What Are the Possible Economic Implications of Legalizing Marijuana - Research Paper Example

Legalization of marijuana Outline Research questions 3 Introduction 3 Summary and evaluation of sources 3 Conclusion 8 References9 Research questions How will the decriminalization of marijuana minimize crime in the society?How will the legalization of marijuana increase efficiency of both the judiciary and the law enforcement agencies? What are the possible economic implications of legalizing marijuana? Introduction Marijuana, also known as cannabis is one of the most abused drug in the world. The readily available plant intoxicates besides its addictive effects thereby resulting in most governments criminalizing its use. The United States is one such countries in which the use of cannabis is illegal; and attracts stringent punishments including varied jail terms. The American governments have several law enforcement agencies mandated with the ensuring that the society is free from such drugs as cannabis. However, discussions on the need to decriminalize marijuana are on the rise owing to the large financial resources the country uses in containing the use of the drug. Decriminalizing the drug will present myriad economic and legal positive implications as the discussion below portrays. Summary and evaluation of sources Harry, J. A. & Will, O. (1961). The Murderers: The Story of the Narcotic Gangs. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. Possession of marijuana is a criminal offense in the country with law enforcement agencies mandated with containing the use of drugs arresting thousands of peddlers. Such arrests have myriad effects thus slowing the rate of dispensing justice in the society. The law courts and police stations are arguably crowded with thousands of young people charged with being in possession and using marijuana. Congestion in American jails is a major social problem that the government strives to solve. The government uses millions of dollars in maintaining the prison facilities most of which also serve as remands while suspects await their trials. The legal process further slows owing to the huge pile up of cases a feature that makes such processes not only slow but also equally expensive for suspects, their families and the government. As explained earlier, marijuana is one of the most common drug that millions of Americans use for varied reasons including medicinal. This makes the drug a menace that the government continues to invest millions of dollars to contain. Most of the peddlers serving jail terms in American prisons are serving such terms owing to either possessing or using marijuana. Decriminalizing the drug will therefore free up the state facilities thereby cutting the amount of money the government invests in managing such facilities as the courts and prisons. Additionally, this will offer a natural solution to the overcrowding problem in most of the correctional facilities in the country. This will expedite the legislation process thereby making the management of both the courts and the prisons easier. The government has strived to achieve this in the past by investing more money into the departments despite the ailing economy. By legalizing the drug, the government will not save the billions of dollars the government invests in the two departments annually but also increase the efficiency of operating the two critical facilities in the country. http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana-legalization-and-regulation The drug policy alliance has often propagated for the legalization of marijuana as a way of infiltrating law and order in the society. The decriminalization of the drug will make marijuana a legal product like any other. This implies that investors will set up companies to process, package and transport the drug appropriately. By developing effective packaging and transportation, mechanisms in the trade of the drug especially after its legalization will eradicate the lawlessness and the high crime rates in most of the major cities in the country. Police officers among other law enforcers engage the users and peddlers of such drugs throughout the cities. Most of the chases turn into gun batters as police officers and innocent members of the public obtain injuries while others lose their lives. With the legalization of the drug, management and policy implementation becomes easier since the government will have control of the industry like is the case with many other industries in the economy. Regulating and monitoring the actions of the players in a legal industry is easier since the government easily revokes operational licenses of the companies flaunting the law. The resultant orderliness in the trade and use of marijuana will possibly minimize the crime rate in major cities by providing the law enforcers with more control of the industry. Such an orderly industry will make investigations into misuse of the drug easier thereby enhancing arrests and trial of the perpetrators easier. This will make the country safer by easing the work of the law enforcers. Carter, T. (12 August 2013). "Sweeping reversal of the War on Drugs announced by Atty General Holder". ABAs 560-member policy making House of Delegates. American Bar Association. As discussed earlier, the government uses billions of dollar annually in order to contain the use and misuse of drugs in the country. The government has therefore formed several agencies to ensure that the society is free from drugs. Such agencies as the Drug Enforcement Agency, DEA, utilize money in combating drugs key among which is the cannabis. The agencies seek to minimize the smuggling and abuse of the drug in the country. The decriminalization