Running Head: Marijuana Legalization in The United States

Marijuana Legalization in the United States

David Davila
UTEP RWS 1302

Marijuana Legalization in The United States

Abstract
Several states in the United States are facing the decision on if they should legalize
marijuana or if the state should just leave the use of marijuana illegal. Some states like Colorado
and Washington have already gone ahead and made marijuana legal. There is still a big
controversy on whether or not marijuana should be legalized and states that have legalized it
have seen a beneficial economic impact and the way states that have legalized marijuana differ
from states that havent is they have already made the tough decision and are seeing an economic
impact. In the findings from the research for this paper is that marijuana has had a beneficial
impact on states that have had it legalized it is not right away but as time comes along.

Marijuana Legalization in The United States

Introduction
Many people argue whether or not marijuana should be legal and be able to use. Some
believe that marijuana will be of great help to the economy others believe there will be
consequences if marijuana is legalized and is allowed for people to use. With these beliefs higher
officials of the United States also have the same or similar beliefs about the legalization of
marijuana. Some states have already legalized the use of marijuana and have gone through the
process and have experience what the legalization of marijuana does to their economy and the
difference it has made from states that do not legalize marijuana. This paper will try and answer
the following questions:
1. What is the economic impact of legalizing marijuana in the last 10 years?
2. How did Colorados legalization of marijuana affect other states in their decision?
3. How do states in the U.S that legalized marijuana differ from other states in the
U.S?
Methodology
The main part of research done in this paper was done through the understanding of
published documents on line and scholarly websites. Another part of research used for this paper
was an interview that was conducted with an officer in the El Paso sheriffs department, Roman
Diaz. The interview was conducted over the phone and happened March 25, 2015. The
interviewee has been an officer in the El Paso Police Department for 11 years. The interview
consist of the research questions and other questions that are related to the three research
questions.

Results and Discussion

Marijuana Legalization in The United States

What is the economic impact of legalizing marijuana in the last 10 years?

Marijuana has made a huge impact on peoples ad there daily life but the economic impact
it has made is a much different story. Marijuana has caused a number of beliefs on if the drug
should be legal or illegal. Some believe that if marijuana is legalized that taxing marijuana would
be helpful to the economy, in an article written by Jeffrey Miron titled Why Congress should
legalize pot the author states Standard regulatory and tax policies would still apply to legalized
marijuana, and states would probably adopt marijuana-specific regulations similar to those for
alcohol. This can show that the impact of legalizing marijuana can be beneficial to the economy
if it is taxed and treated with the same rules as alcohol. Although some states have already
legalized marijuana and done exactly that and put a tax on marijuana and these states have seen
the economic impact that the legalization of the drug has made. This can be seen in the article
STATES ARE MAKING THEIR OWN DECISIONS REGARDING WHETHER MARIJUANA
SHOULD BE ILLEGAL: HOW SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REACT? Revenue
from taxation of marijuana sales would range from $2.4 billion per year if marijuana were taxed
like ordinary consumer goods to $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco (Joseph
Tutro, 2013). With the tax on marijuana states like Colorado have been beneficial in some ways
but for other states that have just legalized marijuana they have yet to see any change in their
economy. This may be due to the fact that they are just starting out with the legalization of
marijuana and have not had time like other states to see what economic impact the legalization of
marijuana have had.

Marijuana Legalization in The United States

In this picture it shows the economic sales that have been made and it shows what
future sale estimates will be. This shows how beneficial the legalization of marijuana can be for
states in the U.S.
How did Colorados legalization of marijuana affect other states in their decision?
The first state to break the news and legalize marijuana was Colorado. Other
states decided to wait and see what kind of affects the legalization had other states decided that it
would not change their opinion on legalizing marijuana and they would keep it illegal. The
initiated measure was marketed as The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act of 2012 but was
commonly known as Amendment 64 (David Blake, 2014) this shows that Colorado legalization
of marijuana was to be treated like alcohol following the same rules this influenced other states
like Washington to do the same. In the article Experimenting with Pot: The State of Colorado's
Legalization of Marijuana the author Mr. Hickenlooper writes Business and government leaders

Marijuana Legalization in The United States

in other states are expected to keep an eye on how the marijuana-selling business works in
Colorado. The Denver government is already reaping the benefits by charging a 21% tax on
marijuana sales. In an interview with El Paso Sheriff Officer Roman Diaz when asked this
question the officer stated
With Colorado being the first state to legalize marijuana and other states following their
footsteps all the discussion you hear in El Paso is when will Texas legalize marijuana.
Many states have been affected by Colorados decision if they have not legalized it they have had
growing controversy whether they should.
How do states in the U.S that legalized marijuana differ from other states in the U.S?
The major difference is that marijuana is now legal and can be use states that legalized it
are taxing it as well. In the article Reducing Drug Demand in the U.S. it states Laws keeping
marijuana use illegal help keep prices higher, which helps hold use rates relatively low. Drug use,
as we have seen with tobacco, especially among young people, is known to be sensitive to
price. With this information it shows that the way states that have not legalized marijuana differ
is by keeping marijuana illegal. Other states that have legalized it differ in the main fact that it is
legal for the use of marijuana.
Conclusion
States that legalize marijuana continue to increase while there is still several states in the
U.S that believe the legalization of marijuana will not be beneficial to the economy. States like
Colorado show what the legalization of marijuana has done and how it has been operating so far.
Other states have been influenced and decide to legalize marijuana as well. With more and more
states legalizing marijuana other states can see and learn what the state should do.

Marijuana Legalization in The United States

Reference
Blake, D., & Finlaw, J. (2014). Marijuana Legalization in Colorado: Learned Lessons. Harvard
Law & Policy Review, 8(2), 359-380. http://0web.b.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
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Miron, J. (2014, November 19). Why Congress should legalize pot. Retrieved February 11, 2015,
from http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/opinion/miron-marijuana-legalization/
Tutro, J. (2013). STATES ARE MAKING THEIR OWN DECISIONS REGARDING
WHETHER MARIJUANA SHOULD BE ILLEGAL: HOW SHOULD THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REACT?. Tennessee Journal of Law & Policy, 9(2), 233247. http://0-web.b.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=25&sid=2ca48886-876e-4830-a128-0424dd87fa03%40sessionmgr111&hid=101

HICKENLOOPER, G. W. (2014). Experimenting with Pot: The State of Colorado's Legalization

of Marijuana. Milbank Quarterly, 92(2), 243-249. doi:10.1111/1468-0009.12056
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Sullum, J. (2014). Washington's Legal Marijuana Mess. Reason, 46(3), 28-40. http://0web.b.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=34&sid=2ca48886876e-4830-

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Munsey, C. (2010). Medicine or menace? 41(6), 50-51.
http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/09/upfront-marijuana.aspx
White House. Reducing Drug Demand in the U.S. (2013, July 11). Retrieved March 25, 2015,
from https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/ondcp-fact-sheets/reducing-drug-demand-inthe-us