Legalization of Marijuana :: Argumentative, Marijuana Legalization

The legalization of marijuana has been questionable for many many years now, but the government just seems to always decline. I feel that marijuana should be legalized. There are many reasons for and against legalization, but the arguments for it outweigh the arguments against it. I believe marijuana should be legalized for three main reasons. Legalization will bring in much needed tax dollars, it will free up prisons and their resources, and it will save the U.S tons of money. If marijuana is legalized, it can be taxed by the federal government, like alcohol and cigarettes are now. If this is done, not only will the government save millions of dollars on searching for marijuana, the government will make billions of dollars off the sale of marijuana which can be used for drug education programs to help educate the youth of America. In the United States, all levels of government (federal, state, and local authorities) participate in the "War on Drugs." We currently spend billions of dollars every year to chase peaceful people who happen to like to get high. These people get locked up in prison and the taxpayers have to foot the bill. We have to pay for food, housing, health care, attorney fees, court costs, and other expenses to lock these people up. This is extremely expensive! If you must know, it costs taxpayers like you and me $42,000 a year to keep just one criminal in jail. That's more than twice the amount citizens spend on sending their children to school. Taxpayers only spend a dissapointing $13,000 a year for public schooling. We could save billions of dollars every year as a nation if we stop wasting money locking people up for having marijuana. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government would be able to collect taxes on it, and would have a lot more money to pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes. According to The Report of the Task Force on Cannabis Regulation to the Center for the Study of Drug Policy, "marijuana is one of the largest tax-exempt industries in the country today." 10-15 billion dollars a year could be made simply by legalizing cannabis. Hemp, the nonpsychoactive version of the plant, has many, many uses but is outlawed by the U.S. government. Hemp is an incredibly strong fiber that can be used for ropes, clothes and