
Think back years ago to a time whenever alcohol was prohibited by a federal law. This is better known as the prohibition which many people look past today because alcohol is legal. Not only do people look past the fact that alcohol used to be thought of as a terrible drug that caused death to whomever drank it, but also how quick the crime rate jumped as soon as the prohibition started. This led to illegal production of alcohol and caused people to do whatever it takes to get their hands on it whether that meant killing the person with it, buying it from them tax free, or making it themselves. The economy suffered greatly and lost tons of money from taxes that could have been received from the sale of alcohol. "In a 1970 essay for the New York Times, Gore Vidal spoke to a previous era of prohibition in U.S. history, cautioning the reader to avoid repeating the lessons of the past. Vidal wrote, "No one in Washington today recalls what happened during the years alcohol was forbidden to the people by a Congress that thought it had a divine mission to stamp out Demon Rum and so launched the greatest crime wave in the country's history, caused thousands of deaths from bad alcohol, and created a general (and persisting) contempt for the laws of the United States."(Smith) The same thing is happening today, but just by a different substance, marijuana. 

By legalizing marijuana, not only would it bring in tons of tax revenue considering the amount of people that are for marijuana being legalized and already smoke it illegally, but it would also provide a medical purpose to some patients that cannot find the right prescription or treatment for their sickness. It would remove the illegal distribution and lead to much less crime. The money made from marijuana could be used to help fix and make roads, provide funds for more training and resolution to other crimes being committed, and let the police do their job to get the real drugs and crime off of the streets.

When talking about all the positive benefits of legalizing marijuana the main benefit that stands out is the amount of money it would produce if it were taxed. Like stated in a New York Times article "Legalizing marijuana on a federal level would provide economic benefits for the United States in the billions, precisely at a time when the federal economy needs a major boost. It's not just the feds, however, who would benefit; legalization would provide top-down economic improvements in local communities, state coffers, and more. In addition to bringing in funds, it would save regional and state governments substantial sums in currently wasted law enforcement dollars."(Smith) The entire country could benefit from the legalization if it were federally legalized. The current state our economy is in leaves people wondering why we haven't tried everything we can to bring it back to normal. The fact that it has already been proven by the amount of people in jail for either possessing or selling marijuana illegally that the number of people that smoke marijuana and spend great amounts of money on it every day would bring in billions of dollars off tax revenue. This makes it hard to believe that the plant has still yet to be legalized "The most obvious economic aspect of the case for legalization lies in tax revenues. Average annual trade in marijuana is estimated at $113 billion, which represents nearly $45 billion in taxes slipping through our fingers, according to Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron. Without being able to regulate and monitor the sale of marijuana, tax authorities miss out on municipal, state, and federal taxes that could fund a broad assortment of initiatives -- including, of course, assistance programs for drug users, a measure supported in lieu of incarceration by over two thirds of Americans."(Smith)  In 2012, marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Colorado and Washington meaning that it is open to the public for purchase and one does not require any medical purpose to purchase the product. This has already increased both of the State's tax revenues greatly since, and continues to increase. The less people think about it to be morally wrong, the more the people will understand all the benefits marijuana truly provides. 

Marijuana should not only be legalized because of the economic benefits but also because of the medical benefits. The chemical in marijuana that gives the user the "high" is called THC, which is short for tetrahydrocannabinol. For everyone, this is not always the main purpose of the substance. There has been multiple cases of children being diagnosed with epilepsy and cannot receive the correct treatment for it. They get sent to multiple different hospitals to be tested and are given drugs that if not taken correctly can harm the child. Furthermore, the child continued to have seizures. Most of the other prescription drugs that are given to the children do little to nothing to help with their diagnosis. But, it just so happens that there's a chemical that is also created by the marijuana plant called CBD oil which is the chemical contracted from the leaves and does not create a high like said "A non-psychoactive, highly therapeutic compound in cannabis known as CBD, or Cannabidiol, has sparked a revolution in medical marijuana. The wheels of prohibition have been spinning in a 77-year old rut, but cannabis' acceptance is beginning its steady crawl forward as education and testimonials spread. Studies have demonstrated CBD's benefits in treating a variety of ailments, including epilepsy, cancer, pain, arthritis, anxiety disorders, and many others. CBD can be extracted and processed into a variety of medications, each appropriate for different needs and lifestyles."(Rahn) The creation of this CBD oil has become so useful to some families with a child that has epilepsy or any of the sicknesses listed that the family was forced to move where medical marijuana is legal just to give their desperate kid the treatment that. In many cases the CBD oil lowered the amount of strokes the child had drastically.

