FREE ESSAY ON THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

THE LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

In the 1960's, Humbolt County, CA was in a state of recession. The county's main form of
industry (logging) had all but closed down, and the residents were facing a countywide
depression. However, by the early 1980's, Humbolt's economy was flourishing. Although the
expansion couldn't be found on the reported per capita income, somehow money was being
spread throughout the economy. Where did this money come from? Humbolt County is a
perfect spot for marijuana to be grown, and it was the money that the growers had been
making that was keeping the economy going. After the government began to heavily enforce
drug laws in this area, the county went back into its state of depression, and the
financial aid that the marijuana growers could have added to the economy was disposed of
(Rosenthal, p. 37). Although the legalization of marijuana might have some adverse
affects on the economy, the pros of legalization far outweigh the cons.
There are many economic reasons proving that legalizing marijuana would help our economy,
some relate directly and others indirectly. The first thing that one must look at when
considering the pros of legalization would have to be the direct benefits. The direct
benefits are going to be the astronomical amount of money the government would make in
taxes, sales etc. (Marshal, p. 92). First of all, if marijuana were legalized the first
thing that would happen would be a drop in the price of the drug. The price would drop
due to the fact that it would no longer have to be sold on the black market (Rosenthal,
p. 38). The cheaper price and greater availability would mean increased usage. It is
estimated, that if marijuana were legalized, and prices were dropped a fair 50% and usage
increased only a little bit, marijuana sales could gross anywhere from $50-$53 billion
dollars (Rosenthal, p. 39). That right there is a huge amount of money that would no
doubt aid the United States' economy. However, there are other direct benefits to
consider. The $50-$53 billion would only come from sales alone. The government could make
more money by charging vice, manufacturing and state taxes. It is believed that taxes and
fees such as these would gross about another $7-$10 billion (Rosenthal, p. 39).
Many other benefits could also be directly related to the legalization of marijuana. If
it were legalized, it would create a whole new industry. And of course, this new industry
would need employees, which means more jobs for the unemployed (Maertz, Jim "interview w/
Ms. Wara, 10/29/98). Also with this new industry would come the ability to legally export
this drug. Due to the advancements in American farm technology it is believed that we
would become main exporters of marijuana. Rather then spending about $5-$7 billion per
year on illegally importing the drug, legalization would probably generate about $60
million to $1 billion dollars, and at the same time save that $5-$7 billion spent on
importation. The legalization of marijuana could help balance the U.S. trade deficit
(Rosenthal, p. 42). Obviously the direct affects of legalized marijuana would aid our
economy. However, the indirect benefits of legalization would also help dramatically. 
If marijuana were made legal, it would send economic ripples throughout the U.S. that
would create a better economy (Marshal, p. 83). For example, related paraphernalia would
see an increase in demand (i.e. pipes, bongs, etc). More money would be spent on these or
items like these, which means a better economy (Rosenthal, p. 39). Another factor we must
consider, would be hemp. Hemp is a non-psychoactive form of marijuana; the only reason it
is outlawed is because it is similar to marijuana in some aspects but not all. The only
real reason it is against the law is to make enforcing marijuana laws easier (no gray
areas of the law). But hemp has many practical applications in the world today. Hemp
contains the one of the strongest fibers in the plant kingdom; it could be used for
either industrial or commercial applications. It is also used to make a non-deteriorating
paper, that is pollution free. After pressing hemp seeds, the result is a good animal
feed; in central Asia it this seed has even been used for human consumption (Rosenthal,
p. 42). There are countless economic ripples such as these that would help out the
economy, but when looking at the economy as a whole, we can't only look at how much we
bring in.
It is obvious that both direct and indirect revenues would aid our economy, however, we
must also look at the amount of money we would save if marijuana were legalized. Of
course the legalization of marijuana would mean the cost of drug enforcement would drop
(Marshal, p. 92). More than 20 federal agencies are involved in the enforcement of
marijuana laws, and legalization would mean that these agencies would not have to spend
as much on drug enforcement. The government spends about $30 billion dollars per year
trying to fight marijuana; if it were legalized, this money could be spent on better
things like education. The cost of arrest and conviction of violators is also very high
(Thompson (ed.), p. 157). It can cost up to $450,000 dollars to keep an offender in jail.
In the book Why Marijuana Should be Legal it adds up the total cost as follows:
"Arrest/Conviction: About $150,000; Additional prison bed: about $50,000, depending on
the jurisdiction; Annual prison expense: about $30,000 per year (Avg. sentence of 5
years), that's another $150,000" (Rosenthal, p. 43). And thing of how many marijuana
cases there are per year! All of this money save could be put towards better things
(Rosenthal, p. 43). There is also the loss of productivity to consider. When a drug
offender is arrested, he must take time off of work to go to court and handle all of his
legal affairs. Believe it or not, 82% of arrestees for marijuana possession have jobs.
So, when using an average salary of $19,228 per year and about 30 days of lost work time,
the loss of productivity adds up to about $1.1 billion (Rosenthal, p. 45). Money that is
spent on marijuana law enforcement could be better spent on things like violent crime, or
education (Marshal, p. 93). The fact is the government would save billions if marijuana
were legalized. Although revenues and savings would add up to a huge amount of money,
there are a few reasons that opponents think marijuana would be bad for the economy.
As with every controversial issue, there is always an opposition. But in the case of
legalized marijuana, the economic benefits are much greater than the losses, despite what
opponents try to argue. The biggest reason why opponents are against the legalization is
because of medical costs (Maertz, Jim "Interview w/ Ms. Wara, 10/29/98). They believe
that, like cigarettes, marijuana would cause many medical problems, which in turn would
lead to more money having to be spent on medical treatment (Thompson (ed.), p. 172).
There's no denying the fact that marijuana would cause lung problems, and that would mean
more medical expenses. But consider this: In 1980, due to health care/loss of
productivity the combination of all drugs (not just marijuana) cost the U.S. $29.4
billion; however, due to health care/loss of productivity alcohol cost the U.S. a
whopping $79.6 billion (Marshal, p. 64)! When it comes to health care, alcohol is a much
bigger problem. And even if we took the cost of medical aid and productivity loss ($29.4
billion) of all drugs, and subtracted it from the total gross revenues of just marijuana
(not including indirect profits), we would still have a profit of about $33.6 billion
dollars! Opponents also argue that legalization would mean more marijuana addicts
(Rosenthal, p. 39). They argue, if there are more marijuana addicts, there are going to
have to be more costs involved for treatment programs. Although it is not proven whether
or not marijuana is addictive (Marshal, p. 99), the likelihood of the number of treatment
programs having to increase is probably pretty good. However, it is inestimable how much
would be needed to finance these programs; but one could be pretty sure that it wouldn't
be $33.6 billion, the amount that legalized marijuana would put into the economy (after
subtracting medical/productivity costs for all drugs). Finally, opponents also argue that
legalization would cause more reckless driving, pregnancies, fights etc. However,
according to a study by drug policy scholar Mark Kleiman of UCLA he concluded that
alcohol is the drug that people "are most likely to get pregnant, commit crimes, get in
fights or drive recklessly." (Thompson (ed.), p. 190). Although some of the arguments
brought up the opposition are true, when added together with the earnings generated by
sales alone, the evidence is indisputable. 
The legalization of marijuana would no doubt help the economy. Directly or indirectly,
profits would soar. Businesses would be helped, new industries would be created and the
government would be able to spend billions that it had either received from taxes or
saved from trying to enforce an unreasonable law. Economically speaking, legalizing
marijuana would help our economy dramatically. 
Bibliography
A 4 page essay discussing why the legalization of marijuana would aid the U.S. economy.