or 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 cloth. Its seed can be used in many industrial applications. The seed can also be used for animal and human consumption. Paper can be made from the fiber of hemp. Legalizing marijuana will allow our industries to grow and allow our government to make billions of dollars annually off the taxation of marijuana and hemp. According to a study done by Ethan Nadelmann and Jann Wenner, "approximately 500,000 people each year are arrested for possession, sale or manufacture of marijuana. This money could go to drug treatment and prevention, but instead it goes to keeping someone in jail." If these criminals were released, jails would be much less crowded and the chances of rehabilitating a convict will only increase as crowding decreases. People become more angry and are quicker to be become violent than if we are in an environment that is not overcrowded. For teenagers, one of the big kicks of using marijuana is that it is illegal, it is a way to rebel against society. If marijuana is legalized, part of the thrill of using it will be taken away. I am not trying to say that legalization will wipe out the use of marijuana, in fact during the first few years of legalization, usage will probably rise. But as more and more generations of people grow up knowing that marijuana is legal, less and less people will start using it because it's "thrill of rebellion" will have been taken away. The decriminalization and legalization of marijuana will benefit America by increasing revenue for the government, decreasing the overcrowded prisons, and taking the thrill of using our of marijuana are thre...
