Marijuana: Legalization and Taxation, Essay Example

Marijuana, and its close cousin hemp, have both long been illegal in the United States. Marijuana has ostensibly been illegal because of its intoxicating effects, while hemp has been illegal primarily for its similarities to the marijuana plant –despite the fact that hemp does not contain the same intoxicating properties as marijuana. While on the surface, the arguments against marijuana are based on its intoxicating properties, the truth may be a bit more complicated. There are deeper reasons for its illegality, most of which have more to do with politics and economic than with the social “fears” associated with its intoxicating properties Seen logically, the arguments for legalizing marijuana –and, for that mater, hemp- are strong, as the legalization of both could be beneficial in several ways, not the least of which is the tax base legalization could provide.

Until relatively recently, hemp and marijuana were both legal. For thousands of years, hemp fibers were used for everything from making rope to paper to cloth (the word “canvas,” in fact has its roots in the word cannabis) (Hemp Facts, 1997).. Hemp was actually a “required” crop to be grown in the early days of the colonization of the United States. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp on their farms, and most ropes and material for sails were created from hemp fibers throughout the history of the United States. In one of the first laws about hemp in the United States, a law passed in 1619, farmers were actually ordered to grow hemp, due to the usefulness of its oil and fibers.

One of the most significant products available from the hemp plant was paper made from its fibers. Thomas Jefferson, in fact, wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence on hemp paper. In addition to paper, rope made from hemp fibers were used for thousands of years on sailing ships and for other, similar purposes. There is even a (possibly apocryphal) tale that former President George H.W. Bush once had his life saved by a parachute made from hemp fibers, when he was forced to eject from a plane during a World War II (Hemp Facts, 1997).

So the question is “how and why did marijuana become illegal.” In many ways, it is a simple tale of economics, politics, and even racism. In the early 1900s, and influx of Mexican immigrants into California and other southwestern states brought the “loco weed” with them; as such, it was seen as an exotic and dangerous substance for the first time, and the state of California passed the first laws against the use of marijuana. Other states soon followed, as did increasing concerns about racism and its connection to marijuana use. It began to be associated with “negro” jazz musicians of the day, and soon one state after another followed suit, passing laws against the use of marijuana (Guither, 2010)..

Beyond the more obvious racial overtones, political and economic forces were at work. Some of the same people who wished to see alcohol prohibited were also aligned against the use of marijuana, cocaine, and other rugs. The first efforts in that direction was the passing of heavy taxes on the use of such drugs, meaning almost anyone who was using them was likely violating the tax laws, and therefore running afoul of Federal tax laws. As the Federal government expanded its powers through a Constitutional Amendment against alcohol, so too did they expand their legal enforcement against the use of certain drugs (Guither, 2010).

Beyond those laws were economic pressures against hemp production. William Randolph Hearst, who owned newspapers around the country, also owned millions of acres of forests, as well as paper mills designed to use the trees from those forests to manufacture paper for use in his newspapers. Hearst had an economic incentive to combat the use of hemp fiber for the manufacture of paper, especially in light of the fact that hemp was a more easily renewable crop, and thus was a serious economic threat to his forestry interests. Given the confluence of his political and economic interests, Hearst began to use his newspapers as a platform against which he would campaign about the supposed “evils” of marijuana, the criminalization of which would spill over into the criminalization of hemp, thus assuring the economic strength of his forestry and paper mill interests (Hemp Fact, 1997)..

By some estimates, Marijuana is a $14 Billion industry in California alone, placing it ahead of the farming of vegetables and grapes (at an estimate of $2.6 Billion generated by the grapes for the wine industry, marijuana generates almost six times the revenue –all untaxed- as does the wine industry) (Bailey, 2009).. Given that amount of money, there are many who advocate for the legalization and taxation of marijuana. San Francisco Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, for example, is proposing the legalization and taxation of marijuana in the state of California. According to ABC News, marijuana is actually the largest cash crop in the entire nation, at nearly $40 billion annually (Venkataraman, 2006); as such, it is difficult to argue that legalization and taxation of marijuana could be anything but beneficial for the United States.

It remains to be seen whether marijuana will ever be completely legal in the United States. Certainly steps towards the legal use of medical marijuana, as pioneered by states like California (Acee, 2010), could be seen as first steps in that direction. As arguments about the supposed “dangers” of marijuana become increasingly difficult to maintain, and as the awareness of how much untaxed revenue is being given up to the black market, as opposed to feeding the coffers of state and federal governments, the idea of keeping marijuana illegal may eventually become untenable. Ultimately, money talks; if marijuana money talks loudly enough, we may soon see it become a legal, taxable item in much the same way as are alcohol and cigarettes.

References

Venkataraman, Nitya. (2006, December 18). Marijuana called top u.s. cash crop. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2735017&page=1

Bailey, Eric. (2009, February 24). Taxing pot could become a political toking point. Los Angeles Times,

Hemp facts. (1997, October). Retrieved from http://www.naihc.org/hemp_information/hemp_facts.html

Guither, Pete. (2010). Why is Marijuana illegal?. Retrieved from http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/

Acee, Thom, Marijuana legal in california by 2010?. (2009). The Weekly Constitutional, Retrieved from http://www.theweeklyconstitutional.com/news/2-headlines/165-marijuana-legal-in-california-by-2010