The United States Government spends eight billion dollars annually to stop the trafficking of dangerous drugs such as marijuana into the United States. "Between sixty-five and seventy-one million Americans have tried marijuana at least once in their lifetime. It is also a fact that 25% of all the United States marijuana market is domestically grown."(Wishnia 13) What does this mean? It means the Federal Government is literally throwing away eight billion dollars of tax payers money every year to stop the consumption of marijuana because United States citizens have made a conscious decision to not only consume but to grow it. The prohibition of marijuana needs to be revoked because scientifically, statistically, and factually It Does Not Add Up!.
For example, in the Netherlands were marijuana is legal, no statistics have shown an increase in crime rates. In addition, only about 1/3 of Holland's teens reported smoking pot, where as about half of U.S. teenagers reported doing so. Those who believe that no good could come from the legalization of marijuana haven't thought it through. "First of all, it is no secret that our criminal justice system needs a major overhaul. Legalizing marijuana would be a step in the right direction to revamp our problem-plagued judicial system."(Willis) By legalizing this relatively social-harmless drug, police officers and judges could spend more time fighting serious crimes rather than having to worry about marijuana dealers. Plus, our already over-jammed courtrooms and jail could use a break and get back to working on creating a safer society for Americans to live in. .
The U.S. government is looking at legalization entirely the wrong way. The marijuana industry is a fifteen billion-dollar per year industry for drug traffickers, organized crime, and street dealers. By legalizing marijuana it would force these people to turn legit and employ legitament people to help run their business other wise their business would never survive in today's society.
