The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world with 1 in every 111 adults in prison or jail as of 2014. And of the 2,224,400 Americans who were behind bars that year, 700,993 were arrested on marijuana law violations. With California spending nearly $50,000 per year on each inmate annually, increasing the California Wall of Debt even further, the legalization of recreational marijuana becomes not just a social issue, but a fiscal one in the Golden State.
The War on Drugs was started in 1971 by President Richard Nixon and its estimated that the United States is now spending approximately $51,000,000,000 on it annually. Its largely considered to be a failing program, but one way Americans can start to get a handle on this situation is by continuing to decriminalize, and even legalize, marijuana.
As of 2016, 25 states have some form of marijuana legalization. Four states as well as Washington D.C. have legalized recreational use of marijuana, and eight more states have marijuana legislation on the November ballot, including California. Voters in California will decide whether or not to legalize marijuana for recreational use and potentially collect over $1 billion in state and local taxes on its sales.
The combined savings of enforcing marijuana laws along with increased tax revenue could be a big step in the right direction for the California budget. In 2010, Proposition 19 was rejected by California voters, but the 2016 measure is said to have a better chance at passing with more regulation at the state level and multiple states that have already passed recreational use.
California legalized medical marijuana in 2003 with State Bill 420 which made it possible for people suffering from certain conditions to have legal access to medical marijuana. A few of the qualifying conditions include:
AIDS
Arthritis
Cachexia
Cancer
Chronic Pain
Glaucoma
Migraine
Seizures
According to Santa Rosa criminal lawyers Li & Lozada, who regularly represent individuals charged with marijuana related crimes in California, the confusion about the legality of medical marijuana use, sale, and cultivation is still a major issue across the country and until the federal law is changed, there will continue to be controversy regarding the legality of marijuana.
As President Obama stated to Vice News in March 2015, if enough states end up decriminalizing, then congress may then reschedule marijuana. California is widely considered an influencing state when it comes to marijuana legalization as it was the first state to legalize medical marijuana 20 years ago. There is no doubt that if the Golden State legalizes recreational marijuana this November, other states will follow suit.
Readers interested in supporting recreational marijuana legalization in California can sign the Care2 petition Support Marijuana Legalization in California!
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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