How Legalization of Marijuana Can Help US to Boost its Economic Growth Rate - Essay Example

Legalization of Marijuana can help U.S. to boost its Economic Growth Rate Introduction Marijuana is also known as the cannabis sativa which is intended to be used a psychoactive drug to reduce vomiting and nausea. One of the most controversial issues which are prevailing around the world is the legalization of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana in United States has remained pivotal point for the benefit of the economy. The history provides enough information about the positive impact of marijuana as a drug in the medical sector. The idea of legalization of marijuana 50 years age should have been impossible for many people to think about. But recent survey and evidence provide effective information about the positive influence of marijuana towards the medical and economic structure of a country. It has been proved scientifically that, the use of marijuana can create positive impact on America as it is less toxic than that of other drugs such as aspirin, tobacco and alcohol. The legalization of marijuana would create potential rise of the economic growth of United States and also can help to lower the rate of crime. For over thousands of years, people are finding way to get relief for the vast struggle of life for enjoying simple pleasure in human life. Marijuana provides relief from stress and struggle that people has to face from day-today life. This essay will discuss about the legalization of marijuana in United States can help to boost its economic growth. Discussion In United States, the use of marijuana and medical marijuana has a lengthy history. Cocaine and opium were regarded as the daily used drugs between the years 1900 to 1945. But as the years passed by, strict laws have been implemented on the use of marijuana which is also known as cannabis. United States government made marijuana as illegal despite its huge importance on the medical sector. Recent states revealed that more the 5 billion dollars has been spend on marijuana by the American in every year. This amount of money spend is equivalent to the 1% of the GDP. The amount of money spend on marijuana goes to the mafias and drug dealers. The large proportions of distribution of marijuana are hold by illegal drug dealers rather than contributing to the economy of country. The medicinal value of marijuana can be neglected as it helps patients to get rid of choric illnesses and reduce tension is stressful life. Many scientists and researcher predicts that legalization of marijuana would eventually benefit the future of Unites States. Several marijuana laws are enforced which results in to the spending of 1 billion dollar by each state of Unites States. New York is the top spender on enforcing marijuana laws which is 3 billion dollar. The legalizing of marijuana will help to reduce the dependents of people who are using drugs, reduction of violations that are caused due to the drugs. The higher probabilities of accidents are due to the consumption of alcohol rather than marijuana. The cost of revenue that is being spent on the enforcing of laws can be used for the benefit of the country. Several people are being prisoned due to the consumption of marijuana which is 1 billion dollar. The costs that are being spent can be used for building health system in the country. 7.7 billion dollars would be saved if marijuana is legalized and cost saved would have been helped to benefit the economy of United States. The legalization of marijuana can help for the implication of budget and economic condition of country. U.S. government is spending billions of dollars to fight against the marijuana, but eventually enforced laws have not stopped people from buying and consuming marijuana (Fine, 2012). Surveys reveals that the availability of marijuana is quite easy than that of getting hamburgers. Billions of dollars that are being spent to combat against the use of marijuana are in vain as people can have it easily.Policy of drugs is the major concern for United States. Billions of dollars has been spend by Government of United States, to deter the citizen of U.S. for attaining any kind of illegal drug activities. The legalization of marijuana can affect the demand and supply of the illegal drug consumed. But the prohibition of marijuana can impose risk on the production and consumption of the drug. Legalization can help to remove the imposed risk. Long term benefit of legalizing is that people may shift their taste from marijuana. According to the survey, government can generate huge amount of revenue by replacing the prohibition of marijuana. The legalizing of marijuana can generate more than 6.2 billion dollars annually (Barry, 2009). Replacing the legalizing can enable to decline the expenditure that government have to spend which are correction, police protection, legal and judicial laws. According to the year 2011, 8.9 billion dollar of tax revenue can be benefitted after legalizing. The amount of public savings is around 11.1 billion dollars. This amount is distributed by correction savings of 0.8 billion dollar, 2.6 billion dollar of police protection savings and 7.8 billion dollar of legal and judicial systems savings. Addition to the public savings and tax revenue result in to 20 billion dollar of total cost revenue (Morgan, 2010). The huge amount of cost can be saved for betterment of the economy of United States. According to the Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, expenditures spent my government can be reduced. Total cost between7.7 billion dollars to 13.7 billion dollars will be reduced by the legalization of marijuana in United Sates. The legalization would help to generate more revenue by claiming licensing and marijuana taxation. The amount of cost may vary according to the state but total approximate estimation of the revenue that would be generated in 8.7 billion dollar (Cermak, 2013). One of the best examples of benefit of legal marijuana is California. California