American Literature

Marijuana has long been used by different cultures around the world. Today, many sectors are pushing for its legalization. Marijuana use does not induce crime, it is a potential medicine, and its sale will stimulate the economy.

Studies show that marijuana use decreases aggression (Tinklenberg, 1981). And while possession related arrests are considerable, alcohol-related crimes are higher. By decriminalizing marijuana use, government agencies can focus more time and resources against other illegal substances and activities.

Legalizing marijuana will also promote further research on its prospective use against appetite loss, glaucoma, pain, weight loss and other diseases (Earleywine, 2009).

Meanwhile, regulated cultivation and sale of marijuana may also help the economy with its potential revenues (Easton, 2004).

Many sectors are calling for its legalization. Although I am not a marijuana user, legalizing it will encourage responsible use and promote medicinal research while stimulating the economy.

As stated in Milton Friedman in an open letter to the President and other State legislatures, marijuana can really boost the economy of a country so legalizing can only exploit that advantage. A report has asserted that legalizing marijuana will result to a savings of more than seven billon dollars a year in the disbursements of the state. The action will also generate more revenues that can amount to a minimum of 2.4 billion dollars. Putting tax on marijuana will also generate income (Moffatt. If marijuana gets to come out as a public good ready to be consumed, the people will be less wary when purchasing it, and the national coffers will abound. Aside from this, lifting the ban on marijuana will likely make it easier for everyone to enjoy its undisputable benefits, as proved by scientific researches.

The prohibition of marijuana has created a stir at the time it was ordered. The proclamation has caused a great rift among groups of scientists, psychologists, moralists and even ordinary people. The main argument for the said act was that marijuana injects an unusual and negative kind of highness among its users. The arguments claim further that using marijuana can lead to mental disorder and psychological distortion. As the arguments resound and there was not much room for a counter-argument to be hurled back, the idea that marijuana was bad and must be banned has prevailed.

However, my position in this paper goes in contrast to the majoritys claim. I believe that marijuana must be illegalized and we must stop the ignorance over this issue.

Several scientific researches have not missed out the point that marijuana has a lot of benefits to the total ebbing of an individual, not only on their physical, emotional or psychological being. Marijuana creates a balance within our mind. As we know, our mind is composed of two sides the right side and the left side. The right is where reason weighs more and the left is where emotion and intuition reside. Taking up marijuana nearly perfects the balance between these two sides. While the left side takes charge of perceiving information, the right side is responsible for receiving them. Hence, when balance between these two sides is achieved, the capacity of human mind for thinking will improve.

Marijuana also reduces our mental anxieties as it transports us from a worried state to a state of euphoria  a state of homeostasis.  In homeostasis, we are in a state of balance where we have the capacity for making sound judgments and thinking with perceptiveness and clarity.

The state of highness which is often imputed upon marijuana perhaps to render it as a negative thing is not exactly like the way it is being explained.

It is considerably true that marijuana infuses a feeling of being high. However, this feeling of highness is not the destructive type. When one takes up marijuana, one can obtain a heightened state of consciousness  one gets to submerge himself to the state of not being heavily burdened while being energized to resume to his normal activity once he opted to do so. This is in contrast to the popular claim that marijuana induces an altered state of unconsciousness where individuals get to escape their internal conflicts by being subliminally transported to that terrain of highness, and perhaps, oblivion, albeit fleetingly only. What marijuana gives is a sense of relaxation and being conscious of it.

The other benefits of marijuana include stimulating our bodily appetite. It was also proven that this prohibited drug could aid in curing multiple disease, many of them are being the cause of fear among many of us. Marijuana can help in improving the condition of those who have or are experiencing arthritis, anorexia, chronic nausea, epilepsy, asthma, Alzheimers disease and cancer, one of the top medical causes of deaths in the world.

From these proofs, it is undeniable that the benefits of marijuana outweigh its so-called harms. While there are many claims pointing to the hazards of taking up marijuana, a study made by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention will prove otherwise. While they found out that more than 22, 00 cases of deaths were caused by alcoholic intake and more than 13, 000 were caused by having liver disease, there was zero record under marijuana (Husak 45).

