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Elias Gonzalez
Professor Bucchino
WRT-101-12P - Research Paper
15 December 2018
Replacing illegal with legal
Since 1937, marijuana has been illegal to possess or transfer in the United States.
However, after decades of research, it has been proven that marijuana is safer than other legal
substances, can be used for economic strategy to create jobs and generate tax, and also help aid
people away from some addictions. As of today, there are 11 states that have decided to make it
legal to possess and smoke marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized recreationally throughout
the United States as it could bring a positive effect for people, and the economy.
Legalization of marijuana can boost economies for every state if legalized recreationally.
Marijuana can bring jobs, tax revenue and create a more supportive image for states, and a way it
can do this is by legalization and allowing people to purchase it. Studies have shown that
legalizing marijuana can add $6 billion in tax revenue and could create over 700,000 jobs on day
one (Ryan,CNN). With marijuana legalized, we can save billions of dollars from arrests related
to marijuana (WSJ). Thousands of jobs could be created if Marijuana was legalized. We would
need farmers, distributors, stores, and more people to do the accounting for marijuana and it
would boost the building of infrastructure. “In 2015, the legal marijuana industry in Colorado
created more than 18,000 new full-time jobs and generated $2.4 billion in economic activity”
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(Ingraham). Moreover, if marijuana was legal throughout the United States we would see
unemployment lower than it already is, and keep people out of the streets begging or working for
money in various and unethical ways. The potential of marijuana in terms of tax is very high.
For example, from January 2016 to December 2017 the sales from marijuana entered over the
billion dollar mark (Colorado Department of Revenue). In terms of investors, marijuana stocks
would be very popular and contribute to the pockets of those who invest into the stock market.
With the money, Colorado distributed it to public schools and made education stronger. With
the legalization of marijuana, we can keep invested in America and create a stronger and safer
nation for the people.
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Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai School of
Medicine, says generally, “Cannabidiol is the more important compound when it
comes to marijuana as a treatment for addiction. It is one of the two primary
cannabinoids, along with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), found in the cannabis
plant. In terms of the wider scope of medical marijuana research, this is the "same
cannabidiol being looked at for the kids with epilepsy," Hurd said.
With millions of Americans dying each year from substance abuse, marijuana may
actually pose a positive impact towards overdose deaths, and addiction. Addiction is a disease
that affects millions of people and marijuana may impose health...
