Numbers Don't Lie

 Everyone is always trying to save money and cut costs anyway they can, especially in today’s struggling economy.  By legalizing marijuana, Americans would be able to save their tax money and not have to see their loved ones sentenced for a harmless “crime.”  The government should be using these resources to stop and find the real criminals that are out there.

Very few know the amount of time, resources, and money that are actually spent on dealing with marijuana charges, but what should be made known are the potential earnings the country could be making off of the legal distribution of marijuana.  As of today, marijuana is an untapped resource the government is not willing to accept as helpful to the nation.  With inflation in the consumer market and gas prices on the rise, everyone could use additional spending money to help make it in todays struggling economy. 

 -Total cost spent on marijuana arrests amounted to $1.71 billion a year while also spending another estimated $2.94 billion on the judicial and legal budget.

-$484 million is spent on the corrections budget devoted to marijuana prisoners which could be avoided if marijuana was legalized.

-By not taxing marijuana and letting the money be wasted away to the black market retailers, the government is missing out on taxing the 23.8 million pounds of marijuana that Americans consume each year.

-If taxed similar to that of alcohol and cigarettes, marijuana would account for an additional tax revenue of roughly $6.2 billion annually.

-If the government simply taxed marijuana at a flat rate of $25 per ounce, the revenue generated from sales would amount close to $10 billion.