What do these data show is a complete inversion of what are commonly presented in the popular discourses, particularly in the media. At this point, we can infer that there has been a miseducation of the people regarding the issue of marijuana. Only the brickbats against marijuana were being maintained and they propagate that information. Not few, but many systematic studies have already validated marijuanas potential contributions to our welfare. If those who are opposing this proposal will counter that marijuana can still be exploited and overly used, my rebuttal is that they should focus on the enforcement and monitoring teams which can be formed by the government or any authoritative agency. In dealing with issues concerning personal cases, marijuana should not be blamed. What must be looked into is the governments manner of implementing the guidelines in the use of drugs and monitoring that these guidelines are being adhered to.

Therefore, I conclude that marijuana should be legalized for its many benefits to be maximized by the people. Definitely, its legalization must be coupled with a guarded implementation and monitoring techniques to ensure that it will not be abused. The problem does not lie on marijuana per se, but on the system of implementing its usage. We should lift the ban on marijuana, let the people use it and then enforce a tight security to ensure its proper usage.

PHYSICAL BENEFITS
The Physical benefits of marijuana are far-reaching, widespread, and long-term. Because of the way marijuana impacts the Autonomic Nervous System which expands the breath and relaxes the body, its potential for health and healing are enormous, and have been completely unrealized by Western Medicine. The following passages are excerpted fromThe Benefits of Marijuana Physical, Psychological,  Spiritual

 The simultaneous opposing action of marijuana is akin to balancing our entire system. Such balance in the ANS can be understood as a charged equilibrium, which is defined as well-being experienced as physiological expansion and psychological contentment and responsible for health. (p. 29)

The net effect is a highly functioning, yet relaxed, system with better fuel. This is why, with marijuana, the feeling is both relaxed and alert, which explains, in part, the experience of being stoned. Normally the body vacillates between the two opposing modes of being. The effects of the complicated marijuana molecule somehow actually integrate these two modes, simultaneously, as absolutely nothing else does. (p. 30)

Although specific effects of marijuana in the body are well known, each has been taken in isolation without noting that both sides of the Autonomic Nervous System are conjoined. Instead of a perspective that sees the whole person and the simple holistic effect of marijuana, a myopic and reductionistic method of measurement has been employed, and marijuanas profound meaning for health has been lost. (p. 31)

Marijuana, by its effect on the ANS, enhances both sides of the brain. Through increased Sympathetic action, left brain perception is heightened, while, at the same time, right brain reception is enhanced. This is a physiological fact. More blood, and cleaner blood, is sent to the brain, as in the fight or flight reaction. And because of Parasympathetic dilation of capillaries, which signifies relaxation, the blood supply to the entire brain is increased. More blood means more oxygen and consequently clearer and broader thinking. Since marijuana works on both sides of the brain, the most noticeable effect, in our fast-paced mind set, is one of slowing down, which blends the thrusting competitive attitude with the contrasting viewpoint of nurturance to arrive at a more cooperative balance. This experience is, however, not innate to marijuana, but to the mental set of the subject. When we are mellow, tired, and relaxed, marijuana is energizing and affords alertness, determination, and even strength. This variation in the physiological effects has caused great confusion from an eitheror framework. And the balancing nature of marijuana (bothand) has not been understood. It both stimulates and relaxes, simultaneously, which equates to an unpredictable variation in effect that is solely dependent on the state of its subject. When the system is sluggish, as with natives in warm climates (Africa, India, South America), marijuana has been used extensively and for centuries to energize it
A common practice among laborers... have a puff of a ganja (marijuana) pipe to produce well-being, relieve fatigue, stimulate appetite. (Chopra and Chopra, 1939, p.3)

When the system is hyper-aroused, as in todays lifestyle, marijuana calms. The significance of this fact cannot be ignored. It explains the increased creativity reported as a part of the marijuana experience, because when both sides of brain processes are heightened, both types of brain activity are greater. The left brain notices more, while the right brain receives more. This is the unification of logic and intuition. The term expansion of consciousness is explained physiologically as a shifting of brain emphasis from one-sidedness to balance (Sugarmena and Tarter, 1978), which fits precisely with the feeling called high. (p. 35)

Marijuana ingestion has been shown to change the worried state by producing alpha waves, experienced as well being. (p. 36)

When we ingest marijuana, the heart swells through capillary enhancement and is fueled more by more fully oxygenated blood, while, at the same time, its contractions and expansions are greater, allowing for stronger pumping action to the rest of the body (p. 37)

As rigidity in the body is released or reduced by the action of marijuana, there is a corresponding reduction of mental tension that translates into a feeling of expansion and well being and explains the reverential attitude commonly expressed by marijuana lovers. (p. 39)

