The citizens of The United States are becoming more open to changes, this can be seen through the legalization of marijuana in specific states. Whether the views of legalization align with your beliefs, there are specific quantitative values that cannot be ignored. Legalization of marijuana could increase tax revenue, with the additional revenue, that could go to helping schools across the nations or even fixing roadways. Helping decrease the unemployment rate, and reducing the number of citizens who are below the poverty line. If we break down various parts of the drug, we can see how various factors impact not only society, but the environment as well. If we look at the countries who have legalized marijuana, we can see how that has impacted their economy, environment, and even crime rates and receive a more reliable consensus.

Perhaps as a nation, we can look beyond our borders and look towards other countries. By looking at countries who have legalized marijuana, we can see the impact they have had as a nation. For instance, Amsterdam has classified drugs into two categories, soft and hard. Marijuana falls under the classification of a soft drug, meaning that within the Netherlands personal use is legal (Skelton). The use of drugs is seen as a personal decision, the government is not going to intervene on personal beliefs, but they will set regulations to insure the safety of citizens. One way this can be seen is by the limit of possession of marijuana is a maximum of 5 grams per individual, however if you comply with the police and willingly give up drugs, you will avoid prosecution. The minimum age of 18 is required to purchase the drugs. Owning marijuana plants and growing the drug itself is illegal, but if you have 5 plants or less you can give them up and more likely than not avoid prosecution. The purchase of marijuana in the Netherlands is limited to coffee shops, which have their own set of regulations. Such as, they are unable to place advertisements around the city and on their window fronts. In order to find a coffee shop, look for the green and white sticker shown in windows, there are about 200 coffee shops within Amsterdam (Skelton). Coffee shops differ from smart shops, smart shops are fully legal within the Netherlands in attempt to reduce the abuse of drugs. Smart shops sell herbal drugs that are said to “stimulate the mind and improve memory” (Skelton). Coffee and smart shops have seen an increase in popularity in recent years.

 There are two main chemicals, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). With research, it has been found that CBD is a chemical that has been most beneficial with medical use, since CBD does not have addictive traits or give the euphoria of a high, which can be typically felt while using the whole plant. THC is the chemical in marijuana that stimulates the high and psychoactive feeling. While CBD is typically the more common chemical used in medicinal use, typically in the form of oil, THC works better for certain medical issues. However, both chemicals are illegal to use under the DEA classification of marijuana as schedule 1 drug (Butterfield, Herb). This is important because until further research is conducted, it will not be clear which part of the brain each chemical will affect, because within people it takes different paths, creating different results and effects.

 The culture surrounding marijuana has vastly changed recently in the U.S. Today it has changed to something that is much more accepted, this can be seen through the food industry specifically. Marijuana has become one drug where there are many ways to ingest it, whether that be through an edible or a fine dining restaurant, sales have drastically increased and factored into revenue received from the legal drug in Colorado. “Ingesting THC is healthier and more discreet than smoking it, and experts believe that the number of people eating to get high will eventually eclipse those who currently smoke it” (Bennett). Fine dining ingestion of the drug can be seen as a more casual approach to getting high in a controlled way. The end goal isn’t to get as high as you possibly can, but rather have a high that develops through the course of the night. Fine dining chefs view their food as works of art. Some chefs can be seen as food scientists, finding the proper amounts of marijuana to incorporate into their food to enhance and compliment the flavors of the dishes they create. The “bug out” high is more commonly seen through eating edibles or foods containing higher amounts of THC. The labels of edibles can also be misleading, one may not know the proper amount to eat or even how much THC is within the edible, resulting in overeating. The introduction of cannabis dining alters the food industry as we know it today, showing how lawful marijuana can impact many industries and ultimately the U.S. economy. 

The legalization of marijuana has become a discussed topic since the states of Colorado and Washington legalized it in the November 2012 elections. Colorado and Washington have been perfect models of the economic effects the drug will have on each state’s economy.  The state of Colorado has collected $69 million in marijuana revenue in the 2015 fiscal year. A fiscal year is the governments way to track finances in a year span that is different from a calendar year, typically starting at the end of September.  With this information, it is also possible to see the individual breakdown of revenue received. Colorado imposed a 10% on retail tax, included in the sale of a good/ service and passed onto the state, generated around $43 million. A 15% excise tax on wholesale sales, specific to the good being purchased like gasoline or cigarettes, generated about $26 million (Basu, TIME). The revenue from 2015 marijuana tax revenue was almost double the tax revenue received from alcohol sales.

Legalization of marijuana could emulate similar effects of alcohol and tobacco sales, by using alcohol and tobacco as a template on where to place taxes with marijuana. Within a fiscal year in Colorado and Washington, both states generated a larger amount in revenue than originally predicted, together they generated around $410 million. Now imagine if all 50 states legalized the drug, the revenue received could substantially impact our economy, its estimated revenue could be anywhere between $5 billion to $18 billion in a year (Ekins, Tax Foundation). This is if there were a national standard, placing a 10% sale tax with an additional excise tax of around $23. Once more producers joined the market, the revenue would eventually decrease and level out due to competition and free market determining the price of the drug. 

