America is more divided than ever before, but there is one matter about which we all seem to agree: Marijuana laws have to change. States across the board seem to be ready and willing to legalize marijuana, or at the very least to decriminalize it. Even sectors in the media you wouldn’t anticipate are on board. Of course, organizations like the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) are pushing for marijuana laws to change, but did you know that so is the Economist, a solidly conservative publication?
Marijuana legalization seems poised to one day sweep the nation, and why not? There are myriad of reasons for its legalization: ending the moral panic over drugs, decreasing crime rates and our overall prison population and challenging the racist marijuana policy. But among all these practical reasons, one may seem to cry out louder than the rest: legalizing marijuana would provide the United States billions of dollars, giving our country’s economy a much required boost. Marijuana legalization would also greatly enhance state coffers, local communities, not to mention it would save regional and state governments large amounts of money in squandered law enforcement dollars.
The most apparent economic component of the case for marijuana legalization lies in tax revenues. After all, the annual trade of marijuana is now approximated to be at $113 billion, which is about $45 billion in taxes. Tax authorities are in fact missing out on municipal, state and federal taxes which could fund a broad assortment of resources. The money could even be well allocated on support plans for hard drug users, given the current incarceration rate. Also, if taking marijuana out of the black market and delivering it into the public light also provides clear savings for the government on top of net tax gains, in addition to ensuring a safe and controlled product. The drug war is infamous for costing the U.S. government a remarkable sum and while these ventures encompass a vast range of Schedule I drugs (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and meth, among others), spending to enforce the law for those illegal substances would considerably decrease without marijuana.
Through legislation, many other facets of debt and spending would also decrease if marijuana laws were to change– first among them being prison expenses. Statistically, an approximated one in four people are in prison because of a non-violent drug offense. This involves the possession, sale, and repeat offense related to marijuana. Marijuana-related busts make up a huge portion of law enforcement actions involving drugs.
Cutting down on the number of people jailed for a relevant offense also has secondary economic benefits, by keeping people in their own communities. Systemic poverty can be directly linked to fractured communities, such as those that have been torn apart by the drug war. Enabling people to remain with their family members, economically get involved in their communities and add to society enhances not only their own economic situation, but the community’s as well.
Economically, the legalization of marijuana would certainly create a ripple effect through related industries. Cultivation, farmers, farmworkers, fertilizer firms, and other manufacturers of agricultural products all stand to benefit. In addition, given the vast power requirements related with indoor growing, it’s possible that the potentially boom in marijuana cultivation could also increase the alternative energy industry– particularly as consumers push for organic and ethically manufactured marijuana. In addition, an increase in open cultivation would decrease illegal farming, fertilizer pollution, and similar problems, which is intrinsically better for the natural environment. Without the need to hire crews to cover expanding operations, such marijuana producers could spend their funds more successfully.
It seems somewhat contradictory that a nation that loves to tout free market capitalism would be so sluggish to legalize marijuana. The tangle of morals and intoxicants doesn’t seem to have an impact on the legalization of tobacco and alcohol, whose business sectors remain extremely controlled and exceptionally profitable. There is some light poking through the clouds of pretension, nonetheless, with Washington D.C., Oregon and Alaska now in the process of marijuana legalization. And even though the legalisation measure was shot down in Florida, it was only a bit of a setback. It seems that at this direction, these states will join the ranks of Washington and Colorado, who have actually completely legalized marijuana.