The more money and research being put into marijuana is only bringing out more reasons for why it should be legalized to everyone. The people that are looking for the "high" from THC have multiple ways to receive it healthily now. With the advancement of technology, increase in education, and money that has been put into marijuana, it has been made even safer to consume. It is now possible to receive the "high" without burning the THC from the plant which when burnt requires the consumer to not only inhale the THC, but also the stem and leaves on the bud. They have also made edibles that include candy, cookies, brownies, and much more. . So, for the people that claim marijuana is going to be the next cigarette and just cause more cancer, the solution has been solved. They have also made oils, wax, and "shatter" which all have a very high potency of THC and no harmful side effects. There has yet to be a fatality strictly due to marijuana ever and it is nearly impossible to overdose from THC. The amount of fatalities every year because of alcohol only makes people wonder more and more why marijuana isn't legal. It takes as little as two beers to impair ones driving and puts not only them but everyone else on the road in danger. Smoking or using marijuana puts not even the consumer in danger because of the little to no side effects and no fatalities proven yet. The fact that cigarettes are also legal while marijuana continues to be a Subject 1 drug which means highly addictive with no medical purpose, makes you also wonder why cigarettes continue to be legal and smoked. The amount of deaths every year due to cigarettes is absurd and leaves people thinking the government has something to do with why a substance like marijuana which has never caused a death stays illegal, but substances that cause tons of deaths every year stay legal.  

Legalizing marijuana would not only benefit the people that smoke it already but it would also take out tons of inmates that are in there for a substance that causes no harm. It would bring the cartels away from trafficking it because there would no longer be any profit made by sending it to the US because once legalized, it will be grown in the US. This would also help the police force to get on top of the hard drugs being shipped in by the cartels and not have to worry about busting a box full of marijuana that only profited the cartel. Yes, by catching the boxes being shipped over with tons of kilos of marijuana gets it off the streets but it does nothing to benefit the people or the police force knowing marijuana is harmless. If it were to be grown and sold in the U.S., people would no longer have to be scared of getting a "laced" substance. When referring to something being laced, it means to add something to the drug and make it harmful to the consumer, just because the cartels that ship it over have nothing better to do than kill more people and make more money off it. As Americans, why should we let the cartels and other illegal producers take the money that could be used to heal our economy. Why should we have to pay for people in prison that got booked for a simple possession and sentenced to jail time because of a misdemeanor? We shouldn't. It would be understandable if it were to be legalized to an extent, and the user may only have a certain amount of marijuana on them at one time, but under no circumstances should a person be doing jail time just for using the cannabis and we especially shouldn't have to pay for the ones that are locked up because of it. 

Let the real crimes and drugs be taken off the streets and allow for marijuana to be used as a medical or beneficial treatment to anyone who pleases. If you choose not to smoke the marijuana and don't want to be around it there will be laws put forward that restricts smoking in public areas, just like the "open container" law for alcohol. This can center the circulation and use of the substance and make it easier for the law enforcement to stop the true crimes being committed and get the hard drugs off of the streets. For the people that question whether or not they can trust someone "high" to perform an operation or use a vehicle, like stated before it has already been proven that marijuana has caused no deaths and does not impair the consumer to the extent they can't motor a vehicle. Also, for the people that question "if marijuana gets legalized who will perform surgeries and fly the planes?" well, like stated before, there will be laws put forth that will restrict certain people with jobs like doctors and pilots from smoking on the job and that can easily be tested with a drug test like it already is now. 

Now, it's just a matter of time when Americans are going to look past the scary thought of the green leaf being legalized and think about it economically and ethically. Not only does our economy need help as a whole but were also in a time of great tension between other countries and the U.S. so that is also just a matter of time before another war breaks out, and when it does we're going to want the best economy and most money to support our side of the fight. That's looking at it economically, now to look at it ethically; there are tons of kids and people like veterans out there that cannot receive the correct treatment for their diagnoses, and the only thing that has showed a difference is marijuana. Nobody likes the thought of a kid suffering especially from things like epilepsy, and the child only receives more harmful medications and sanctioned to more medical tests and almost trials you could say. Allow for America to get back on its feet economically and allow for these families and veterans to treat their children and themselves with a substance that actually heals and not harms. Allow for marijuana to be legalized and prove that it will do nothing but better the country and put the whole controversy behind us because the technology and education has already proven that marijuana is not the killer of the U.S., but could be the savior.   

