sales on its opening day alone and implemented a statewide tax rate of twenty-nine percent (Burden). Moreover, the legalization of cannabis would open up thousands of new jobs (Stevens). If legalized on a national scale, marijuana would provide a financial catalyst that could greatly help alleviate the debt this country faces through regulation of sales and taxation alone and open up a plethora of jobs.

Prohibiting marijuana also necessitates direct enforcement costs in the arena of law enforcement, and its legalization would significantly reduce the burden of prison upkeep faced by American taxpayers as well as the social harm from the racism associated with the disproportionate incarnation of minorities for marijuana possession and use. Miron estimates that the government spends $7.7 billion dollars to enforce prohibition in order to protect police officers and fund law courts and prisons (Grammy). The prison population in the U.S. has grown over seven million, which costs taxpayers over a billion dollars. Policing and prosecuting people for marijuana use costs between $7 billion and $10 billion dollars a year, with the majority of cases involving individuals arrested solely for possessing cannabis. Shockingly, total marijuana charges number greater than violent crimes which include murder, rape, and assault. Decriminalizing marijuana would not only provide more funds for law enforcement, but it would also enable law enforcement to focus on cracking down on violent crimes (Stevens). Beyond looking through an economic lens, criminalizing marijuana has unfairly racially targeted minorities. Statistics show that African Americans get arrested almost four times as much as Caucasians do for marijuana use and possession despite the reality that affluent white individuals use cannabis just as much if not more than minority groups do (ACLU). Thus, the legalization of cannabis can ameliorate financial burdens on the taxpayers with regards to the prison system and also rectify social discrimination by law enforcement.

Legalizing marijuana will not only boost the country’s ailing economy through sales costs and taxation as well as reducing prison costs, but it also provides an alternative form of medical assistance to the sick and to those who suffer from chronic pain or terminal illness. Proponents contend that research and historical accounts support the use of cannabis for medical purposes as a safe treatment for a plethora of illnesses (Heinrich and Mathre 61). Symptom management has emerged as its primary therapeutic use, as various FDA approved studies conducted during the 1980s asserted the effectiveness of cannabis as an appetite stimulant as well as an antiemetic when cancer patients undergo chemotherapy (64). People who suffer from the HIV virus and AIDS experience a lack of appetite, which results in the loss of lean muscle mass. Cannabis boosts the appetites of these patients and helps them digest vital nutrients that they could not previously. Furthermore, those who suffer from multiple sclerosis confront mental and physical damage during the course of their lives, which results in the failure of their immune systems. CBD and THC, two chemicals in marijuana with anti-inflammatory properties, alleviate the inflammation suffered by those with MS. Marijuana also treats the eye illness known as Glaucoma, a degenerative disease that often leads to blindness because of increased blood pressure in the eye. Cannabis lessens the pressure within the eye and retards the flow of blood into the eye. As a result, the likelihood of blindness sharply declines. Most significantly, cannabis use fights against cancer from spreading and alleviates the sickness experienced by patients who undergo chemotherapy (Burden). The various therapeutic benefits of cannabis elucidate that political motives undergird its ban and do not serve the best interests of those who need it for medical care.

Enforcing marijuana laws has failed to reduce its overall usage. Legalizing marijuana carries various financial, social and medicinal benefits that will have important consequences in the future. Regulating and taxing cannabis would reap great financial benefits and alleviate a reeling economy strapped with debt. Furthermore, legalizing marijuana would reduce overcrowded prisons that cost the taxpayers billions of dollars every year. The social harm caused by the war on marijuana would also be lessened, as police nationally continue to unfairly target minorities in their enforcement against marijuana possession and use. Finally, research and historical studies show that marijuana provides vital therapeutic and medicinal benefits to patients suffering from chronic pain, cancer and other illnesses. Marijuana provides significant benefits in many areas, and its legalization would not only provide a needed economic boost in a reeling economy but would also enable an expansion in alternative medicine and rectify discriminatory legislation that has plagued the country's movement towards social justice.

Works Cited

ACLU. "American Civil Liberties Union." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <https://www.aclu.org/billions-dollars-wasted-racially-biased-arrests>.

Bloomquist, Edward. “Marijuana: Social Benefit or Social Detriment?” Western Journal of Medicine. May 1967; 106(5): 346–353.

Bur, Wes. "Opinion: Legalization of marijuana has financial, health benefits." The Lantern. N.p., 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014. <http://thelantern.com/2014/01/opinion-legalization- marijuana-financial-health-benefits/>.

Grammy, Abbas. "Economic Benefits of Medical Marijuana." Premiere Thoughts: CSUB Business Blog. N.p., 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. <http://www.csub.edu/kej/documents/economic_rsch/2012-03-26.pdf>.

Heinrich, Janet, and Mary Lynne Mathre. "Policy Perspectives: Therapeutic Cannabis." The American Journal of Nursing 101.4 (2001): 61-68. JSTOR. Web. 5 Mar. 2014.

Miron, J., “The Budgetary Implication of Marijuana Prohibition,” 2005, http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/mironreport.html

Stevens, Amanda. "COMMON SENSE Legalizing marijuana allows police to focus on violent crimes." The Raw Story. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. <http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/amanda/legalizing_marijuana_violent_crime_731.