Would Legalizing Marijuana Help The California Budget?

Running head : DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA

The Decriminalization of Marijuana in California

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The Decriminalization of Marijuana in California

With the gigantean revenue deficits that California has been experiencing these past years , almost every remedy that can be utilized is now being considered as an option . Solutions that as recent as ten years ago would seem absurd have started to find its way to mainstream audiences , media , and politics , and quite naturally , have started to cause a stir among the citizens

of California . One of these solutions with hopes of curbing the ever-growing revenue deficit that the State is facing , is through the legalization of Marijuana

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger , in referring to the legalization issue had stated that , he would look at marijuana legislation as a potential means for tax revenue (Cochran , 2009 ,

. 1 . Its legalization is estimated to be a huge source for additional revenues , as stated in a study by Jon Gettman , a senior fellow at George Mason University 's School of Public Policy : the annual American marijuana trade is estimated to be 113 billion , and as a result of the federal expenses on drug enforcement and would-be taxes , the government losses an estimated 42 billion annually just by keeping marijuana illegal (Dyer , 2009 ,

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Tom Ammiano , a Democrat Assemblyman from San Francisco , hopes to make California the first State in America to legalize marijuana , through tax and regulation , in the same approach as with alcohol . In an interview...