How decriminalizing Marijuana could help the debt crisis (part 1)

We have all read about how America is bleeding money and can't get our heads above the proverbial water.  I know this can be fixed and I am willing to back it all up.  The government is run by special interest groups that cost money and a lot of it is frivolous at best.  So in my attempt to be a good American, I am willing to lend a hand with some practical suggestions.

Legalizing Marijuana

I know this probably sounds like hippie b.s but hear me out.  The government has an annual budget of about 19 billion set aside to fund the police and prosecutors to go after marijuana users alone.  19 billion!!! $19,000,000,000!!  All in the name to eradicate marijuana.  Of course, we annually go well beyond this budget because state and local law enforcement are hyper-vigilant in going after these "dangerous" pot smokers.  Why?  Because nothing is easier than busting a pot dealer or user.  On average there is an estimated 700,000 arrests made involving marijuana alone in America (and that is a conservative figure).  Each of those arrests costs an average of about $10,400 and that is before any actual prison time is served. Also, keep in mind that a little over 50% of the arrests involving marijuana are “simple possession” charges which basically mean that someone was smoking a joint or had a little nickel bag in their pocket. Think about that the next time you are pissed that the county won't fix that stupid pothole in your road.  Now once the person has been prosecuted and sentenced it costs about $853 million per year per state to house these dangerous felons.  The $853 million per state is not even included in that $19 billion budget!!  That means that roughly an additional $42 billion is being spent housing potheads per year in America.  19 billion plus 42 billion = $61 billion dollars on weed!!!
It was recently estimated by CBS news in 2009 that the potential tax growth from legalizing "medical" marijuana in California alone was about $1.4 billion.  So imagine, if you will, what could happen tax wise if each state did this.  I know that states like Vermont and Rhode Island wouldn't pull down that much money because of sheer size but let's say a couple hundred million for those smaller states, and places like New York (population wise) and Texas (size wise) could pull down numbers as big or bigger than California.  We could see maybe around $50 to $60 billion per year in state taxes off of marijuana alone.  Then we have to look at what the federal government would take too because they can't sit back and watch these states make all the money, they would want their taste of the pie as well.  So let’s (conservatively) add another $30 to $40 billion in federal taxes, because we know it would happen.  Now we are looking at anywhere from $80 - $100 billion annually in tax dollars made in America, plus we have eliminated the $19 billion in the annual budget to fight marijuana and the $42 billion to house the marijuana offenders and we are looking at nearly $150 billion more than we have right now. 
Next, we could look at the economic advantages on a more micro-level.  We would have legalized growers making money, new legal workers harvesting and processing the product, and legal distributers out there selling it.  There is some more money, not only for the government (because of licensing fees and such), but for the American people who in turn put more money back into our economy.  Think about the rise in stock for such companies as Doritos, Hostess Snack Cakes, and Little Debbie.  Everyone is stoned and hungry, these products could go through the roof!!  Of course these growers, harvesters, distributers, and snack makers all have to pay taxes and that puts more money back to the government.  We are now looking at multiple hundreds of billions being put back in to fight the national debt. 

Now I know that a lot of people might be thinking, "Well, pot is a gateway drug that leads to more dangerous drugs.  How could you possibly be for this?"  Here's why, and I want you to think about it.  Ask just about any drug abuser what the first substance they did that was bad for them was.  I guarantee an insane number probably in the 80 to 90 percent will say cigarettes if they really think about it.  Cigarettes are usually the first taboo that many of us break at an early age.  We may not be lifelong smokers but most of us at least tried them once when we were younger.  Cigarettes, although they are delicious and relaxing at times, are wildly dangerous but highly legal.  Why?  Because the government makes huge bank off of the taxes imposed on them.  Hell, the US government actually pays farmers a subsidy to grow the stuff annually through the US department of Agriculture.  Oddly enough, the same building in Washington that houses the Department of Agriculture also houses the same department that is against cigarettes, the Department of Health.  Ironic, huh?  The difference in cigarettes and marijuana though basically comes down to established norms and traditions in this country.  Someone, long ago decided that tobacco was good and marijuana was bad.  But, it has become such a normal part of our society that we don't care.  We are defiant of all the studies on the harmful effects of tobacco.  Worldwide in 2009, 5.4 million people died of tobacco related illness, and 443,000 (est.) died in America, that is something close to one person dying every 6 1/2 minutes due to cigarettes.  Yet they are still legal.  (As they should be, in my opinion.  Because it is all about personal choice for me) You know what the CDC reported about deaths attributed to marijuana?  Although, there were no official deaths attributed to marijuana, they said that at best maybe 2-5 people die each year from it in America.  So, which is better 443,000 dead people or 2-5 dead people?  It seems fairly obvious to me.

The government might one day in the not so distant future outlaw cigarettes because it is becoming less profitable for them.  Sure they make billions in tax dollars off of it, but the rising medical costs for the people with smoking related illnesses could eventually catch up and make them break even.  If it ever gets to the point where the medical costs outweigh the tax dollars made, then that is when you will see cigarettes banned.

So what have we learned in this first lesson?  It costs us roughly $61 billion a year to "fight" marijuana but if it was decriminalized we could potentially make several hundred billion in tax dollars.  Cigarettes are legal and kill around 5.4 million worldwide each year, and marijuana is illegal and unofficially kills a handful.  Find the logic in that.  You're welcome America.

*Note:  My numbers may not be 100% correct but they are in the general ballpark give or take a billion or million here and there.  I pulled these numbers from a variety of sources including official US government sites that were posted between 2004 and 2010.  So please don't correct me if you find a new updated number that is only slightly different than mine, like "Well I found that marijuana actually kills 8 people a year, not 2-5" Shut up, if that is your argument.  Only correct me if I am grossly wrong on something.