As the debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana approaches the century mark, we can see that there are many valid stances on both the pro and con side. Although most of these points – ranging from health concerns to moral responsibility – are arguable, there is one concrete fact that may be the catalyst that keeps the issue afloat: economics. With the current rise in unemployment and personal debt there is a desperate cry for innovative ways to ease the national financial burden. Marijuana is now the biggest cash crop in the United States, generating over $35 billion dollars annually. As the taboos about the drug continue to decrease in our culture, more attention has been drawn to marijuana’s lucrative properties. Many people believe that the government should tax this staggering profit. The effects of marijuana’s criminalization are already felt by the taxpayer, as our nation’s prisons and court systems are crowded with marijuana dealers and users serving time and being penalized for a relatively harmless offense and thus costing us all more money. As we examine these fiscal burdens, it is evident that the financial freedom gained by marijuana’s legalization outweighs its detriment.

The most visible changes that would occur in the decriminalization of marijuana would be seen in the decrease of government spending on law enforcement. From the point of arrest to prosecution, enforcing marijuana prohibition seems to simply add more fuel to the penal system’s fire. In 2001 alone, the amount spent on incarcerating prisoners convicted on marijuana charges was $484 million dollars, with fees for arrest, processing and prosecution skyrocketing the full cost of enforcing these restrictions at the local and federal level to a whopping $7.7 billion dollars. (Miron) With constant reports on the lack of funds to address public health care, the dwindling of social security, and the crumbling of the nation’s infrastructure of roads and highways it is evident that these funds could be allocated to any one of these projects. The time and effort of enforcing prohibition has proven to be a waste in many towns and cities. For example, in Springfield, Massachusetts over 730 citations for marijuana possession have been issued since a decriminalization law took effect in 2009. The statute decreases the penalty for possession from a maximum six months in jail and $500 fine to a $100 ticket. However, without the process of tougher prosecution many of these fines go unpaid, and the manpower and court costs needed to sue the offender simply isn’t worth the money that would be recouped. “A number of communities have tried, but a number have just given up,” said Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. (Moran) Criminalization, for all fines and penalties, has done very little to deter marijuana’s usage. In a recent study conducted by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 25 percent of teenagers in grades 9 through 12 have smoked marijuana. Moreover, it’s reported that an estimated 3% of the country’s adult populations – over eight million people – use it regularly, and over 40% has used it at least once. (Bellville) Without positive, concrete results that will lead to a decrease in crime and reckless abuse, keeping marijuana illegal will continue to be a bad investment of taxpayer dollars.

Much like the prohibition of alcohol in the early 20th century, the marijuana trade has not been met with any real fiscal detriments; people who want to use will find ways to use, and those that can profit from it can do so without being subjected to the same tax structure as any other American merchant. Governments at every level sorely miss this loss of revenue, as the current economic downturn have dwindled our collective coffers. The best example is found in California, where a deficit of over $42 billion dollars has lawmakers paralyzed to move forward on many projects and has created a state of economic emergency. (Machete) However, California is the country’s largest producer of marijuana, with annual harvests that yield an estimated $13.8 billion dollars. Lawmakers in the California General Assembly have responded to these facts and introduced legislation to create a system of taxation for marijuana.