As the bodys workings can become more harmonious with marijuana, the functioning of the five senses can be noticeably improved ....In our discussion, the trigger to the high experience is marijuana, but many other activities can also produce it, such as jogging, chanting, fasting, isolation, meditation, and prayer. (p. 41)

The marijuana experience itself does not miraculously cure. Instead, it allows the body a respite from the tensions of imbalance, while exposing the mental confusion of the mind. The marijuana experience of balance becomes a learned and, over time, somewhat permanent response as the essential human tendency to homeostasis is reawakened and the natural healing process restored. (p. 49)

For a serious psychosomatic disease such as cancer, the benefits to be derived from marijuana cannot be overstated 1. The causal element of unconscious (repressed) pain can be ferreted out. 2. The breath can be restored to fullness, thereby eliminating directly the built up toxicity and, at the same time, enjoining balance throughout the whole organism. A depressed system is a weakened system, and since it works holistically, marijuana gives strength where weakness exists, and expansion and relaxation where there is contraction and nervousness. 3. The more richly oxygenated blood that is in effect with marijuana can help to cleanse the poisons at the cellular level. 4. And a broader perspective through activation of the entire brain leads to positive feelings and thus eliminates the usual and debilitating attitudes so common in cancerhelplessness, depression, fear, resignation, and dread. (p. 60)

Application of Marijuana
In a Costa Rican study, it was found that chronic marijuana smokers who also smoked cigarettes were less likely to develop cancer than cigarette smokers who didnt use marijuana. Since marijuana (smoking, as well as ingestion by other methods) dilates the alveoli, toxins are more easily eliminated with cannabis use regardless of its method of application. Nicotine, on the other hand, constricts the alveoli, so it is likely that the use of cannabis neutralizes, or even overwhelms the constriction, by its own tendency to dilation ...As an aid for all psychosomatic disease, marijuana can benefit the participant, generally because of its health-restoring effects...The fear of marijuana... stems from its limitless potential for treating illness, in that both the pharmaceutical industry and the medical monopoly would lose billions of dollars if marijuana became the non-drug of choice.(p. 61)

PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS
When we balance the Autonomic Nervous System, there is an effect on the mind that is both energizing and relaxing SIMULTANEOUSLY. In other words, we can think more clearly and more efficiently.

The following are excerpts fromThe Benefits of Marijuana
Natural feelings of expansion that correspond to favorable perceptions, such as a sense of accomplishment, are experiences common to us all, What makes marijuana unique and beneficial is its ability to summon these states of well-being at will (p. 44) We might suggest that those hundreds of millions of people around the world who face marijuana to experience higher levels of life, do so specifically because of the great import they ascribe to being  high, i.e., feeling better, happier, more expansive, and therefore more tolerant and compassionate. (p. 4545)

Whereas marijuana results in an altered state of consciousness, the depressant drugs have been described as producing altered states of unconsciousness (Sugerman and Tarter), allowing for relaxation without awareness. (p.45)

Marijuana exposes things. When used over a period of time, it allows us to witness our many subtle motives which, under normal consciousness, are usually not noticeable. (p 46)

It was just this catalytic effect of marijuana to expose the unconscious and increase the patients vulnerability, while maintaining awareness and understanding that prompted psychologists (in the 1960s and 1970s) to utilize marijuana extensively in the therapeutic studies before the government ban (P. 47)

With the expansiveness that occurs with marijuana, the subject may begin to notice infinite possibilities to raise the quality of hisher life that would otherwise have remained hidden from normal, defensive consciousness. And feelings of health and happiness naturally lead to hope, which of itself can be curative. (p. 49)

Marijuana can act as the loosening agent, so that whatever has been banned from consciousness may come cascading forth. To uncover our deceptions without our usual rationalizations can be unpleasant, an experience that has turned many psychologically fragile individuals away from marijuana despite its therapeutic catharsis. (p. 50)

Regardless of the model used, marijuana resolves conflict by de-emphasizing extreme aggressiveness and stroking the receptive sides of human nature. This unification or balance, however, may be responsible for changes in goals and values. It Is the healthy balancing nature of marijuana that is most beneficial to the individual and most threatening to modern society. (p. 51)

When it first became popular in the West, marijuana was imported mainly from tropical zones, where the sativa strain of cannabis is indigenous. This type of marijuana is known for its cerebral high, having little noticeable body participation. No studies concerning the different effects of sativa vs. indica have been done, but from the lack of physical sensation, it is reasonable to assume more Sympathetic or stimulant qualities in sativa than indica (a cooler climate type). This is compatible with the notion that in hotter climates, less calming is desirable from a recreational substance, since hot climates in themselves cause lethargy. Many connoisseurs of marijuana prefer the sativa high, although in the last decade it has become very scarce due to domestic cultivation of strains that thrive in temperate zones (and indoors). Cerebral highs are experienced as lightness of thought beyond usual concern with self esteem. In relationships, a cerebral high attunes the participants to a less separate sense of themselves. Conversation is animated and a general feeling of camaraderie is in the air.

