Legalization would abstract the money from the drug traffickers and into our economy most defiantly giving it a major boost. The drug law also imprisons a multitude of otherwise law-abiding citizens for non-violent acts that are directed at no one but themselves (Hager 1). With current prison overcrowding legalization would make it so our penal system has more cells for murders, rapists and thieves. Not to mention the twelve thousand seven hundred dollar cost of incarcerating a single inmate for one year in the state of Missouri (Journal of the Missouri Bar). Legalization offers Congress a resolution to the national debt because marijuana sales could provide the needed funds to help our economy and reduce the debt. With trade regulations, industry regulations, and consumption taxes on marijuana, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws has estimated that legalization would produce over forty billion dollars in taxable revenue (NORML 3). .
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In addition to the monetary gain, marijuana could help America's medical patients. Advocates of legalization constantly mention the medical benefits of marijuana. For cancer patients, marijuana reduces nausea and increases the appetite (Cauchon 4A). Marijuana also reduces epileptic seizures and reduces nervous disorders in multiple sclerosis patients (NORML 3). Legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, as California did in 1996 with Proposition 15, could possibly provide cures for diseases, allow patients to feel relief from pain, and permit research to be conducted for future purposes. .
One area that does not congregate too much publicity in the legalization issue is hemp. Yet hemp production is possibly one the most influential reason for legalization. Hemp can be used to make clothing, paper, rope, and methanol fuel. Methanol is a liquid alcohol fuel that burns much like gasoline. It is widely used in the manufacture of windshield washer fluid, gasoline fuel additives, formaldehyde and other chemicals, and methanol has promise as a transportation fuel (Methanol Fuel 1).
