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Recreational marijuana is legal in eleven states. The lingering stigma that was once attached to marijuana has rapidly diminished, and has more public support than ever before. According to the article “Marijuana Use and Its Impact on Workplace Safety and Productivity” by Terri Dougherty, “Social acceptance of marijuana may be increasing because fewer people see great risk associated with using it. In 2002, 38 percent of Americans age 12 and over saw great risk in using the drug once a month. In 2014, that number had fallen to 26.5 percent.” In addition to the substantial rise in public support, legalizing marijuana has proven to vastly benefit the states that have chosen to decriminalize recreational marijuana. Marijuana has a racist and manipulative history that is still practiced in the current day. The eleven states that have chosen to decriminalize marijuana have seen a decrease in crime. Recreational marijuana has proven to generate a substantial cash flow to improve the economy in various ways. There was a time, not so long ago, when the very idea of wanting to legalize marijuana was considered political suicide. Few things have changed in the public wanting to legalize recreational marijuana.
After the Mexican Revolution in 1920, the United States saw an ingress of immigrants from Mexico. According to the Library of Congress, “Revolution in Mexico and a strong U.S. economy brought a tremendous increase in Mexican immigration rates. Between 1910 and 1930, the number of Mexican immigrants counted by the U.S. census tripled from 200,000 to 600,000. The actual number was probably far greater.” The influx of immigrants brought their own culture and traditions with them. One of these rituals was marijuana. However, any plans to target Cannabis would have met resistance from white Americans, as it was a common recreational pastime of the era. Cannabis was the only familiar term in the U.S. to refer to marijuana, while immigrants called it “marihuana.” The war on marijuana began when Harry Anslinger, an ardent abolitionist, was named the first commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN). After Anslinger realized that opiates and cocaine were not enough to stabilize the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, he sought out to illegalize marijuana through a relentless assault on the plant using the media. “From the beginning, Anslinger conflated drug use, race, and music… Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men… There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz and swing result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others.” (qtd. in Laura Smith). Harry Anslinger’s ultimate end goal was to control Mexicans by controlling their native rituals. These outrageous claims made by Anslinger ultimately worked, but needed a slight nudge. Since many Americans were unfamiliar of the native language of marijuana, Anslinger frightened the American public with heinous claims about a “new” drug, marihuana, that was brought over by immigrants. The slight nudge of an “unfamiliar” drug enacted the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. Given how the initial efforts to ban marijuana are rooted not in public safety, but in racism and manipulation, it can be concluded that the very ban itself is a cause of injustice and therefore is invalid in a legal and ethical sense.
The criminalization of marijuana is mostly suffered by racial groups such as the black community. Incarceration rates for black communities are higher due to extreme police vigilance in inner city areas. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Fulton County, Georgia arrested a total of 7,622 people for marijuana possession in 2010. 87.3% were black… 12.7% were white.” Today, minorities are racially targeted in the same manner as they were treated during the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 for no other reason than racial control. Drug convictions have lifelong consequences that can ultimately deny employment, voting rights, and student aid. Add more
[bookmark: _Hlk14035021]As more Americans approve and support recreational marijuana being legalized, the use of marijuana has significantly risen. According to the article “Marijuana Use and Its Impact on Workplace Safety and Productivity” by Terri L. Dougherty, “A survey from the National Institutes of Health found that past year use more than doubled between 2001 and 2013, from 4.1 to 9.5 percent of the population.” By removing nonviolent drug offenses, the Federal government could reduce and reallocate the funds that are normally used for incarceration. Incarceration doesn’t come cheap. According to Ken Hyle, General Counsel of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, “Based on FY 2016 and FY 2017 data, the fee to cover the average cost of incarceration for Federal inmates was $34,704.12 ($94.82 per day) in FY 2016 and $36,299.25 ($99.45 per day) in FY 2017.” To further elaborate, the current prison population has over 500,000 people incarcerated for drug related offenses and over 1.5 million are arrested each year. With 500,000 incarcerations at nearly $100 per day, the total comes to $49,725,000.00… and that is just for one day in prison. According to Robert J. Spitzer, a Political Science professor at SUNY, “Decriminalization would relieve pressure on our prison system, allowing us to focus on keeping violent people off the streets instead of pointlessly punishing drug users for destroying their own health. And full legalization of recreational marijuana — which is already proceeding quickly among the states, but is still foolishly opposed by the Obama administration — is an obvious first step.” (qtd. in Smith). Legalizing recreational marijuana would lead to elimination of enforcement in targeted race and minority communities as previously mentioned.
The war on marijuana is expensive and largely a failure, especially when there are more serious issues to tackle. Instead of arresting someone for a victimless crime, legalizing recreational marijuana will free up resources for law enforcement and reallocate funds towards violent offenses such as murder and rape. According to the article “America’s Invisible Pot Addicts” by Annie Lowery, “The country still spends billions of dollars fighting it in a bloody and futile drug war, and still arrests more people for offenses related to cannabis than it does for all violent crimes combined.” Meanwhile, rape kits decay in police storage facilities, untested, due to a “lack of resources.” The resources are there, but they are being fruitlessly wasted on crimes without victims. “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that 10,314 kits were awaiting testing at the GBI.. 211 untested pediatric rape kits were found at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.” (qtd. in EndTheBackLog.org). If marijuana was governed in the same methodology as alcohol and managed as a wellness problem instead of a criminal problem, the revenue could be spent locally. Legalizing recreational marijuana makes fiscal and ethical sense.
