Original article examiner.com

Legitimate dealers deliver different strains of marijuana to the door of Californians for various kinds of medical use such as allergies and insomnia. You simply put it on your credit card and go about your daily business. The federal government says the weed is as dangerous as heroin and cocaine, but California disagrees when there are those who need it for medical relief.

A recent CBS News poll found that 41% of all Americans support marijuana legalization – not just for medical reasons but also for recreational use. A majority still opposes (52%), but the numbers seem to be building for at least taking another look at decriminalization. The West leads the nation in its support for legal marijuana, and maybe that is because California’s top tax collector estimates, if taxed like liquor, it could bring in $1.3 billion every year.

Arizona’s Attorney General in January of this year said there might be reason to consider the legalization of marijuana in the state. The statement came right after a huge drug bust when AG Terry Goddard reported that the drug cartels have been smuggling up to 400,000 pounds of marijuana into the state yearly since 2003. And the drug trade remains successful only because there is such a large demand for marijuana in the U.S., according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

California has introduced legislation to regulate and tax marijuana, and if this doesn’t work, one group is planning a statewide initiative for the November 2010 ballot.

Arizona already has an initiative planned for 2010, only for medical marijuana, but it does have a provision for growing your own plants, and Oakland, CA voters have approved a sales tax for medicinal use.

If California can cover 5% of its $26.3 billion deficit by taxing marijuana, maybe it’s time to rethink the pros and cons of the much maligned cannabis.

Many are saying in these tough economic times, taxing legalized pot could be a way to bring in more money. But others say it’s not a good idea.
Legalize weed makes the statement that if marijuana was legalized it could be used by the government as a “source of tax revenue”. This statement is extremely presumptuous.
The latest studies show that the U.S. collects about $8 billion yearly in taxes from alcohol. The problem is, the total cost to the U.S. in 2008 due to alcohol-related problems was $185 billion, and the government pays about 38% of that cost (about $72 billion), all due to consequences of alcohol consumption, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism. For every dollar the government collects in alcohol taxes, it expends about $9 (for such things as Medicare and Medicaid treatment for alcohol-related health troubles, long-term rehabilitation treatment, and unemployment costs, and Welfare).
Some proponents of legalizing marijuana argue that alcohol is far more addictive and destructive than marijuana. But opponents said that legalizing marijuana would lead to more users and may not make a significant impact in the overall debt.
Meanwhile voters in some regions of the U.S. have shown strong support for legalization of medical marijuana.
Clearly, legalization of medical marijuana use is a more persuasive battle cry than that of recreational highs.

The FDA has already approved synthetic THC in pill and suppository form to stimulate appetite (the marijuana “munchies”) and to ease the nausea of chemotherapy in seriously ill or terminal patients. Anti-inflammatory and pain-perception benefits may be important as well.
Governmentust to study thoroughly all sides to understand if legalization of marijuana is makes sense for society.