was one of the states that legalized the use of medical marijuana. The amount of revenue generated from selling of medical pot is in huge number and can benefit the economy of country (Clements, 2009). Total estimated revenue generated from selling of medical pot is between 700 million dollar and 1.3 billion dollar every year. There are also several negative aspects of legalizing of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana would lead to the greater degree of drug addiction (Evans, 2013). It can attract more people to be addicted in the United States. It can also impact the job performance of every employer who is addicted to marijuana. Marijuana would be more easily available which would eventually increase the number marijuana consumers. The negative impact of marijuana can have no solution because due to its severe impact on health problems. Regular intake of marijuana can lead to the damage of immune system, infertility, stroke, birth defects and many cardiovascular diseases (Gieringer, 2011). The chronic exposure of marijuana can also lead to lung cancer, and collapsed lungs. The level of ammonia ratio is 20 times more in marijuana than that of tobacco. The legalization of the marijuana can create severe impact on social and health problem of individual. Marijuana is very addictive and the consumption of marijuana increased from 14.4 million dollar to 17.4 million dollar in the year. The consumption ratio would effectively increase by the implementation of legalization of marijuana. Legal marijuana can lead to fatal accidents (Isralowitz, 2002). The intake of marijuana can influence to reduce the reaction speed of every individual which lead to twice as possibility of risk of accidents. The productivity of the organization can be influenced and decrease by the increase of marijuana impaired workers. The illness, employee turnover and absenteeism are the outcome of the decrease in productivity in organization. The legalization of marijuana can severely affect low income group of people and minorities. Marijuana is basically cheap to buy. Legalization of marijuana would lead to vulnerability among the lower group people and result in to increase in consumption of marijuana by minorities (Skelton, 2011).It has been researched by economists that, the legalization of marijuana would increase the use by 75% to 289%. This can rather increase more if advertising is also made public. This can create a horrendous situation if more people are addicted towards drugs. People might say that alcohol and tobacco can cause same harm as marijuana. But legalizing of every drug is not the way to eradicate its consequences. Current usage of marijuana is between 20% -40 %. Legalizing will triple the usage. This can only harm every people rather that benefiting. Every state’s goal is to protect the health of every citizen rather than allowing distribution of substance which is unhealthy and harmful for every citizen. Legalizing would rather raise the cost of health care and may also lead to violence by the frequent use of drugs. People who consume marijuana regularly can have brain loss. This drug can be helpful to cure patents due to this several medical advantages but regular frequent use of marijuana can rather lead to addiction among people. Legalizing can send bad message to every youth and children that drug use is legal. This is not better for the future generation which is youth generation. Lot of work in the country is dependent by youth and new born children. They are the future of the country. The legalization of marijuana would rather create negative impact on the mind of every youth and children. This can send unacceptable message to every child. Children and youth generation might feel they can do whatever now after having marijuana. The use of marijuana would open the gate for hard drugs. People might change their taste from marijuana to hard drugs which are more harmful than that of marijuana. This drug is so addictive that it becomes difficult for drug user to disseminate them from taking marijuana. Legal of marijuana would create more addiction. People regular users of marijuana are often incapable of making any rational decision as it reduces the ability of individual to think logically and taken any informative decision. Despite analysis all the negative aspects of legalizing of marijuana there are several aspects which would help and benefit the economy of country. The prohibition of using drugs does not stop people from buying drugs, produce and selling. Marijuana is addictive drug like other soft drugs but prohibition of the drugs would create more desperation among the regular drug user which would eventually lead to crime and death of people. People can commit crime and can do anything for the addiction of the drug. Due to the black market status, the price of marijuana varies and can eventually increase the price based on the availability. More the price more people can commit crime to fund for the addiction of marijuana. Legalization of marijuana can help to create laws to restrict selling drugs to underage and children. This restriction can rather prevent under age youth and children to obtain marijuana. It is revealed from high school students that the obtaining of marijuana is easier than that of buying alcohol and cigarette. The drug dealer does not worry about the age of the individual. Individual might be children, but drug dealers only focus on the selling and production of marijuana (Earleywine, 2002). But legalization can enable drug dealers and government can set some rules which would prevent children from obtaining marijuana. People can possibly quit using marijuana when they can see it is readily available. There is always some extent of having drugs. There are no psychological addictions for obtaining marijuana. People are more addicted towards smoking tobacco than that of smoking marijuana. Despite having some disadvantages, the legalization of marijuana would benefit Unites State both economically and socially. There are