Marijuana Policy Group formed a model describing the implications of marijuana and how the marijuana industry has been incorporated in the economy of Colorado. The main stressor is that, marijuana popularity isn’t from the legalization but rather the transition from black market sales to regulated sales. The marijuana industry is compared to other popular industries within Colorado, and the money generated in output is compared. Marijuana has a $2.40 output whereas casinos have an output of $1.73. The quantitative values clearly show marijuana industry being very successful in comparison to other industries, and this can also alter if marijuana is legal nationwide. Different states can have different numbers of output for various industries, so one state may become incredibly successful within the marijuana industry, substantially promoting their economy. The model also breaks the marijuana industry up into categories, cultivation, manufacturing and retailing, while discussing the factors that go into each category. In 2014, the marijuana economy grew at a rate of 3.5% per year, which is expected to level out once more cultivators join the market, with that being said, the revenue will lower after regulation over a couple of years, but will still generate over $20 million a year. On top of the monetary impact marijuana will cause, the legalization of the drug will also influence the unemployment, creating many jobs, lowering unemployment rates, locally, statewide and nationally. 

The issue of cultivation of marijuana in basements is a large economic burden. First, the electricity required to grow the drug in basements is very high and with that comes with a large bill, which directly effects the environment and the use of non- renewable natural resources. If marijuana were to become legal, the cultivation costs would decrease because it would no longer be illegally grown, but rather it could be cultivated by a government regulated business. The government could provide subsidies to independent growers, promoting competition while also providing an incentive.  In Sutton’s TEDx Talk, he mentions the business opportunity he had within the Canadian marijuana sales, using the sun to create a greenhouse to grow the drug, and distributing it legally to patients who used it medicinally. He raises issue of black market sales of the drug, and the electricity required to power illegal cultivations, which is more than the energy cultivated by the Hoover Dam. Lowering illegal cultivation will decrease costs required to reduce greenhouse emissions in the future, the money saved can be better used in other forms of environmental preservation. 

The War on Drugs uses a large source of money from the U.S. economy, however if marijuana were decriminalized, it would allow the necessary sources to be allocated in more helpful ways. Police resources could focus on preventing the transportation and sales of more harmful drugs or other crimes. Another benefit to decriminalizing marijuana would mean that there is less time spent in the judicial courts, saving money by reducing the number of court hearings and trials, resulting in less court fees and probation fees or the money required for jail and in the long run, the number of inmates in prison due to minor marijuana crimes. The average taxpayer pays $31,286 per inmate in prison, resulting in a total of around $39 billions spent on prisoners (Santora, The New York Times). It’s no lie that crime rates have risen over the past years, FBI divides crime into separate categories of violent crime and non-violent crime. “In 2010, the FBI reported 1,638,846 people were arrested for drug violations; 46% of the arrests were attributed to marijuana possession” (Hernandez, 31). Hernandez further discusses the correlation of crime rates to marijuana, using two separate sources.  One source says there is potential for crime to increase due to the medical legalization of marijuana, and could result in violent crimes such as burglary of dispensaries. Another source said there was not a relationship between crime rates and the legalization of medical marijuana. These opposing opinions on the impact of legalization of marijuana are based upon research and studies, in order to determine whether which is true, we can compare crime rates in Colorado to the rest of the United States. By comparing the two, it became clear that the legalization of marijuana only impacted the crime rates of robbery, causing them to lower. 

While there are proven economic benefits of legal marijuana, there is still opposition which can be seen since it is not legalized in all 50 states. Many resistance to legalization are due to the classification as a schedule I drug, with high potential for abuse and addiction. Although marijuana may not be as harmful and dangerous as other drugs that are schedule I, there is no proven medical use for it. However, the DEA made restrictions lighter in order to conduct marijuana research, and potentially discover health benefits (Caldwell, AP- The Big Story). Lawful marijuana, will make access to the drug easier, especially for younger people. The use of cannabis by young people, has negative impact on development which can influence their performance in classrooms and harming necessary skills. Driving under the influence is another worry people have and we can primarily relate this to the harmful effects of drunk driving. Many anti- marijuana argue that if the drug becomes legal, it will result in more impairments in the work force, which can damage the productivity of the company, or even worse, injuries (Evans, U.S. News). Although this source was published in 2012, and being slightly outdated, it mentions negative impacts which can still raise issues and cause problems today. In order for marijuana to become legal, the FDA would have to go through a lengthy process approving the drug. 

The legalization of marijuana can provide many different benefits. Specifically, improving the U.S. economy by creating new jobs and gaining revenue from many different taxes such as, income, business, and payroll. The economic benefit of legalization goes just beyond tax revenue, it will decriminalize the drug which will ultimately lead to lower crime rates and jailing’s due to the drug, which saves money. The economic umbrella branches over into the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency due to illegal cultivation of the drug within basements. 

 In society today, marijuana has created its own culture, whether that be through food, television shows and movies, daily life, or music. This can be seen through popular figures such as Cheech and Chong, Bob Marley, Snoop Dogg, and Seth Rogan. With the marijuana culture, there are multiple implications that result from the use of it. Typically, health risks are mentioned and the main focus of discussion, as well as some health benefits. Marijuana or rather the legalization of marijuana is something seen constantly in many forms of media today. The problem with media is that it allows viewers to receive information that they want to be known, this is problematic because it does not always provide all necessary information for viewers to make their own educated opinion on. 
