LEGALIZE MARIJUANA FOR THE ECONOMY

There is no denying the economic state our country is in right now. So
with officials looking in every budget for places to cut spending, why
is no one considering legalizing marijuana as a source of income?
There are many ways it could help, both in increasing revenue and
decreasing spending.

While taxes are an item of discussion lately, no one is discussing the
masses of money that could flow in if marijuana was made legal and
sales taxes were applied - not to mention the fact that people are
going to continue to purchase marijuana even if it is illegal. So why
say no to helping our government get some greatly needed cash?

An article in Time magazine by Joe Klein mentioned the pros of
legalizing marijuana in terms of saving money. About one-third of the
$68 billion spent on prison costs could be eliminated because that is
the amount designated to nonviolent drug crimes. And don't forget
about the money needed for court cases, where half of the drug arrests
are marijuana related.

Amid the complaining about school budget cuts, job losses and other
money worries, everyone is missing an obvious solution: Legalize it.

Mira Lerner

College Township