other several aspects and benefits of legalizing marijuana that can help United States to boost economic growth. The prohibition of marijuana costs the taxpayer 7.7 billion dollar every year. The massive amounts of cost that are being spent are nothing beneficial towards the benefit in economic aspects (ACLU, 2003). Some economists revealed that the removal of prohibition of marijuana can save tax payers billions of dollars each and every year. Unnecessary costs are being spent which could have helped to jumpstart the economy of United States by 100 billion dollar. It has been surveyed and estimated that 60 million Americans spend more than 110 billion dollar each and every year. The mammoth amount of money is being spent during the prohibition of marijuana. The legalization of marijuana has not affected other marijuana consumers to buy it. Several marijuana sellers and crime units obtain the vast majority amount of money (Beare, 2007). This proves that the prohibition have not changed the mentality of people. The removal of prohibition would inject new life in to the failing economy of Unites States. It would also help to change billions of dollars that are being spent in to the cash flow from illegal criminal sellers to legitimate growers of marijuana. In year 2010, it has been surveyed that 17.9% of American smoke tobacco (CDC, 2009). The additional tax revenue that has been gained in the same year is 17.2 billion dollar. 6.9% percentage of American smoke marijuana. This would be drastically increased if marijuana is legalized. Assuming the percentage of marijuana smokers, it is calculated that more than 6.6 billion dollar revenue can be generated from sates. The legalization would help to create jobs. Due to the current economic situation many employers are sacked and people are in need of a job in United Sates. But the legality of marijuana would benefit United Sates to create job as private security, delivery drivers, physician’s assistants, operators in dispensary and handling the marijuana shop counter. People who are used to deal with marijuana would rather find it easy to get the job. The survey from Health and Human studies in United States claimed that more than 69.7 millions of people consuming tobacco. This survey is done in the year 2009, where only 4.2 million of American use marijuana as it is not lethal than that of alcohol and help to reduce stress (Gravel, 2008). Marijuana is legal in Holland but the amount of people having marijuana in United States is twice as the number. Revenue that is generated from legalizing of marijuana proves that it would help to benefit the economy of United States. Conclusion This can be concluded from above discussion that the legalization of marijuana would boost economy of United States. In the United States, marijuana is most widely used illegal drug by the teenagers. Marijuana is less harmful than that of other tobacco products. Medical marijuana has the ability to reduce the stress and pain of individual it acts as a psychoactive drug. Legalizing of marijuana has the potential to change the toughest economic condition of United States. Considering the fact it can help to raise out of the economic struggle, it can also help to create jobs and lower the crime rate. Billions of dollars that are wasted for locking people for selling marijuana can be saved. Mammoth amount of money spend could have been used for the development of the country.if marijuana was legal, then huge revenue from tax can be collected from government and it can be used for effective drug education. Marijuana is not hard narcotic or not so dangerous than that of other drugs, it would rater help countries to create positive society both economically and medically. References Evans, D. (2013). The Economic Impacts of marijuana Legalization. Retrieved from: . This article has discussed the general social and economic arguments for legalizing marijuana. Most importantly, this article has discussed about the negative impact of legalization of marijuana on social and economic growth rate of a country. ACLU. (2003). Billions of Dollars wasted on Racially Biased Arrests. Retrieved from: . This report has determined that the number of marijuana arrests have increased rapidly between 2001 and 2010. More importantly, this article has discussed about how this issue affected overall economic growth of the United States of America. Barry, I. (2009). Legalize Marijuana. Retrieved from: . This source has stated that there are several negative impacts of legalization of marijuana on the social environment of the United States. Despite these disadvantages, this article has articulated how the economic environment of the United States of America can be benefited through the legalization of marijuana. CDC. (2009). Vital Signs: Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults Aged ≥18 Years --- United States, 2009. Retrieved from: . This particular article has articulated that how number of cigarette smoker is increasing at a rapid pace. In addition to this, addiction to marijuana is causing several premature deaths. Gieringer, D. (2011). Marijuana Health Mythology. Retrieved from: . This particular article has articulated how the legalization of marijuana can have both negative and positive impact in the United States of America. Fine, D. (2012). Too high to Fail. New York: Penguin. Clements, K. (2009). Economics and Marijuana. London: Cambridge University Press. Cermak, T. (2013). Marijuana What’s a parent to Believe. New York: Hazelden. Morgan, K. (2010). Legalize Marijuana. New York: ABDO. Earleywine, M. (2002). Understanding Marijuana. New York: Oxford University Press. Skelton, R. (2011). A survey of the Forensic Sciences. New York: Lulu. Isralowitz, R. (2002). Drug Use, Policy and Management. New York: Greenwood. Beare, M. (2007). Money Laundering in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. Rahtz, H. (2012). Drugs, Crime, and Violence. New York: Rowman and Littlefield. Gravel, M. (2008). Citizen Power. New York: Author House. Read More