Riley Becquet

CannabisLegalization
February 25, 2016

Marijuana?
IntheearlyAmericandayshempproductionwaswidespreadandevenendorsedbymany
politicians.HempisthefiberfoundinthestemoftheCannabisplantandisusedmost
commonlyforclothing,canvas,rope,andothermaterials.Marijuanaisthedriedflowersand
leavesfromtheCannabisplant(PBS,2014).Upuntilaroundthe1930sMarijuanawasused

medicallyforhundredsofyears.Afearof
mexicanimmigrants,ofwhommanyused
marijuanamedicallyandrecreationally,ledto
theprohibitionoftheplant(PBS,2014).Since
theNarcoticsControlActof1956asanation
wehaveseenmanylivesruinedbythisplant.

ResearchQuestion
:Willthelegalizationof
CannabisintheUnitedStatescreatehigher
taxrevenues,lowerincarceration,andfewer
illegaldrugcrimesthanitsprohibition?

Tax Revenues

Informationfollowingthelegalizationof
marijuanainColoradoandWashington,then
thestatesthatmorerecentlylegalizedcanbe
reviewedtoobserveitseffects.Currentlyin
theUnitedStatesabout45%ofdrugabuse
violationsareattributedtomarijuana(FBI,
2014),whichcanbeviewedinfigure1.
Governmentreportsindicatethatthenation's
marijuanalawscosttaxpayers$41.8billion
annually(Gettman,2007).

Thisismoneythatcouldbeallocatedto
educationorotherareaseachindividualstate
mayneedtofund.Instateswherecannabis
hasbeenlegalizeddrugrelatedcrimerates
havedropped.InWashington,Filingsfor
lowlevelmarijuanaoffensesaredown98%
foradults21andolder.Allcategoriesof
marijuanalawviolationsaredown63%and
marijuanarelatedconvictionsaredown
81%(DPA,2015).
Otherthansavingmoneyfromfewerarrests
statescanmakerevenuefromplacingtaxes
oncannabispurchases.Incolorado,Data
releasedbythestateDepartmentofRevenue
revealthattaxrevenuefromretailmarijuana
salesamountedto$40.9millionbetween
January2014andOctober2014,not
includingrevenuefrommedicalmarijuana
andlicensesandfees(DPA,2015).
Washingtonhascollectednearly$83million
inmarijuanataxrevenues.Theserevenuesare
fundingsubstanceabusepreventionand
treatmentprograms,youthandadultdrug
education,communityhealthcareservices,
andacademicresearchandevaluationonthe
effectsofmarijuanalegalizationinthe
state(DPA,2015).

FIgure #1:
ThisisatableofallDrugAbuseViolationsinAmericain2014,andwhatdrugswereinvolved
inthecrimes.

(FBI,2014)

Incarceration
I
nadditiontothebenefitsseenwiththetaxrevenuesfromcannabisinColorado,thereare

alsopositiveaspectsofmarijuanalegalizationregardingincarcerationrates.Accordingtodata
fromtheColoradoCourtSystem,marijuanapossessionarrestshavedropped84%since
2010(DPA2015).WithlargevolumeofcannabisrelatedcrimesthattakeplaceintheUnited
StatesthedecreaseofincarcerationwouldhaveahugeimpactontheAmericanprisonsystem.In
2014,Thehighestnumberofarrestswerefordrugabuseviolations(estimatedat1,561,231
arrests)(FBI).Legalizingmarijuanawouldmakeanimmediatecuttothisnumber.Bylookingat
Figure#2youcanseedrugcrimesdroppingdrasticallyinColoradoin2012whencannabiswas
legalized.

Conclusion
Inconclusionthelegalizationof
cannabishasmanybenefitsasshowninthis
document.BylookingatColoradoand
Washingtonasmodelsforlegalizationother
statescanlearnfromtheirsuccess.Inanera
whentheattitudesofsomanyAmericanson
somanyissuesaredrivenbyparty
preferencesandideologicalleanings,
marijuanalegalizationisapartialexception,
displayingasignificantdegreeofideological
andpartisancrossover(Galtson,Dionne,
2013).Tosuccessfullylegalizecannabisa
Moreoverthemoneythatisbeing
widevarietyofpeoplemustbereachedand
collectedwithtaxesisntbeingfunneledinto educatedonthepossiblebenefits.Legalizing
drugcrimes.Bylookingatfigure#1youcan cannabisforrecreationaluseintheUnited
seethatafairamountofdrugrelatedcrimes
Stateswouldresultinlargetaxrevenuesfor
areassociatedwithmarijuana..Onecan
eachstate,lowerincarcerationratesforlow
estimatethatonaveragetraffickerssucceeded leveldrugcrimes,andlessmoneygoingto
insmugglingintotheUnitedStatesroughly
illegaldrugcrimes.
24.1millionlbsofmarijuanaannually,or

10,932[metrictons]peryear(Gettman,
2007).Simplybylookingatfigure#2onecan
concludethatfarlessmoneyisbeingspenton
illegaldrugsales.
Cannabisaccountsfor
approximatelyonefifthtoonethirdofthe
MexicanDTOs'drugexportrevenues,
thereforewidespreadlegalizationof
marijuanaintheUnitedStateswouldremove
alargesectionofofthedrugcartelsbusiness
(Hawken,Caulkins,Kilmer,Kleiman,2013).

Illegal Drug Crimes

Figure #2:
This graph shows number of drug related crimes per year in Colorado. (DPA, 2015)

Works Cited:

Hawken,A.,Caulkins,J.,Kilmer,B.,&Kleiman,M.(2013).QuasilegalcannabisinColoradoand
Washington:Localandnationalimplications.
Addiction,108
(5),837838.Retrieved
February8,2016.
Pardo,B.(2014).CannabispolicyreformsintheAmericas:AcomparativeanalysisofColorado,
Washington,andUruguay.
InternationalJournalofDrugPolicy,

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(4),727735.
PBS(2014).MarijuanaTimeline.RetrievedMarch07,2016,from
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dope/etc/cron.html
FederalBureauofInvestigation(2016).2014CrimeintheUnitedStates.RetrievedMarch07,
2016,from
https://www.fbi.gov/aboutus/cjis/ucr/crimeintheu.s/2014/crimeintheu.s.2014/person
sarrested/main
Galston,W.A.,&DionneJr,E.J.(2013).Thenewpoliticsofmarijuanalegalization:Why
opinionischanging.
GovernanceStudiesatBrookings
,117.
Gettman,J.(2007).Losttaxesandothercostsofmarijuanalaws.
BulletinofCannabisReform
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4
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