Marijuana is becoming more and more important in today's society, it has become something that is almost easily available whenever one wants it. This issue has become a critical situation because it divides many people, some believe that legalization would be good for the economy and society. Others fear that legalizing recreational use will destroy our youth and cause financial problems in the future. Legalizing marijuana would have overall positive effects on society and the economy. Funding for the "war on drugs" would be significantly reduced, allowing authorities to focus on illegal drug trafficking in and out of the United States, instead of spending massive sums of money. taxpayer dollars to prevent the public from obtaining and consuming marijuana. The general public could openly consume cannabis, which is extremely less dangerous and unhealthy than alcohol consumption, and tobacco products, which could even prevent harm and addictions to these more harmful substances. The national debt could be eliminated very quickly through cannabis taxation. Colorado and Washington have already legalized recreational marijuana and both states have made an extremely large amount of money from taxpayer dollars, instead of having to raise taxes in other areas to ensure that public funding meets community needs.Katel, Peter. “The issues”. Marijuana Legalization 19.22 (2009): 525-33. Online QC Researcher. Internet. February 27, 2014. Katel begins by stating that law enforcement is not focused on arresting individual growers who grow for personal use, but rather goes after large cartels that add violence to the community . Legalization would cause... middle of paper ... President Obama isn't really sure if he thinks it's worth pursuing. However, he knows that it will benefit us and that if we benefit from it, perhaps drug-related violence will decrease somewhat. Of course there will be some restrictions on how much can be grown and when it can be sold, but if we were to make this easily accessible then the government could relax and not have to worry about it. worry about something as simple as marijuana. Initiative 502 (legalization of medical marijuana) is currently under discussion by the Liquor Authority. If the government passes this law, people will be able to purchase medical marijuana without having to make false claims about a disease that most of them don't even have. Overall, I think this article relates to my topic because it explains why legalization will help our society and economy..