The reasons to support the legalization of the recreational use
of marijuana far outnumber the reasons not to.
The reasons to support the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana far outnumber the reasons not to.
First, the cost of enforcing the laws are exorbitant. According to a CNBC 2010 study, legalizing marijuana would save $13,7 billion in government expenditures on enforcement. And that does not include the costs on our overburdened courts, jails and prisons. The study also estimates the annual cost to incarcerate the 27,900 people imprisoned for marijuana offenses in 2001 at $600 million. This does not include probation and parole costs related to marijuana prohibition convictions.
Second, marijuana is not a gateway drug. According to a study published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, cannabis does not lead to the use of hard drugs. Findings were based on a survey of drug users in Amsterdam over a 10-year period. The study shows that cannabis users typically start using the drug between the ages of 18 and 20, while cocaine use usually starts between 20 and 25. But it concludes that cannabis is not a stepping stone to using cocaine or heroin. Four surveys, covering nearly 17,000 people, were carried out in Amsterdam in 1987, 1990, 1994 and 1997. The study found that there was little difference in the probability of an individual taking up cocaine as to whether or not he or she had used cannabis. Although significant numbers of people in the survey did use soft and hard drugs, this was linked with personal characteristics and a predilection to experimentation.
The Institute of Medicine study characterized marijuana’s role as a “gateway drug” as follows: “Most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana – usually before they are of legal age.
In the sense that marijuana use typically precedes rather than follows initiation of other illicit drug use, it is indeed a ‘gateway’ drug. But because underage smoking and alcohol use typically precede marijuana use, marijuana is not the most common, and is rarely the first, ‘gateway’ to illicit drug use.”
Third, decriminalization won’t lead to increased marijuana use. According to a report commissioned by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized in Portugal, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.
“Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success,” said Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. “It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does.”
Compared to the European Union and the U.S., Portugal’s drug use numbers are impressive. Following decriminalization, Portugal had the lowest rate of lifetime marijuana use in people older than 15 in the EU: 10 percent. The most comparable figure in America is in people older than 12: 39.8 percent. Proportionally, more Americans have used cocaine than Portuguese have used marijuana.
The Cato paper reports that between 2001 and 2006 in Portugal, rates of lifetime use of any illegal drug among seventh- through ninth-graders fell from 14.1 percent to 10.6 percent; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5 percent to 1.8 percent.
Finally, marijuana can be taxed. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, an excise tax of $50 per ounce would raise about $770 to $900 million per year. Retail sales on the legal market would range from $3 to $4.5 billion, generating another $240 to $360 million in sales taxes. And, based on experience with the wine industry, the total economic activity generated by legal marijuana could be nearly four times as great as retail sales, around $12 to $18 billion. Amsterdam-style coffeehouses would generate jobs and tourism. If the marijuana industry were just one-third the size of the wine industry, it would generate 50,000 jobs and $1.4 billion in wages, along with additional income and business tax revenues for the state.
It’s time to legalize marijuana, tax it, do away with the Campaign Against Marijuana Production, and spend the money saved on rehabilitating those who need help. Vote yes on Proposition 19.
