Would the Legalization of Marijuana Benefit the Economy?
One of the hot topics of today is the legalization of marijuana. Some states have approved medical marijuana use. While I do not care for the substance, I believe that marijuana should be legal to purchase and use for recreational purposes. The sale of cannabis would benefit the state financially and put illegal dealers out of business.
The state economy would benefit from the sale of marijuana. The state of Colorado issued amendment 64 in 2012 which allowed of the sale of marijuana for recreational use. In January 2015 the state of Colorado made 44 million dollars in tax revenue from the sale of retail marijuana (“Colorado”). The county of Denver, Colorado made 2 million dollars in tax revenue in January 2015 from the sale of retail marijuana (“Colorado”). The numbers alone speak in volumes of the possibilities if marijuana were to be legalized locally. This would mean more money for schools and projects.
The local economy would benefit from the legalization of marijuana. This would open up opportunities for local businesses to benefit from the revenue of selling cannabis. More job opportunities would become available. The marijuana would need to be grown, processed, and packaged for sale. There would be opportunities for businesses focusing mainly on the sale of cannabis and the ways in which it can be processed into different products such as food, clothing, and paper.
By legalizing marijuana this would relieve law enforcement for the misdemeanor charges of possession. In Colorado, a resident is allowed to have one ounce of marijuana on them for personal use while a visitor may have ¼ of an ounce (“Colorado Pot”). This would free law enforcement to deal with other more prominent problems while putting illegal