Legalizing Marijuana Under Federal Law for a Prosperous Economy
Recreational Marijuana is slowly making its way into legal status in a number of states. States like Colorado, which have had legal recreational marijuana for a handful of years, have already provided statistical proof of economic prosperity from Marijuana sales. However, marijuana is still illegal for consumption under Federal Law, making it difficult for states to manage selling it. This is due to federal banks refusing to accept digital currency brought in from marijuana sales. This leads to dispensaries having to jump through hurdles as they can only accept cash, but if marijuana were to be legalized under federal law, or at least allow acceptance of digital revenue into federal banks, we could potentially see a substantial stimulation of the nation's economy.
There is already statistical proof of the success of recreational marijuana sales, yet its legalization is nearly stonewalled in congress. I believe this is solely because members of congress haven't found a way to exploit marijuana legalization to further their careers. Federal legalization could potentially anger the conservative members of the public, potentially putting a congressman's re-election in jeopardy. Marijuana remains a topic of great sensitivity and polarization in society, and the change of universal mindset is a slow one, but legalization seems like an inevitability to me. We might as well 'rip the band-aid off' now to get it over with.
There is already statistical proof of the success of recreational marijuana sales, yet its legalization is nearly stonewalled in congress. I believe this is solely because members of congress haven't found a way to exploit marijuana legalization to further their careers. Federal legalization could potentially anger the conservative members of the public, potentially putting a congressman's re-election in jeopardy. Marijuana remains a topic of great sensitivity and polarization in society, and the change of universal mindset is a slow one, but legalization seems like an inevitability to me. We might as well 'rip the band-aid off' now to get it over with.
In the article "Legalizing Marijuana Under Federal Law for a Prosperous Economy" written by my fellow classmate Austin Smith he discusses the current status of marijuana legalization and the issues faced by the fact that cannabis is still illegal under federal law. Austin touches on key factors like the fact that many banks still won't accept profits from legal marijuana shops and that congress has failed to make any major changes to legislation to decriminalize cannabis. Public support for marijuana legalization is at an all time high with just over sixty percent of Americans in favor of legalizing cannabis use. With such a large majority of US citizens endorsing legalizing marijuana there seems to be little to no changes being made to decriminalize its status. The benefits of legalizing pot, providing more jobs, increasing net growth in the economy, less misdemeanor drug offenders in prison, and the many medicinal properties many people rely on marijuana for, highly outweigh the downsides of legalization. As support continues to climb it is hard to see a future where marijuana stays illegal in the United States, but until it is no longer illegal on a federal level the success made by cannabis users will continue to be squandered. If marijuana legalization is truly something the majority of Americans want then how much longer will it take to see real changes? With the current amount of time it takes states that have recently legalized weed to create the needed infrastructure, hire and screen the proper staff, and produce the supply of product, if we want to be toking on legal bud sometime in the next 10 years, the time for change is now.
ReplyDeleteIn United States Government Blog, it talks about the legalization of Marijuana being inevitable at this point. I have to agree, its hard to look away when an industry is having such great success. It seems as though the federal government is jumping through loopholes to prevent full legalization from happening. Not only does this industry bring lots of money back to the economy but it has also been proven to have health benefits. I have seen it for myself, and I feel as though the government is fighting a fight against good at this point. Restricting dispensaries from simple things like digital currency doesn't make it harder for dispensaries but for the government to have to keep up. People will continue to buy and Marijuana should be legal. Just as the blog stated, it is inevitable and full legalization will come.
ReplyDeleteArticle written by Austin Smith “Legalizing Marijuana UnderFederal Law for a Prosperous Economy” he states the slow process of legalizing marijuana. I totally agree with his comment “rip the band-aid off now to get it over with”; the legalization of marijuana is slowly changing. Many vendors are having a hard time trying to deposit ‘unlawful’ money in banks due to the fact that is was earned by selling cannabis. It has been proven from time to time that cannabis brings more jobs and helps stimulate the economy. As mentioned in the article, members of congress are afraid to have their re-election jeopardized. They should be thinking for what is better for the economy not think about them. Legalizing this substance will not make a negative impact; eventually it will be legal within the next coming years.
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