California’s need for weed

Colorado, Washington and Oregon all have something unconventional in common — and no, it’s not that they’re all states; the three have legalized marijuana in their respective territories and have seen some serious success from this kind of legislative choice.

Colorado has seen a $150 million increase in tax revenues, Washington has seen a decrease in violent crime since the passage and Oregon is saving millions in law enforcement resources previously used to enforce marijuana laws.

Now, it’s California’s turn.

Californian policymakers should take the necessary steps to legalizing a widely-used substance that is virtually not harmful in comparison to other drugs such as alcohol. Voters should realize that a reliable approach to regulating and taxing marijuana is in their best interest, for it will collect millions of dollars in tax revenues to strengthen the state’s financial infrastructure.

Proposition 64, the California Marijuana Legalization Initiative, is by far the best approach to decriminalizing recreational marijuana use on the California ballot.

Whether you smoke weed or not, strongly consider the benefits of legalizing, regulating and taxing marijuana in the state of California before the vote this November.

It benefits the state with lower crime rates, around a billion dollars in revenue that could create a new plethora of jobs in the state.

Lower Crime Rates

Washington experienced a 63 percent decrease in all marijuana violations and an 81 percent decrease in marijuana convictions after legalization. In Colorado, there was a 46 percent decrease in marijuana arrests, along with 81 percent drop in filed marijuana charges, according to a report by Drug Policy Alliance. While it’s obvious that the decriminalization of marijuana would result in lower crime rates, this is a massive percentage of people who would have otherwise been imprisoned for their nonviolent crimes.

Knowing this, we can expect large drops in any marijuana charges in California. I’m convinced crime will not only go down, but members of the public may hold less resentment for police who may have busted them for smoking a joint otherwise.

Prisons across the state are overcrowded, but not all inmates are necessarily violent criminals — many of these inmates are in jail for drug offenses,  including people who were caught buying, selling or using marijuana.

In 2014, there were 700,993 nationwide arrests involving marijuana and 88 percent were for possession only, according to Drug Policy Alliance.

What does this information mean? Thousands of marijuana users — not violent criminals — are being thrown in jail. It’s a bleak reality: one where law enforcement are busting smokers, taking away time and energy from capturing dangerous criminals that hurt the community substantially more than a couple of potheads.

As reported by the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, marijuana is substantially safer than other legal substances, like tobacco

According to an article titled “Marijuana May be the Least Dangerous Recreational Drug” for the Huffington Post by writer Matt Ferner, “researchers found that marijuana has the lowest risk of mortality and is safer than the commonly used alcohol and tobacco as well as the rest of the drugs in the study.”

Knowing this information, if marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and even less addictive than caffeine, what is the point in trying to spend so much money on keeping it illegal?

There is no point. Instead of law enforcement using millions of taxpayer dollars in order to criminalize non-violent marijuana users, they should focus on more serious crimes.

The reality is, people are going to buy weed whether it’s legal or not — might as well tax them and help out communities across the state.

$1 Billion in Revenue

The law would generate over $1 billion in estimated revenue, according to a report by the Independent Analysts Office. That isn’t including the $100 million saved through resources used by law enforcement in criminalizing marijuana use.

So, if marijuana is legalized, where would its newly generated revenue go? Certain amounts are allocated toward academic research on the toll the research has taken on the state — which, from the looks of what has happened in states like Colorado, Washington and Oregon, will be a positive one.

Furthermore, communities that have been negatively affected by black market sales of narcotics will see extensive funding on social services readily available for them.

The money generated from weed’s legalization in the state is prioritized and given to communities of a low socioeconomic standing — making the pros outweigh the cons.

Now I’m sure you’re wondering, what negative might come from the legalization of weed? Well, there is a chance that a plethora of weed dispensaries, or “pot shops,” will pop up across areas that are struggling financially.

However, there are restrictions that keep marijuana stores from within a certain distance of schools, parks or any place where children are frequently present. Yet, if cities receive funding from marijuana sales, that money that could go toward opening parks and more schools in the area, further restricting the amount of “pot shops” that could open in the city limits. It’s also worth noting that weed-smokers cannot smoke in public places — but rather only in the privacy of their home and designated areas.

Can California really afford to say no to over a billion dollars in revenue? Attempting to find a stable, decent paying job in metropolises like Los Angeles and San Francisco can prove difficult.

This industry, if legalized, may help people acquire new employment opportunities as a result of the new jobs that this law passage will generate. Furthermore, communities of a low socioeconomic background will receive the funding that they long for.

The Verdict

Marijuana has been illegal in California for long enough.

The criminalization of marijuana has only resulted in overpopulated prisons and massive government spending. Let’s put things in perspective: as of right now, millions of untaxed dollars are being pumped into black market sales of weed, while millions are being spent on its criminalization.

California can’t afford this kind of money spending anymore. We may not be able to end the drought but Proposition 64 is an easy way to make it rain money on us all.