Economic_Growth_and_Developement

Economic Growth and Development Joshua Lacey Dr. Dixie Button March 24, 2011 The topic that I wish to cover in this paper is the legalization, taxation, and distribution of Marijuana and how it will help the Economic Growth and Development of our country. I feel this is a huge topic in today’s society and that it should be backed more so than it is. It comes down to the fact that we need money we spend more than we make and that alone is a problem. I am not saying that the legalization of cannabis will fix all of this country’s financial problems but it will help. So as for how this applies to the course I feel that it is a perfect example of economic growth and Development. If legalized it will be a new product on the market which in turn will provide more revenue and tax dollars for the country. The United States will be growing not only economically but creatively as well. How much do Pot Prisoners cost us' Paul Armentano, “Pot Prisoners Cost Americans $1 Billion a Year, AlterNet, Feb 10, 2007 American citizen are now spending right around a billion dollars a year on taking and or keeping pot offenders behind bars. This information was released by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics out of all the drug offenders imprisoned in a state prison 12.7 percent of them are being held on marijuana charges alone. As for Federal prisons 12.4 percent of their drug offenders are in there due to getting in trouble over cannabis. By these statistics alone there are around 34,000 state and around 10,000 federal inmates locked up on Marijuana charges. The truth is that nearly 1 out of every 8 prisoners is locked up on pot charges. These are the numbers and numbers don’t lie I don’t know about you but It seems only logical to legalize and tax this product. By legalizing it we would clearly be saving right around a billion dollars a year, now like I had stated before this won’t solve all our financial problems but it sure won’t hurt. Not to mention just for the arresting and processing of these marijuana offenders it is costing the US around 8 billion dollars annually just on the criminal justice costs. That is money that this country could sure as hell use rather than spending on arresting and processing those current offenders. According to the FBI there were an estimated almost 800,000 arrests of people for a marijuana charges in 2005. That is two times more people than were arrested total only 12 years ago. Out of the 800,000 about 88 percent received a position charge and the other 12 percent were locked up for the sale and the manufacturing of the plant. The fact is why keep spending money we don’t have on something that could if legalized could make us money not to mention all the savings this country would stand to have as shown in the figures above. How much money could we end up getting' John Ingold, “Medical Marijuana Sales Tax Nets $2.2 Million for Colorado This Year”, The Denver Post, November 24 2010 Like I have stated before the money we will get if we just legalize the stuff would be substantial. But let’s get into now how much money this country of ours can stand to make if we start taxing and selling the pot. In Colorado alone Medical Marijuana Dispensaries are putting away in the hundreds of thousands of dollars into state and city treasuries. This year the state of Colorado has managed to collect 2.2 million from the taxation of marijuana sales. That fact right there is crazy to me ok if one state can make in excess of 2 million and it’s not even one hundred percent legal there, you still have to be diagnosed my a doctor before you can buy the stuff. If it were completely legal then the numbers would sky rocket into the high millions if not billions of dollars from each state alone. In Denver alone the medical marijuana sales tax each month is right around 250,000 dollars. This to me is a clear sign that there is a place for cannabis in our economy. It shows that it will provide a clear and consistent revenue stream that if this country doesn’t tap into then we are crazy. Its times like this that we as a country need to make a move, stop talking about the money we could save or the money that could be earned and get out there and do it. Legalize this stuff so we can stop talking about it and we can start making and saving money. Health Benefits that can come from Marijuana Igorderysh, “10 Major Health Benefits of Marijuana”, COED Magazine, September 2, 2010 There are a number of health benefits that can come from this drug they reach as far as cancer and as close to home an everyday migraine. For example the American Association for Cancer Research has found that the use of marijuana actually will slow the growth of tumors in the lungs, breast, and brain. Wait a minute this stuff can slow down the process of Cancer and make and save this country all kinds of money. Come on people seems like common sense to me. Cannabis can help with seizures, migraines, and glaucoma as well. With all this positivity surrounding this drug I’m not really sure how we can ignore this legalization anymore. It can also help with more serious problems other than just cancer. Alzheimer’s is also a disease that has been proven to be helped by the use of Marijuana. The Scripts Institute in 2006 stated that cannabis will actually help the disease out, they proved that the THC in the plant helps to prevent it by blocking the certain deposits in ones brain that cause the disease. But it can also help with ADD and ADHD which millions of Americans have a problem with everyday. For the women out there it has also been proven to help with women’s Premenstrual Syndrome. If all of this isn’t adding up there must be something wrong with your brain. Smoking Marijuana is not only capable of making and saving this country a lot of money, it also can and if used will help out with a lot of the physical as well as emotional problems that Americans face every day. So legalize the stuff already and stop talking about it. Text Book Connection Economic Growth as defined in the book is a sustained increase in output and income by an economy. The whole goal is to try and get our PPF to shift outward and with the legalization of Marijuana I feel that it is a huge Economic Growth for this country. Economic Growth is not only needed but is wanted by all. If we do not grow and figure out new ways of doing things in this economy then the US as we know it will no longer be the Country that is and was. Marijuana sales, is a big step in a greater and greener future for the United States and it is through the idea of Economic growth that this argument my argument makes sense. Economic growth as well as Development I feel go hand in hand, and the United Nations defines the word Development “as the creation of an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests.” Which is exactly my point let us develop our full potential, that being Legalize this plant that grows here and let’s make a profit off of it for us, that is using this country to its full potential. That will in turn let us live productive lives because we are using all of our resources to make it through a tough time. A far as the creative part if we can pull this off and actually legalize the sale of cannabis not only that but tax it and make a lot of money for this country then I would say that’s for sure creative and thinking outside of the box. This move for the US would most defiantly go in accordance with the countries needs and interests because let’s be honest we need money so our needs and interest are exactly the same right now. I believe that I have clearly stated my topic and have backed it up with a real life current situation that this country is facing. Evaluation This is my opinion I think that Marijuana should be legalized in the US period. I obviously feel very strongly about this topic as shown through this paper. But it makes sense and for something to make so much sense and still be undecided on is ridiculous. Makes you think who’s running the country really not us the government who in all honesty are elected by our votes so how can there be complaints. There are complaints because this idea this thought is not being recognized as a real idea for this country and that fact alone blows my mind. This topic relates hugely to my life it means getting out of this slump this country is in, it means all my friends and family who work blue collar jobs will have work again steady work. Down the road it means this country if we do not see some economic growth soon we will owe everything to everybody with no way to pay it more so than we do now. It’s the rest of my life it’s my future kids and their kids we need to take action on this ASAP. As for what kind of effect it will have on any one business or company it will help everyone, yes of course the marijuana growers and sellers will see it first. But then there will be more money and more income, people will spend more and buy more and that will trickle all down through our economy. Not to mention the positive long-term effect that it will have on our county and our economy as a whole. I see the legalization of marijuana as a positive and uplifting turn for this country and if it doesn’t happen then I don’t know what will pull us out of the fire this time.