The federal prohibition of marijuana in the United States has had significant economic and social consequences. Economically, the federal government spent $3.4 billion enforcing anti-marijuana laws in 2008, while Colorado generated $76 million in tax revenue from legal marijuana sales in 2014. Socially, many lives have been negatively impacted by harsh penalties for minor marijuana offenses, including long prison sentences disproportionate to the non-violent crimes. However, some states have legalized medical or recreational marijuana use, helping patients and reducing criminal justice costs. The debate around legalization considers these complex tradeoffs.

1. The End of the Federal
Prohibition of Marijuana

2. Economy
• The federal government spent 3.4 billion dollars in 2008 to enforce laws
against Marijuana.
• In 2014, the Colorado pot market generated 76 million in tax revenue.

3. Matt Figi hugs his 7-year-old daughter Charlotte inside a
Colorado greenhouse. The plants are a special strain of medical
marijuana known as Charlotte's Web, which was named for
Charlotte after she used the plant to treat epileptic seizures.
“Jayden’s life was being tortured by pharmaceutical drugs and from
seizures,” said Jason David, father of 7-year-old Jayden who suffered
from the seizures caused by his dravet syndrome nearly every day of his
life until he was about five.
“Many of Jayden’s seizures lasted up to two hours according to Jason,
who had no choice but to stand by and watch his son suffer for years of
his life. This is until Jason discovered cannabidiol (CBD), the second
most abundant cannabinoid found in Cannabis.”
“I gave it to my son in a liquid form. It is non-psychoactive and it was the
first day he went seizure free in his life.” – Jason David
“Jayden’s seizures are down approximately 80%. Jayden is functioning
now. The doctors told me Jayden would never walk or talk.”

4. Kristen Courtney
Juicing raw cannabis is the Crohn’s Disease health cure
that Kristen claims saved her life. Diagnosed at 16 with
juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, the illness quickly turned
into an auto immune disorder that left her bedridden for
four years. Finally, the teen and her mother began to
look for alternative treatments. Kristen began juicing
raw cannabis, and after a month she claims her pain
stopped and her recovery began. She is now an advocate
for medical marijuana treatment for fellow sufferers.
David Triplett
David claims to have cured himself of two cancerous lesions
using cannabis oil from his dispensary. He initially received
a prescription chemo cream, but David decided not to apply
the treatment after seeing disturbing images of people who
had used it. Instead, he began treating the lesions with
cannabis ointment which, after three to four weeks of
application, removed the cancer.
Cheryl Shuman
After being diagnosed with cancer,
Beverly Hills celebrity Cheryl
Shuman began taking a cocktail of
medications and up to 27 morphine
tablets a day in a bid to overcome the
disease. However, after learning
about cannabis oil, Cheryl started to
treat herself. She says the treatment
cured her in 90 days and remains in
remission to this day.
Rick Simpson
Rick Simpson is known for inventing hemp-oil
medicine that he claims treated his own skin cancer
after he was a ‘chemical zombie’from all the drugs he
had taken as a cancer sufferer. After curing himself
and hundreds of others with his cannabis oil, Rick
tried to take his medicine to Canadian authorities.
However, the move backfired and the authorities tried
to prosecute him. Today, Rick is considered a hero in
the medical marijuana world with a huge following of
believers.

6. “Whether you are for its legalization or not, you are paying for marijuana to be
illegal. According the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 43.3% of all "Arrests for
Drug Abuse Violation" are of people who are in possession of marijuana. Six
percent of all drug-abuse violation arrests were for the "Sale/Manufacturing" of
marijuana. In other words, a whopping 49.5% of all drug-violation arrests are
connected to marijuana. Half of the population that is in prison for substance
abuse is in prison for marijuana-related crimes.” – Anthony Papastrat

7. In October 2010, Bernard Noble, a 45-year-old trucker and father of
seven with two previous nonviolent offenses, was stopped on a New
Orleans street with a small amount of marijuana in his pocket. His
sentence: more than thirteen years.
At least he will be released. Jeff Mizanskey, a Missouri man, was
arrested in December 1993, for participating (unknowingly, he said) in
the purchase of a five-pound brick of marijuana. Because he had two
prior nonviolent marijuana conviction, he was sentenced to life without
parole.
America’s four-decade war on drugs is responsible for many casualties,
but the criminalization of marijuana has been perhaps the most
destructive part of that war. The toll can be measured in dollars —
billions of which are thrown away each year in the aggressive
enforcement of pointless laws. It can be measured in years — whether
wasted behind bars or stolen from a child who grows up fatherless. And
it can be measured in lives — those damaged if not destroyed by the
shockingly harsh consequences that can follow even the most minor
offenses.
The Injustice of Marijuana Arrests
By JESSE WEGMANJULY 28, 2014
The Opinion Pages High Time: An Editorial Series on
Marijuana Legalization

8. Current progress: 2015