Economic Benefits of the Legalization of Marijuana

Introduction Anyone who is paying even the slightest bit of attention to the controversy which rages around the legalization of marijuana has certainly heard of the many benefits of legalization. We hear argument that claim prohibition did not work for alcohol and it is certainly not working for marijuana. We have heard that there are many positive health benefits to smoking marijuana for people with particular illnesses. And, we have certainly heard the cry that argues the economy would be far better off if marijuana were taken off the black market and put into a legalized position that would benefit the economy. In the following paper we examine the economic benefits of legalizing marijuana. The paper begins with a general look at how the economy could be boosted with legalization and then discusses the specific benefits as they involve the imprisonment of non-violent drug offenders. The paper follows with an informative section which illustrates why many drug companies do not wish it to be legalized, for their own economic reasons. The Economy in General In most recent times it seems that the state of Nevada is seeking to legalize marijuana, with the primary argument that it can boost the economic conditions of that state. While Nevada is only one small portion of the country it does serve to offer us an example of many of the economic benefits to legalizing marijuana. The author states that “Supporters of an initiative that would decriminalize marijuana in Nevada said the state would benefit from millions of dollars raised by selling and taxing the drug, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Aug. 24” (Anonymous Economic Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana Touted, 2002; 0,1854,553668,00.html). The spokesman for Nevadans for Responsible Law Enforcement, Billy Rogers, stated “We are talking millions and millions of dollars of tax revenue....We figure there are 150,000 regular marijuana users in Nevada who might buy an ounce per month” (Anonymous

Bibliography: Anonymous (2002, October). Does Prohibition Cause More Harm Than Marijuana? At: http://www.cannabis.com/untoldstory/hemp_8.shtml Anonymous (2002, August). Economic Benefits of Legalizing Marijuana Touted. Join Together Online, at: http://news.tobaccofreekids.org/sa/news/summaries/reader/0,1854,553668,00.html Anonymous (2002, October). Health Conflicts: What are the Economic Incentives of Drug Companies? At: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/evidence99/marijuana/Economic_2.html Caputo, Michael R.; Ostrom, Brian J. (1994, October). Potential tax revenue from a regulated marijuana market: a meaningful revenue source. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, v53 n4, pp. 475(16). Mintus, Sean (2002, September) Murdock, Deroy; Feder, Don (2001, October)