It’s Common Sense
Back in the revolutionary times, a man named Thomas Paine wrote an inspirational masterpiece prompting the colonies to seek independence from the kingdom of England. In his work, titled “Common Sense,” Paine laid out the arguments for freedom before the eyes of colonials. All of Paine’s rationalities for independence were traced from one common root: common sense. To Paine, it was irrational for the colonies to remain under the rule of the English crown. Due to it being as simply comprehensible as common sense, Paine was able to unify an entire nation to seek liberty.
Now, in 2017, there is another notorious issue that is consuming our country, the United States of America. The matter now at question has created a major rift from coast to coast, and it can easily be resolved with common sense. This bone of contention is the legalization of marijuana. If Paine were alive today, every fiber of his being would be pro-legalization; to him, it would be simply common sense to legalize the drug, as its illegality is nothing but irrational. Marijuana should be legalized nationally because of three key reasons: marijuana is partially legal already, the enforcement of marijuana costs taxpayers too much, and marijuana could substantially profit the government.
The consumption of marijuana is already partially legal across the United States in various forms. How is the possible one may ask? The answer is quite confusing, as some states’ governments have legalized the drug recreationally and/or medically, and some have not; “Four states and Washington, D.C., allow recreational marijuana. Nineteen states allow it for medical purposes, and 14 have decriminalized it” (Aleem, Zeeshan). On top of this, the national government prohibits the consumption of marijuana entirely. To resolve this shambolic situation, common sense should be applied, and the national government should legalize marijuana (which would make the drug equally legal throughout all of the United States); of the states having legalized marijuana in its most unrestricted form (recreationally), their economies have benefited profoundly. The four states that allow marijuana recreationally are Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. All of these four states, including Washington D.C., have had nothing but economic growth as a result of the legalization. In Colorado specifically, “Legal weed created 18,005 full-time jobs and added about $2.4 billion to the state’s economy last year, an analysis from the Marijuana Policy Group (MPG) shows” (Pyke, Alan). It is right in plain sight that marijuana legalization is beneficial for an economy, so why would the federal government not legalize it? It is common sense.
Marijuana enforcement is costing United States taxpayers billions. “An ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) report from 2015 suggests that taxpayers shelled out anywhere from $1.6 to $6 billion to cover pot enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration” (Bell, Gabriel). The cause of enforcing marijuana is that of a dying one, as states continue to slowly yet steadily ease its restrictions on the drug. Because of this, citizens’ tax money committed to marijuana enforcement could be going to such better causes than to which it is currently dedicated. The American government could be improving infrastructure, education, national security, health care, and countless other productive objectives with this tax money. At the end of the day, American citizens should not be reaching into their pockets to pay ten-digit sums of money to enforce a drug that should be legal in the first place; it is common sense.
Instead of costing the federal government billions of dollars, marijuana could profit that government billions of even more dollars. According to Ariel Nelson of CNBC, the United States government could make “upwards of $7 billion a year” if they were to legalize marijuana and tax it at the same proportion they do tobacco (Nelson, Ariel). This taxable money would immensely benefit the United States’ economy on a national and state level, as both jobs would be created and the economy would be stimulated. In addition to Colorado’s economic success due to its pro-marijuana laws, Arizona has benefited from having lax-restrictions on the drug. “The 15 percent special excise tax on marijuana sales in Arizona’s legalization proposal would likely generate over $114 million in new tax revenue in 2019 and 2020, according to state fiscal analysts. That implies sales volume of over $760 million in two years, less than half the total revenue volume in Colorado’s first two years” (Pyke, Alan). It is completely irrational for the federal government to let marijuana cost the country billions when the same drug could be generating the country even more billions. Why? Thomas Paine said it best: common sense.
Works Cited
Aleem, Zeeshan. “8 Facts About Marijuana Legalization Everyone Should Know.” Mic. Mic Network Inc., 26 Oct. 2015. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.
Bell, Gabriel. “12 Reasons Weed Should Be Legal.” Heat Street. N.p., 23 Sept. 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.
Nelson, Ariel. “How Big Is The Marijuana Market?” CNBC. CNBC, 20 Apr. 2011. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.
Pyke, Alan. “Marijuana’s $2.4 Billion Impact in Colorado Is a Lesson for 5 States considering Legalization.” ThinkProgress. ThinkProgress, 28 Oct. 2016. Web. 12 Feb. 2017.