The indica strain of cannabis offers more of the body high. Depth rather than height best describes the subjective experience. Rather than freedom in the mind, the felt sensation is freedom of the body. This state more closely mimics deep relaxation. Thought patterns do not approach the clarity of thought of a cerebral high. In contrast, the body high is similar to the reverie that precedes sleep. While thinking may be diminished, more sensitivity to nonverbal experiences, such as music and color, comes into play. Physiologically, a true body high probably is the result of more Parasympathetic input. Participants ofen become quieter, since internal silence predominates.

Indica thrives in temperate areas, and as such it has become more popular with the American marijuana farmer. It is a shorter variety, thus it is more suited for the limits of indoor gardens and comes to fruition earlier in outdoor gardens. In less tropical zones, recreational substances are compatible with tempering the bustle usual to cooler climate cultures. As horticultural interest has grown, a cross between the indica and sativa species of cannabis has given the modern marijuana user the subtleties of both strains. Nowadays quality marijuana, grown in the US, is usually a hybrid of the indica and sativa varieties. (p. 56)

Marijuana will not tolerate repression. Tranquilizers and depressants relax the body and release tension, but the state of mind associated with these drugs is unconsciousness whereby we escape rather than resolve our dilemmas. Alcoholism is an extreme need of both the body and personality periodically to release the nervousness that has accumulated and continues to accumulate to an unbearable degree. It serves the same function for the collective personality for the society, as well A culture in which alcohol and tranquilizers are the prevalent form of release prefers not to witness internal confusion and actually choose to act without conscious participation, maintaining a semi-numb condition. (p. 56)

SPIRITUAL BENEFITS
That which enlivens is understood as the SPIRIT. In these times of secular values, when the life force is not recognized as being an expression of the holy, when in fact, the notion of a plane of existence beyond the material is not acknowledged, the search for meaning nevertheless perseveres.

Today, in these darkest of times, hundreds of millions who pursue the journey inward to the universal core values, find that marijuana facilitates the search. As a religious sacrament, intuitively recognized by all for whom the sacred beckons, marijuana has been employed for thousands of years, crossing all geographical and ethnic barriers. Marijuana not only balances the body, and enhances our mental processes, it can also help (some of) us to perceive the abiding reality by raising our consciousness.

The following are excerpts fromThe Benefits of Marijuana

Meditation Is the ultimate tool for self-knowledge In the East, marijuana has been used to facilitate the process for millennia. (p.47)

The uncovering of inner confusion, so prominent with marijuana, is conspicuously absent with depressants. As the overall benefits of insightfulness obtained from its use lead to a greater freedom, marijuana is shunned by individuals who need a status quo in the personality or social position. Sigmund Freud developed and expounded the understanding that we mechanically base our actions on programs devised throughout life, and many esoteric schools, ancient and modern, have taught the same. Being aware of these programs is very difficult since ordinary consciousness has within it the conspiracy to keep the mind comfortable and free of conflict This operates collectively as well as individually. Whenever confronted, this usual state of mind automatically assumes a defensive posture by relying on distorted rationalizations, which are evident in a repressive and intolerant social order. By contrast, the open and aware consciousness often leads to spiritual realizations, irrelevant in mainstream thinking. In todays world, this understanding is uncommon. Higher morals and ethics, as propounded by organized religions, are agreed upon by the masses, especially during church attendance, but are otherwise too difficult to maintain when personal survival is at stake. Universal spiritual values, so often released with marijuana, can break down the conditioned defensive mentality. It appears as if society, as well as the programmed, individual mind, needs to hold in check the notion that we love our neighbor as ourselves. There is no way that we can love our neighbor as ourselves, nor any way that our economy can subscribe to a policy of cooperation, when the very life of business enterprise is dependent upon profit first and foremost. Cooperation within free enterprise is a difficult reality so long as me first remains the primary motivation. A neurotic society, with its deeply imbedded habit of maladaptive coping methods, is resistant to change. Marijuana can be of tremendous benefit in exposing the distorted perspectives responsible for social, class, and racial conflict It can open the doors of perception, and thereby after the very core of the personality, by allowing a view of the transcendent values of human life. (p. 57)

