by Brenda Mcintosh

Created on: April 21, 2012   Last Updated: April 22, 2012

The legalization of marijuana would have a tremendously positive effect on the application of the nation's criminal justice policy and the manner in which it effects the social and economic conditions of communities.

There would be less crowded prisons, a less disproportionate rate of non-violent criminal arrests by racial group, a huge new commodity, hemp, that would bring new revenue streams and jobs into a distressed economy, and government would no longer enforce a policy that intrudes upon the rights of individual adult citizens to be responsible for their own consumption decisions.

Reduced Law Enforcement Costs and Tax Revenue Benefits

The cost of keeping marijuana illegal is tremendously high.  A recent report by Jon Gettman estimated that national criminal justice expenditures for enforcing marijuana laws is $7.6 billion per year with $3.7 billion being allocated to police, $853 million to the courts, and $3.1 billion to corrections.

Similarly, a 2005 report by the Sentencing Project claims that $2.1 billion is being spent by police on enforcing marijuana laws. According to a report prepared by Michael R Aldrich, PhD, Tod H. Mikuriya, M.D., and Gordon S. Brownell, J.D., the cost in California was estimated to be approximately $100 million per year before they decriminalized marijuana. California now generates over $30 million per year in reduced police costs alone.

Jon Gettman indicates that  "funds diverted to the illicit marijuana market costs government $31.1 billion in tax revenue annually."

He writes that local, state and federal governments receive 28.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in tax revenue and that if money now being diverted to the illegal marijuana market was spent on legal goods instead, the GDP would increase by $112.9 billion.  At a rate of 28.7% of GDP, this diversion would produce $11.6 billion in revenue to state and local governments, $7.2 billion to the federal government in social security and other social insurance premiums, and $12.2 billion in other federal tax revenue. Therefore, prohibiting marijuana causes the destruction of $31.1 billion in tax revenue.”

Agricultural and Environmental Benefits

Hemp is the same plant as marijuana,  Its scientific name is "cannabis sativa" For thousands of years hemp was used to make dozens of commercial products like paper, rope, canvas, and textiles.

A large canvas producer in Portland, Oregon since 1945, Waagmeester Canvas Products, Inc, prepared

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