Lit_Match

Legal Pot, a Plus
09-25-07|Collegian|By Rachael Baldwin

The legalization of marijuana would greatly impact the U.S. economy. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, website, marijuana is “America’s most valuable crop.”

Marijuana crops in the United States are worth about 35.8 billion dollars per year, which is 12.5 billion more dollars per year than corn, the second most profitable crop. If taxed like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana could bring in even more money.

Marijuana sales could generate an estimated 6.2 billion dollars per year in taxes, according to Harvard professor Jeffrey Miron.

Legalization of marijuana could also save law enforcement agencies an astronomical amount of money. Miron estimates that marijuana legalization could save the United States as much as 7.7 billion dollars in law enforcement costs per year.

Marijuana legalization would be great for our economy, but isn’t marijuana a dangerous drug that could lead users down the hopeless road of addiction?

First of all, marijuana is not physically addictive. Unlike heroin, alcohol and even tobacco and caffeine, discontinuing the use of marijuana does not produce physical withdrawal symptoms, thus one cannot be detoxed from THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for producing the “high” in the smoker.

Secondly, marijuana, if used responsibly, is safe. According to drugwarfacts.org, there are an estimated 435,000 deaths per year in the United States due to tobacco use and 85,000 deaths due to alcohol.

So, how many people die every year from using marijuana? Zero. That’s right, the use of marijuana alone has not been shown to cause any deaths.

Marijuana is demonized and reputed to be a “gateway drug” that leads to the use of harder drugs like heroin. Many people who sell marijuana also sell other illegal drugs.

If one could purchase marijuana legally, then one would not be exposed to or offered other drugs when purchasing pot, which could reduce the risk of experimenting with hard drugs. Legalizing marijuana could actually help decrease the use of dangerous drugs by reducing exposure to them.

People are always going to use illegal drugs, but many more people use marijuana than heroin, cocaine, LSD or ecstasy.

Marijuana use is prevalent in the United States. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, marijuana is one of the three most popular drugs used in America, along with alcohol and tobacco.

It is estimated that 20 million Americans have used marijuana in the past year. If this many people use marijuana, why have the laws against marijuana remained the same?

Times are changing. More and more people are realizing the need for marijuana law reform and decriminalization.

While recent 2006 marijuana initiatives were defeated, support for them is growing. In Colorado a law to legalize marijuana was defeated 60 percent to 40 percent.

In Nevada a law that not only legalized marijuana, but also set up a taxation plan, was only defeated 56 percent to 44 percent.

Decriminalization and legalization of marijuana are going to happen. It will be beneficial to the economy and those who enjoy smoking, drinking, eating or vaporizing marijuana.

The legalization of marijuana will mean a push for progress, not social degeneration.

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Donation links to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | MPP (Marijuana Policy Project)