If recreational marijuana is legalized, crime rates would reduce in numberless ways. According to Tracey Kyckellhahn, a Bureau of Justice Statistician, “The incarceration of drug users comes at a heavy price—the average annual operating cost per state inmate in 2010 was $28,323, or $77.60 per day.” Given that states tend to have much lower tax revenue than the federal government, this cost can be seen as a greater cost than the previously-stated $100 per day for federal inmates. This money is greatly needed for positive influences directly affecting the lives of every citizen from education to roads and public safety. Marijuana is a victimless crime, and has been statistically proven to reduce crime rates since it’s legalization. According to Evelina Gavrilova, an Economics professor at NHH, “We examine the effects of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) on crime… Using data from the Uniform Crime Reports, we show that the introduction of MMLs lead to a decrease of 12.5 percent in violent crime, such as homicides, aggravated assaults and robberies in states that border Mexico. We also show that the reduction in violent crimes is strongest for counties close to the border (less than 350km)… Analysis from the Supplementary Homicide Reports data reveals that the decrease in homicides can largely be attributed to a drop in drug-law related homicides” (qtd. in Mitchell). As more and more states approve legalization, the incentive to participate in violent crime decreases. ADD FINAL SENTENCE
Without a doubt, Amsterdam is the most popular and well-known tourist destination for marijuana. Americans flock to Amsterdam due to the illegalization of recreational marijuana in the United States. When Colorado became the first state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana, the effects of Amsterdam were seen stateside. According to Nick Kovacevich, “The report said those 6.5 million tourists logged nearly 18 million cannabis-use days in 2016, a clear demonstration of how the state racked up more than $5.2 billion in marijuana sales since it legalized cannabis in January 2014.” The United States has an advantage over Amsterdam when it comes to growing marijuana due to strict Dutch laws such as abolishing the production of marijuana. If Georgia were to legalize recreational marijuana in conjunction with no production limit, the possibilities are infinite. Georgia is the leading agriculture producer, however, the main crops are split between cotton and peaches. Local farmers have seen a decrease in crops due to draughts, leaving them with little to no income for their families. Hemp takes less water and acreage to grow all while yielding more product. Georgia farmers could become the new textile king. Between tourism and hemp production, Georgia revenue would increase tenfold.
In addition to tourism, Georgia could see a significant decrease in unemployment rates if recreational marijuana was legalized. The current unemployment rate in Georgia is 3.7%. As previously mentioned, the tourism alone would generate a significant increase in tax revenue. If combined with the cannabis industry, the job market and state budget would be exploding due to the creation of new jobs from tourism and recreational marijuana. According to Monster.com, a leading website for employment, “With total market sales set to exceed $24 billion by 2025, the U.S. cannabis industry will create roughly 300,000 jobs by 2020—eclipsing the projected job growth of manufacturing, according to a recent report from New Frontier Data, a business intelligence firm focused on cannabis” (qtd. in Bortz). Recreational marijuana can become an economic benefit to Georgia to raise the population and jobs. This can help the U.S. regain its status in the world as a net-producer, in an era where production has fallen in favor of information-related industries.
The public school system in Georgia is failing its own children. Georgia ranks 30th in the nation when it comes to education. The deep cuts to education which Georgia has enacted are hurting students and the economy. Budget cuts affect school districts to cover costs such as school improvement, extra paraprofessional support for students falling behind, and bus transportation. According to Molly Jackson at The Christian Science Monitor, “State law mandates that voter-approved taxes, like the one on marijuana, be returned to citizens if revenue is higher than predicted in the first year. This year, the overflow would have given each Coloradan roughly $8. Instead, they voted to let the state hold on to its $66 million, of which $40 million will go to school construction, $2.5 million to drug education, and another $2 million to other youth programs.” Of course, any proposed Georgia law can choose to omit this. However, the state would be remiss to not mandate that a windfall of revenue be used for the enrichment of the lives of Georgians. A strong educational system is an imperative element to support Georgia’s economic vision.
The state of Colorado has half of the state population as Georgia. According to the Colorado Department of Revenue, “Marijuana taxes, licenses, and fee revenue in 2019 generated $138,452,793.00 with a total revenue since 2014 of $1,043,961,209.00.” In place of marijuana criminalization, and taking a cue from the failure of alcohol prohibition, states should decriminalize recreational marijuana, by licensing and regulating production, distribution, and possession for consumers 21 or older. Additionally, the ending of Prohibition has been widely credited as a major factor which brought about the end of the Great Depression, which saw the recovery paid for in no small part by tax revenues brought by alcohol sales. Creating a vice tax on marijuana could become a major source of revenue in Georgia. A vice tax will only tax consumers that purchase the product without taxing individuals who do not use the recreational drug. Sin taxes are currently excised throughout the country for items such as tobacco, alcohol, and gambling.
In conclusion, legalization of recreational marijuana would benefit Georgia in pushing past the unethical historical reasons that began the criminalization of cannabis in the 1930’s. In today’s society, minority groups are still being targeted for a victimless crime. In addition to this, removing nonviolent drug offenses would save millions of dollars, of which these funds could be reallocated towards actual violent crimes such as murder and rape. Crime reduction has statistically shown a considerable drop after legalization because the incentive is no longer warranted. Tourism and cannabis production within Georgia would produce the state extra tax revenue. The state population and job market in Georgia would increase due to tourism and cannabis production, along with helping our farmers cultivate a new crop. The budget cuts that affect our children’s education would radically modernize the classrooms if legalization occurred. Georgia could impose a sin tax on recreational marijuana just as the state does on tobacco and alcohol.
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