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Legal or Illegal

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Submitted By ToshMahall
Words 2295
Pages 10
Legal or Illegal:
At What Cost?
By: Matthew Viebag

Police Systems & Practices
Prof. M. Kilty

The legalization of Marijuana has been a timeless topic within our society, we often ask ourselves whether or not making it legal to manufacture, distribute or consume this product would be an advantage or disadvantage. The following will illustrate the pros and cons of legalization and its role in American Society in association with economy, crime, productivity, the justice system and courts, traffic issues and so on.

Pros
Since its recreational legalization on the state level in Colorado back in 2012, there have been many good things that have come with it. According to the State of Colorado, “In the first four months, marijuana sales amounted to more than $202 million, about a third of them recreational while taxes from recreational sales were almost $11 million” (http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/07/six-months-after-marijuana-legalization-colorado-tax-revenue-skyrockets-as-crime-falls/).
One of the goals with the revenue gained from marijuana sales is to redistribute the wealth back into the state itself. The Colorado government tax distribution in the month of September for 2014 had ranges of $211,222 in Denver to $3,631 in Idaho Springs which was the least of all the cities mentioned. (https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/sites/default/files/0914%20Local%20Government%20Distribution%20Report.pdf).
July 1st marked six months since it became the first U.S. state to legalize the cultivation, possession, and sale of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older. State officials initially predicted that Colorado would rake in $184 million in pot-related tax revenue by June 30, 2015, and $150 million in the first year.” (http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/06/26/legal-pot-colorado).
With the legalization of Marijuana use we must take a look at how it

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