I want to come out right away and say that I have never smoked pot/marijuana before! I have had roommates who do (including one of my current roommates) and several very good friends who smoke it regularly though.


This is also all dealing with the USA. I didn't look into any other countries or globally!


There are a lot of studies out there that claim alcohol is more impairing and tobacco is more harmful. Also, claims that the legalization and taxation of the cannabis plant would take a large strain off of many state and even the federal government's financial situations abound.


I'll give some basic "facts" derived from studies and annual revenue reports with important links!


Research shows that only 9% of marijuana users actually become addicted {Link}. There is also no direct evidence between marijuana use and any form of mental or physical illness.

In contrast, about 32% of tobacco users become addicted, which is more addictive than heroin! Alcohol is even more addictive than marijuana, at 15% of users becoming addicted {Link}.




Jon Gettman, Ph.D. estimates the size of the National(USA) market of Marijuana to be over $100 billion. {Link}. In that same report, it lists top cash crops in the United States, with Marijuana/Hemp at #1 with $12 billion above second place Corn.

All those seeds are being bought untaxed, large quantities are being planted on public lands like State/National Parks, and then being sold untaxed and unregulated.

If Marijuana was taxed as heavily as alcohol or tobacco, it would generate $6.2 billion in tax revenue for the government! {Link} The government could probably get away with taxing it even more using grounds of "at least it's legal now" or something like that.

Finally, if Marijuana were legalized there would be no need to waste parts of the government budget (local, state, and federal) on stopping the growth, sale and use of it. Currently, $7.7 billion is spent on JUST trying to stop marijuana use {Link}, not including the space and money saved currently being used up by marijuana-related arrests.



Legalizing marijuana would save the government billions of dollars every year, and create a whole new job market in the private sector by introducing a "new" cash crop (I say "new" because hemp used to be the largest cash crop in the country before it was outlawed).


It's hard to argue that Marijuana is illegal because it's addicting, because so is caffeine! It's hard to argue that it's illegal because of the negative effects, because it's less dangerous to your body than Tobacco products and doesn't cause the sometimes severely violent/depressed mood-swings alcohol does!

It's a native plant to many regions (I've found wild hemp growing in the woods behind my house), and it's extremely versatile! Back when growing Hemp was legal, it was used for rope, paper, fuel, and a dozen other things, and can even be used to create biodegradable plastics and health foods {Wiki}


Other links to look at are:
This one has some other good links in it.
And of course the wiki-page for Cannabis! I don't care if it's 'credible' or not, I like Wikipedia