of marijuana will help the government save such amounts of money to use in other sectors of the economy. Marijuana has several medicinal implications; this makes the drug relevant even to non-drug addicts. However, the myriad legislations that govern the use of the drug makes it more difficult for such users to obtain the drug thereby compelling them to employ other dubious means to obtain the drugs thereby perpetuating the smuggling menace. Among other economic benefits of decriminalizing marijuana as observed in countries that have decriminalize the drug, include low crime rates. Some governments have handled the drug as they do alcohol. Alcohol is a large industry in the United States among many other countries throughout the world. The industry employs millions of citizens and contributes to the economic developments. Most proponents of the decriminalization of marijuana argue that by decriminalizing the drug and handling the drug as they do alcohols will expedite the operation of law enforcers and the judiciary among many others. The government has stringent laws that govern the consumption of alcohol including underage drinking and drunk driving. The efficient implementation of the laws has resulted in the orderly operations of alcohol manufacturers and the consumers of the same. The development of such an effectively managed structure in the use and processing of marijuana products will make the industry both orderly and beneficial to the economy. Such will eradicate the smuggling menace a feature that has enhanced unregulated movement of people across the borders. The government has often admitted that the country has porous borders and ineffective law enforcement agencies to observe the movement of people across the borders. Decriminalizing marijuana will eliminate the need for people to smuggle the drugs. The marijuana industry will benefit the economy by creating employment. Furthermore, the legal industry will have effective legislations to regulate the operations of every stakeholder in the industry including the users of the drug. This will make the works of the drug enforcement agencies easier since they will concentrate on the smuggling and use of other more serious drugs. Miroff, N. (10 December 2013). "Uruguay votes to legalize marijuana". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 December 2014. The infiltration of guns in the society has contributed to the rising crime rate in the country. Smugglers of drugs use similar structures to smuggle guns thereby increasing the presence of illegal guns in the country. Drug smugglers use the guns to protect their illegal drugs from exploitative business people in the industry. Marijuana is a multibillion-dollar industry that has hundreds of billionaires. However, the industry experiences blackmails and shortchanges as the businesspeople strive to avoid both the law enforcers and other equally unscrupulous businesspeople who strive to steal from each other. Such therefore necessitate the use of guns and small arms. Such have curtailed the effort of law enforcers in handling such illegal guns in the society. The rise in criminal activities arises from the high number of guns in the society leading to the high crime rate. The decriminalization of the drug will therefore eliminate the position of intermediary businesspeople by making the operation of such people legal thereby minimizing the need for conflicts and violence in the society. The government has not only invested billions of dollars in managing the use of drugs in the country but has also lost human resources who have died while combating smugglers among other criminals in the country. The decriminalization of the drug will make the work of police officers among other law enforcers easier since they will have access to both the processors and users of the drug thereby reducing the crime rates in the society. The reduction of the number of illegal guns in the country coupled with effective management of the borders in the country will reduce the rate of crime in the country. Additionally, the author argues that the decriminalization of marijuana will curb the crime rate by eliminating the need for smugglers to use firearms to protect themselves. Conclusion In a summary, the decriminalization of the drug in the country will enhance the operation of the law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. The two arms of the government have experienced large cases to handle. The large population of the country coupled with the sophisticated way the smugglers operate makes it difficult for police officers to carry out investigations and make arrests. The judiciary on the other hand has large backlogs of cases to hear and determine a feature that slows the dispensation of justice in the country. In the year 2012, the DEA had a budget of three billion dollars. Despite the large budget, the agency had minimal success rates owing to the sophisticated and discrete way in which the drug smugglers and user operate. The decriminalization of marijuana will help curb the wastage in such large budgetary allocations that do not often result in results thereby rendering the law enforcers inefficient. References Harry, J. A. & Will, O. (1961). The Murderers: The Story of the Narcotic Gangs. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy. Carter, T. (12 August 2013). "Sweeping reversal of the War on Drugs announced by Atty General Holder". ABAs 560-member policy making House of Delegates. American Bar Association. Miroff, N. (10 December 2013). "Uruguay votes to legalize marijuana". The Washington Post. Retrieved 27 December 2014. http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana-legalization-and-regulation Read More