In the area of private values, marijuana may offer benefits beyond the personal ego, which reach the dimension referred to by mystics and saints as the ever-present now. The experience addresses states of consciousness not common to the common man and resembles Maslows peak experience. (p. 65)

To ascend the ladder of consciousness, human beings need as much help as they can get. Levels of consciousness above concerns of personal survival and power are neither necessary for human life, nor visible from ordinary states. Because these higher degrees of awareness threaten the power structure, all paths to them are often outlawed. If we are not taught by some older, wiser person that deep and timeless perceptions really exist (or unless we ourselves fortuitously catch a glimpse of these subjective realities), we remain ignorant of their existence and are easily molded into the lower social goals of materialism, competition, and power. This less enlightened state is expressed by a constant gnawing dissatisfaction. It is the dimension of perennial desire. With each fulfillment of a goal need  want, another void erupts. In Buddhism, it is the realm of nightmarish, insatiable hunger, which cannot be resolved unless or until the being attains to a less self-centered level. Deep within each of us, an essential need for a higher meaning of life waits to be awakened. Because of its ability to unlock this yearning and allow us a glimpse of the deeper reality, marijuana is feared by the establishment and loved by the user. (p. 66)

It is mainly because spiritual values are abandoned during eras of materialism that marijuana is banned today. And, ironically, it is because these values are so absent in the modern culture that the marijuana experience is so ardently sought. (P. 67)

Perhaps investigation into the higher human values could not surface in the industrial West until all imaginable physical, psychological, and social dysfunction reached dangerous proportions. (p. 67)

The Christian mystic de Chardin, explaining this same process, says, physical energy must be mastered and grounded for spiritual energy to move, because physical energy transforms the spirit. (Ferguson) Within the deep recesses of human understanding, the intuitive faculty steers its course. For many who are in touch with this sixth sense, the realm of the spirit is supreme. Anything that demonstrates a possibility for psychospiritual uplifting is known to be sacred. Marijuana is so recognized and revered. Bhang brings union with the Divine Spirit. (Indian Hemp Commission) (p. 69)

Through balance, with time and interest, marijuana can enliven the Center of Knowing. In the Theory of Vibration, this is the sixth level of development known as the Knowledge Center. What we refer to as the sixth sense, or intuition, derives from this esoteric symbol, which very often is depicted as a third eye, located at the midbrow. (p. 71)

As we have seen, many an argument against marijuana refers to the non-competitive nature it engenders. During the Vietnam War, one of the major problems of our soldiers was their inability to accept the brutality of their own actions. Our young men encountered marijuana at every turn in Asia (the Vietnam War was the beginning of marijuana use in this country, since it was the first time a status and educational cross section of America was exposed to it), and their reaction was often not in keeping with the insensitivity necessary for war. Their conscience bothered them. Gaining higher values, such as compassion, cooperation, and consideration, is a function of balance and a threat to a militaristic society. If we all became aware of our conscience, who would be left to maintain the indifference of the social order. The more we uncover the spiritual element in our natures, the more sensitive we become. Scrooge had no conscience until he experienced the spirit He was surely happier and healthier after his vision, but not wealthier, for his conscience dictated that he share. His new-felt sensitivity did not result from rules, fear, or his superego. It overflowed joyfully as an expression of his higher state of being. Marijuanas contribution to the developing spirit is cumulative. As bodily tensions are reduced mental fears dissolve, clearing the way to greater insight But, until the direct effect (physical balance) of marijuana on the body and the attendant side effect (high) of marijuana on the mind become familiar, the alterations themselves remain the focus of interest The getting high is the end in itself, rather than the understanding and insight that accrues a s the changed set becomes more a common. People who try marijuana and reject it do so usually because they feel uncomfortable and confused in altered, fuller consciousness. Instead of life being safely framed by the rigidity of the societal dogma, the wold becomes unfamiliarly bigger, brighter, fuller, yet less manageable, more unpredictable and full of mystery. A mind that has been bound and accustomed to a low charge or a selling without light very often finds the expansiveness of reality too highly energized. The light can be blinding and disorienting. Over time, and with regular intake, when these higher states of seeing are no longer the focal point of attention, a restructuring of values may emerge. (p. 72)

The war on drugs is an expensive battle, as a great deal of resources go into catching those who buy or sell illegal drugs on the black market, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. These costs seem particularly exorbitant when dealing with the drug marijuana, as it is widely used, and is likely no more harmful than currently legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. Theres another cost to the war on drugs, however, which is the revenue lost by governments who cannot collect taxes on illegal drugs. In a recent studyfor the Fraser Institute, Economist Stephen T. Easton attempted to calculate how much tax revenue the Canadian government could gain by legalizing marijuana.

