Economic Benefits of Legalization

Legalizing cannabis will result in economic growth and prosperity if the United States chooses to embrace it. Washington and Colorado, the two states that made marijuana legal this past year, have already seen economic growth as well as a notable increase in tourism. Legalizing cannabis would foster economic growth not only by creating jobs and generating tax revenue, but also by causing an increase in so-called “pot-tourism” (Dighe). Another reason why legal cannabis will be good for the economy is because it will greatly reduce law enforcement costs. Lots of our Justice System's time, money, and resources are wasted on prosecuting marijuana-only related offenses, when these actions should not even be considered criminal. The only reason why they are labeled as such is because of the U.S. government's counterproductive war on drugs which has been going on since 1970 and has wasted billions of Americans' tax dollars.

If the federal government chooses to capitalize on the legal cannabis industry, the economic benefits could be enough to help lift the United States out of its $17.5 trillion national debt over time. The savings in law enforcement costs alone come out to an estimated $9 billion annually, combined with $10 billion coming from the sale of industrial hemp, as well as a possible $8 billion increase in tax revenue between excise and sales taxes. These are only a few of the ways that the legalization of cannabis could be effective in stimulating the economy (Gieringer). These numbers are also conservative estimates, and the marijuana industry could certainly expand beyond one’s expectations, especially in a legal market. For example, the numbers for industrial hemp could easily double from $10 billion annually to $20 billion depending on demand. The legalization of cannabis would also be very effective in creating jobs not only at the retail level, but also at the agricultural level. This job creation would definitely help to stimulate our economy by bringing down the unemployment rate as well as creating a whole new industry and source of revenue (Gieringer).

Legalizing cannabis would be a very smart move on the part of the United States government, especially at this point in time. The idea of decriminalization is one that differs slightly from full on legalization. The differences lies in that decriminalization simply entails less severe repercussions for use or cultivation of cannabis, compared to legalization which involves cannabis being taxed, regulated, and sold commercially in the same manner as alcohol and tobacco (Gieringer). I believe that either of these two solutions will work just fine. Whether it is decriminalized or legalized, either one is better than continuing the war on drugs. However, legalization would be better for the United States so that the cannabis that is sold at the retail level could be regulated and maintained, rather than staying in the black market where there is no supervision whatsoever.

Gieringer, Dale, Ph.D. “Economics of Cannabis Legalization (1994) Detailed Analysis of the Benefits of Ending Cannabis Prohibition.” NORML. NORML, June 1994. Web. 06 Apr.  2014.

            This was a very useful report that I found on the NORML website, which stands for National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The report, dated June 1994, is written by Dale Gieringer, Ph.D., and is titled “Economics of Cannabis Legalization (1994) Detailed Analysis of the Benefits of Ending Cannabis Prohibition.” What I foundparticula rly useful about this source was the charts and tables that contained information about the impact of legalization on the economy. Also, it is apparent that the author of   this report also went to great lengths to make sure that his numbers were accurate and that he did not skip over anything. Gieringer also goes into specific detail about the subtle differences between decriminalizing marijuana and legalizing marijuana.

Dighe, Ranjit. "Legalize It -- The Economic Argument." The Huffington Post.TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.

This is an article written by Ranjit Dighe published in The Huffington Post on January 30, 2014. The author makes a joke about the two teams competing in this year’s Super Bowl coming from the two states which made history by legalizing recreational marijuana. Dighe seems to be an economist based on his language throughout this article, saying facetiously that he would legalize marijuana if the expected net benefit was positive. The author also points out that nobody has ever died from consuming cannabis, as well as mentioning President Obama’s comments that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. However, I found that the author placed more of an emphasis on the moral aspect of the issue of legalization, rather than focusing on the economic argument like the title suggests.