Argumentative Essay On Legalizing Marijuana

Words: 720
Pages: 3

Jeffrey Miron, a Harvard University economist found; “legalizing drugs would reduce government spending annually by more than $41 billion and generate tax revenue of $47 billion”(Addiction and Substance Abuse). He argues “legalization would reduce state and federal deficits by eliminating expenditures on prohibition enforcement, arrests, prosecutions, and incarcerations”(Addiction and Substance Abuse). To achieve this without putting society in danger, marijuana must become legal in America. Marijuana has been illegal in the United States for over 40 years and prohibition has gone on for far too long. Though a majority of Americans live where marijuana is legal in some form, there are still many problems related to marijuana in the United States. That's why the federal government needs to step in and legalize the recreational use of marijuana nationwide. Recreational marijuana use should be legalized in the U.S because states would save money and make huge profits on sales tax, the effects of marijuana are misunderstood by the public, and the consequences of non-violent …show more content…
Rosalie Pacula, a scholar at a public policy research organization, believes the tax revenue from the drug wouldn’t cover all the expenses of regulating marijuana ( Barbour 59). In addition to the expenses of regulation, those who disagree with legalization say, like when The Marijuana Tax Act was passed and the institution of the marijuana business was unable to grow, and drug deals started to occur. “The law stopped short of prohibiting marijuana, but did impose a series of registration requirements and taxes on growers, essentially crippling the industry” (Addiction and Substance Abuse). This argument is now longer valid, because of the many economic benefits some states have be able to take advantage of, after legalizing