Marijuana Legalization and the Revenue From Marijuana Sales
The study estimates that the average price of 0.5 grams (a unit) of marijuana sold for 8.60 on the street, while its cost of production was only 1.70. In a free market, a 6.90 profit for a unit of marijuana would not last for long. Entrepreneurs noticing the great profits to be made in the marijuana market would start their own grow operations, increasing the supply of marijuana on the street, which would cause the street price of the drug to fall to a level much closer to the cost of production. Of course, this doesnt happen because the product is illegal the prospect of jail time deters many entrepreneurs and the occasional drug bust ensures that the supply stays relatively low. We can consider much of this 6.90 per unit of marijuana profit a risk-premium for participating in the underground economy. Unfortunately, this risk premium is making a lot of criminals, many of whom have ties to organized crime, very wealthy.

Legalized Marijuana Profits to the Government
Stephen T. Easton argues that if marijuana was legalized, we could transfer these excess profits caused by the risk-premium from these grow operations to the government

If we substitute a tax on marijuana cigarettes equal to the difference between the local production cost and the street price people currently pay--that is, transfer the revenue from the current producers and marketers (many of whom work with organized crime) to the government, leaving all other marketing and transportation issues aside we would have revenue of (say) 7 per unit. If you could collect on every cigarette and ignore the transportation, marketing, and advertising costs, this comes to over 2 billion on Canadian sales and substantially more from an export tax, and you forego the costs of enforcement and deploy your policing assets elsewhere.

Marijuana Supply and Demand
One interesting thing to note from such a scheme is that the street price of marijuana stays exactly the same, so the quantity demanded should remain the same as the price is unchanged. However, its quite likely that the demand for marijuana would change from legalization. We saw that there was a risk in selling marijuana, but since drug laws often target both the buyer and the seller, there is also a risk (albeit smaller) to the consumer interested in buying marijuana. Legalization would eliminate this risk, causing the demand to rise. This is a mixed bag from a public policy standpoint Increased marijuana use can have ill effects on the health of the population but the increased sales bring in more revenue for the government. However, if legalized, governments can control how much marijuana is consumed by increasing or decreasing the taxes on the product. There is a limit to this, however, as setting taxes too high will cause marijuana growers to sell on the black market to avoid excessive taxation.

When considering legalizing marijuana, there are many economic, health, and social issues we must analyze. One economic study will not be the basis of Canadas public policy decisions, but Eastons research does conclusively show that there are economic benefits in the legalization of marijuana. With governments scrambling to find new sources of revenue to pay for important social objectives such as health care and education expect to see the idea raised in Parliament sooner rather than later.

An Open Letter to the President, Congress, Governors, and State Legislatureson the benefits of legalizing marijuana. Friedman isnt the only well known economist to sign the letter, it was also signed by Nobel Laureate George Akerlof and other notable economists including Daron Acemoglu of MIT, Howard Margolis of the University of Chicago, and Walter Williams of George Mason University.

The letter reads as follows
We, the undersigned, call your attention to the attached report by Professor Jeffrey A. Miron, The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition. The report shows that marijuana legalization -- replacing prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation -- would save 7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least 2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods. If, however, marijuana were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as 6.2 billion annually.

The fact that marijuana prohibition has these budgetary impacts does not by itself mean prohibition is bad policy. Existing evidence, however, suggests prohibition has minimal benefits and may itself cause substantial harm.

We therefore urge the country to commence an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition. We believe such a debate will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but taxed and regulated like other goods. At a minimum, this debate will force advocates of current policy to show that prohibition has benefits sufficient to justify the cost to taxpayers, foregone tax revenues, and numerous ancillary consequences that result from marijuana prohibition.

I highly recommend anyone interested in the topic to read Mirons reporton marijuana legalization, or at the very least see the executive summary. Given the high number of people who are incarcerated each year for marijuana offences and the high cost of housing prisoners, the 7.7 billion in expected savings seems like a reasonable figure, though I would like to see estimates produced by other groups.