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effect of enforcement and stringent drug policy, government regimes liberalize the
attitudes towards drugs and drug-associated concerns (Caulkins et al. 12). In
addition, heightened support for harm diminution strategies is gaining popularity
across much of North America and Europe.
Risks factors aside, legalization of marijuana on a federal level could provide
economic benefits for the U.S. in the billions, especially at a time when the economy
requires a major boost. According to the study by Rubens, “With time, the policies,
politics, laws, and scientific inferences of medical marijuana are changing
significantly as the debates on medical marijuana have traditionally been founded on
a political basis rather than the scientific reference" (124). Not only the feds would
benefit from the development though; rather, marijuana legalization would offer top-
down economic improvements for local economies, and save state and regional
governments significant sums in wasted law enforcement funds.
In pursuit of this, whereas critics allege that legalization of marijuana would
increase public expenditure on healthcare services, they forget that the most obvious
economic aspect for the case for legalization has its roots in tax revenues. Today, it
is not a secret that the marijuana industry is thriving despite the lack of controls and
thus, does not remit taxes that could boost the economy. It is estimated that
marijuana trade is worth $113 billion per annum, which represents approximately
$45 billion in lost taxes (Caulkins et al. 10). This means that the government could
easily offset the public healthcare expenditures caused by drug use.
In conclusion, devoid of the ability to regulate and monitor marijuana sale, tax
authorities miss federal, state, and municipal taxes that would fund an extensive
assortment of initiatives, for example, programs for drug users, which are a measure
supported in lieu of incarceration by over two-thirds of Americans. This means that it
