It’s the biggest news that nobody is talking about: on Tuesday night, voters in Colorado and Washington voted to legalize marijuana for recreational use. People at least 21 years old will be allowed to purchase up to once ounce of marijuana from a licensed retailer and, in Colorado, will also be allowed to grow up to six cannabis plants in private locations.

This is a big deal, and not just for people that like to get high. The legalization of recreational marijuana, as opposed to medical marijuana, in Colorado and Washington represents the first steps toward the end of cannabis prohibition in the United States.

I believe that the legalization of marijuana offers several profound benefits to our nation. However, before I continue, I feel that I must clarify one point: the arguments contained in this editorial are all based on the assumption that the prohibition of marijuana is inherently wrong. This point will not be debated in this editorial. I urge readers to watch the documentary entitled “The Union: The Business Behind Getting High,” which is available free of charge on YouTube. It provides detailed information on the history of cannabis prohibition and presents a compelling argument against it.

The most obvious benefit of marijuana legalization is that it will be safer and easier to buy. It should come as no surprise to the reader that the purchase of marijuana is not, by any means, easy or convenient. It requires locating a dealer with product, convincing them that you, the buyer, aren’t a narcotics officer, and somehow arranging a time to meet and conduct a shady business transaction.

Under the new system, any person desiring marijuana and of 21 years of age will be able to enter a licensed retail establishment and purchase up to 28 grams of pot with no more effort than it might take to purchase a case of beer.

Convenience aside, who cares? Well, a major argument against marijuana is that it is a “gateway drug.” There is no evidence that the mere use of marijuana might push a person toward harder drugs. However, the “gateway theory” holds water in that the black market by which a person purchases marijuana does not distinguish between cannabis and harder drugs. Oftentimes, marijuana dealers also deal in harder drugs. This mixing of marijuana and hard drugs in the same market is sometimes all it takes to get a person into drugs such as cocaine or methamphetamine.

By eliminating this black market for marijuana, it becomes easier to separate it from the truly dangerous drugs, thus eliminating the infamous gateway effect.

Following in the same vein, legal and controlled distribution of marijuana also means that the product will be of a more consistent quality. Unless a person is purchasing marijuana from a medical dispensary or directly from a grower, it is nearly impossible to accurately identify which strain of marijuana a person is being sold.

This runs counter to the most basic principles of economic consumer theory. How can an industry as far-reaching and profitable as the marijuana industry function properly if consumers don’t even know what product they are being sold?

These two benefits pertain directly to consumers of marijuana. What about the rest of the country?

The legalization of marijuana will remove a heavy and unnecessary weight from the shoulders of the already overburdened U.S. penal system and, consequently, from American taxpayers.

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug-related offenses are in prison for marijuana convictions. Assuming once more that the prohibition of marijuana is unjust, this means that American taxpayers are spending over $1 billion a year to incarcerate criminals on marijuana-related convictions. Imagine all the problems that could be solved if this tax revenue were applied elsewhere. Our national debt might be resolved in a matter of decades instead of the current projection of, well, never.

Speaking of tax revenue, marijuana legalization also presents the possibility for the taxation of commercial cannabis products. Under the current system, each and every transaction of marijuana goes untaxed.

Imagine the vast wealth of tax revenue that could be generated if commercial cannabis products were subject to the same “sin tax” that is levied on alcohol and tobacco products. Our war in the Middle East could be funded indefinitely – that is, if anybody still wanted to fight it.

If marijuana legalization is so great, why isn’t anyone talking about it? The fact of the matter is that, while publications such as Time Magazine have declared marijuana to be increasingly of the mainstream, cannabis use is still unnecessarily stigmatized in the United States. The classic “stoner” stereotype continues to prevail throughout the media. Cannabis users are seen as burnouts and are generally written off as unproductive members of society.

Such is not the case. In fact, some of the most productive and creative members of society are or have been cannabis users. While the list is long, notable members include prominent astrophysicist Carl Sagan, American founding father Thomas Jefferson, famed miracle-worker Jesus Christ (studies suggest that he and his followers used cannabis extracts in religious rites) and our recently re-elected president, Barack Obama.

While Colorado and Washington have taken monumental and historic steps toward national prosperity by legalizing marijuana, the sad truth is that, on a federal level, cannabis is still a Schedule I controlled substance. While the DEA has taken steps to eradicate medical marijuana dispensaries in California, it is still unclear how the agency will prosecute the sale and use of cannabis products in Colorado and Washington. The nation is watching these two states to see how they will face their new challenge. I wish them the best of luck.

Editorials Co-Editor Nicholas Bradley is a College sophomore from Skillman, N.J.

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