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Why The Legalization Of Marijuana Should Be Legalized In The United States

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Since the day weed was discovered, it has been used more times than not, recreationally. A wide variety of successful people have used marijuana, including presidents like Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, actors such as Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston, talk show hosts including Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Colbert, and even athletes like Lebron James and Michael Phelps(Reilly, Huffington Post). It is estimated that about thirty million Americans have used marijuana(Ossola, Popsci). The current drug laws on marijuana are hurting Americans more than helping them, legalizing the recreational use of marijuana would benefit the United States in more ways than one. For starters, the legalization of recreational use of marijuana would boost the economy. For the states that have already legalized weed, the tax collection surpassed expectations. …show more content…

The money market for marijuana today is estimated between ten to forty billion dollars(Ekins, Taxfoundation). All of that money is circulating between drug dealers and growers. Why should criminals be getting all this money, when the people of the United States could be making an honest living on the growth and distribution of legalized marijuana. The Criminal Justice system and the Law Enforcement are being distracted by weed related crimes. In 2010 seven hundred and fifty thousand people were arrested on marijuana related charges(Henchman, Taxfoundation). This takes time away from officers that protect its citizens from criminals doing harm. Instead of helicopters flying over harmless cornfields searching for hidden weed, they could be using that technology for life flight or car chases. There are many alternative options for the open cells that a marijuana dealer would be in, or other places an officer could be, instead of arresting someone for possession of

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