The Legalization Of Marijuana And The United States

The Legalization of Cannabis The legalization of Cannabis in the United States is an extremely hot topic in the current media. Currently, 23 states and D.C. have laws to legalize use of Cannabis (NORML). Cannabis is also known as marijuana, dope, pot, grass, weed, head, Maryjane, doobie, bud, ganja, hashish, hash, bhang (Cannabis). Cannabis is now the third most popular recreational drug in America, this is behind alcohol and tobacco. It has been used by 100 million Americans (Cannabis). Since the legalization of Cannabis is such a hot topic in the United States, this issue is highly debated. Both sides of the argument work towards making educated decisions for their stances. By collecting both sets of data, we can progress towards†¦show more content†¦Decriminalization policies towards cannabis is starting to show up throughout the country, challenging the Controlled Substance Act. This act is a statute that gives the federal government ability to arrest when a manufacture, importation, possession, and use and distribution are founded for the federal arrest. This also states that the federal court’s medical provisions for cannabis are irrelevant in a federal prosecution case (Cannabis). Decriminalization is the lesser penalties for the crime. Most states that are decriminalizing cannabis have drug education, treatment, and civil fines. This is all in place of incarceration or criminal charges for the scant amount of cannabis (Galvin). Economic Implications of Cannabis Legalization: In Colorado, the Economic Implications seem to be extremely positive for the state. Licensed, regulated cannabis stores earned almost one billion dollars in 2015. The taxation collection was over one hundred and thirty five million dollars. These numbers do not even include income tax, property tax, or tax revenues. Colorado has also noticed an increase of tourism since the legalization of cannabis. From the reports, it is noticeable that the implications for the Colorado economy are extremely positive (Colorado). Medical Implications of Marijuana Legislation: Cannabis is primarily used to make the user