Legalize it?

With the country still in the grip of the worst economic recession since the Great Depression, policy makers are beginning to think creatively about how to solve the budget crisis. Many politicians are even looking to the legalization of marijuana as a means of creating new revenues for the state and federal government.

Not only would legalization reduce the amount of money currently spent on fighting marijuana trafficking, it would lessen the financial burden on prisons for incarcerating violators of marijuana laws, most often for distribution. Pair that cost cutting with tax revenues from the import and sale of the drug and states could have some hefty funds at their disposal to help face record unemployment and cuts to public services and education.

An April issue of Time Magazine looks into the persuasive argument for the legalization of marijuana. Joe Klein writes, “It is estimated that pot is the largest cash crop in California, with annual revenues approaching $14 billion. A 10% pot tax would yield $1.4 billion in California alone.” It would also provide other economic benefits in the form of new jobs in a variety of fields related to the cultivation, processing and sale of marijuana.

As the benefits of legalization of marijuana, at least to a certain extent, come to light, support for legalization has increased dramatically, as reported in a Washington Post article on Monday. Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has even agreed to consider a California marijuana bill that would provide much needed cash to the economically depressed state. In May, the New York Times reported that he called for a study of the potential benefits of marijuana policy reform.

Much of the growing popular support of legalization is also credited to generational biases. Baby-boomers and younger members of the population tend to have a more laid back approach to marijuana laws.

Perhaps the most reasonable approach is one that permits the legal use of marijuana, at least to a limited extent in order to generate tax revenues and diminish the financial burden that fighting the use and trade of the drug puts on the system.

At the same time, a portion of the revenues should be reserved for public health campaigns and education programs discouraging children from using marijuana under the model of tobacco use prevention programs. Such programs have proven enormously effective in the past with decreased use of tobacco among adolescents.

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