Economists: Legalizing marijuana would save U.S,. 13.7 billion a year

You would think that any proposal that would save 13.7 billion a year would be immediately accepted by both parties given the humongous debt of the U.S. However, when the proposal involves legalizing marijuana there is bipartisan rejection of the proposal.

The war on drugs has been a failure most agree. Even the right wing government of Guatemala has promoted legalizing drugs as did the host government Colombia at the recent Summit of the Americas. However, Canada and the U.S. were the two countries opposed to the idea.

The signers of a petition that calls attention to a recent paper by economist Jeffrey Miron of Harvard, includes three Nobel winners. The legalization would save 7.7. billion annually through not having to enforce existing bans. If government taxed sales of marijuana at a similar rate similar to tobacco and tobacco another 6 billion in revenue would flow into government coffers. The petition itself does not specifically advocate legalization but demands a debate about the issue given the savings involved. For much more see this article.