Colorado's Marijuana Legalization Policy (Essay Sample)

Colorado’s Marijuana Legalization Policy Name Institution Task Tutor Date Introduction In many countries, a number of drugs are classified as illegal and hence, any individual found guilty of using such drugs is fined and/or arraigned in a court of law. In Colorado, the case is different; citizens who are 21 years and above are allowed by law to use and possess at least an ounce of marijuana. In addition, the state has control over the sale of the drug. The legalization of the drug was made following an approval of Colorado Marijuana Legalization Amendment (Amendment 64) on November 6th in 2012 (Hubbard, 2016). This paper discusses the purpose of the policy based on a number of factors. Crime rates The main aim of the policy on legalization of Marijuana in Colorado was to improve the socio-economic life of the country. One of the positive impacts was a reduction in crime rates was. As Hubbard (2016) explains, there exists a relationship between marijuana-related businesses and a reduction in crime rates. In Colorado’s capital, Denver, a city known for high prevalence of marijuana businesses, the author states that the overall crime rate reduced by 2.9% in 2014. Colorado’s marijuana court cases were at 77% between 2012 and 2013. The Colorado court system realized that it spends a lot of money to adjudicate people arrested for possession of marijuana, roughly $300 ("Marijuana Legalization in Colorado”, 2014). To cut the cost of marijuana convicts’ adjudication and to increase tax revenue, the court system resolved to legalize the business of marijuana. Consequently, the people of Colorado got a business opportunity which earned them some income, leading to a decrease in crime rates (Colorado and Washington, 2016). Tax revenue As mentioned above, the legal system envisioned an increase in tax revenue from the sale of marijuana in the country. By the end of May 2015, Colorado raised a total of 102 million dollars in tax collected from marijuana-related businesses. Officials in the tax department of Colorado estimated that by the end of 2015, marijuana sales would generate about 16 million dollars (Colorado and Washington, 2016). Job creation Job creation was another fruitful eventuality of legalization of marijuana in Colorado. In 2015, over 21, 000 occupational licenses were issued for jobs emerging from the marijuana industry. Between 2013 and 2014, Colorado recorded a relatively higher drop in unemployment rates, with employing growing at 3.2% as compared to 2% in the U.S. In addition, there was a decrease in marijuana use among teens. There was a margin of error drop from 22% in 2011 to 20% in 2013 (Colorado and Washington, 2016). Tourism The tourism sector enjoyed a boom season in winter last year (2015), raising a 15.5% increase in revenue. In Denver, 4.6 billion dollars were garnered from a population of 15.4 million tourists. In general, Colorado’s economy has been growing steadily. In August 2015, Colorado beat all the other U.S states to secure the fastest-growing economy position (Colorado and Washington, 2016). Conclusion I...