Economic Benefits of Marijuana Legalization in the United States

The legalization of marijuana will benefit society, while simultaneously crippling the market for illegal drugs. Nixon’s war on drugs was the nail in the coffin of the marijuana industry and has caused a tremendous amount of problems that still resonate in American society today. This paper specifically talks about how marijuana was affected by this, why it became illegal, why it remained illegal for so long, and why it would be economically beneficial for American society to legalize cannabis. Nixon’s plan was to restrict supply via enacting legislation that heavily penalized those who used, or distributed drugs. It is clear now that he was unsuccessful in this endeavor. Keeping marijuana illegal is extremely costly. A tremendous amount of taxpayer money is spent policing these laws, as well as prosecuting and incarcerating those who disobey these laws. Once legalized, state and federal governments will be able to make money off those who use, instead of spend money punishing users. The amount of tax revenue collected by the state of Colorado has grown nearly eight times since it was first made legal in 2012. The product can also be regulated and controlled at the discretion of the state. The black-market marijuana dealers, growers and traffickers will be pushed out of the market by more efficient producers, and sellers. Such is the beauty of a capitalist system.