Smith, S. E. “How legalizing pot could save America’s economy.” TheWeek.com. The Week Magazine, 09 Nov. 2014. Web. 16 Jul. 2015.
S.E. Smith is a writer and commentator who focuses on the current issues going on in the world. In “How legalizing pot could save America’s economy,” published by TheWeek.com, Smith highlights the economic growth that could stimulate from the legalization of marijuana in the United States.
According to Smith, the black market sell of marijuana accumulates an average revenue of $113 billion dollars annually. Smith argues that marijuana would bring in billions of tax dollars to the government and also save the government money since many people incarcerated are on drug related charges, the most common being marijuana. Smith points out that the legalization of marijuana would allow the government to save money by not wasting it on trying to prevent drug wars. Therefore, the government could use the surplus of money to focus on other issues facing the country. To depict the positive effect legalization of marijuana would have on the economy, Smith discusses it’s “ripple effect” on the economy. The cultivation of marijuana provides jobs to Americans in various different fields and reduces the number of men being incarcerated, allowing them to provide for their family without aid from the government, therefore indirectly improving the economy. Smith in other words, is stating that marijuana is something the government could capitalize on and in return help communities who heavily depend on the government financially.
Smith briefly discusses how the legalization of marijuana in the United States could benefit tourism in the country by allowing people to go in to shops and sample marijuana products. The well-known areas will generate a lot of tourist who will buy marijuana and in return will be benefiting the economy.
This is a valuable resource because you are given insight on how the legalization of marijuana can help the economy and communities most affected by the illegal distribution of it. This article gives facts as to how marijuana can benefit everyone and is not simply against marijuana because it is “bad.” It provides you with what people who are for legalization of marijuana thinks, their perspective, and opinion on the subject. This would be useful for others who are pro legalizing marijuana because of the facts and good logical reasoning behind legalizing marijuana, or it could be used to counter the arguments made in the article.
