California should consider marijuana legalization

Hardly a state election goes by without some proposition on the ballot advocating reform of California’s current marijuana laws. This most recent election was no exception, as Proposition 5, the measure that would have, among other things, reduced criminal consequences for marijuana-related offenses, was easily defeated.

Given the state’s projected $11.2-billion budget deficit this year and nationwide economic crisis, a situation that has grown so bad that even conservative Gov. Schwarzenegger recently called for tax increases, Proposition 5’s failure is surprising to say the least. Not only would the bill have resulted in significant state savings annually, but it also would have netted a $2.5-billion onetime savings in prison costs.

Herein lies the most convincing argument for why legalizing marijuana makes sense for California.

With the state in such fiscal disarray, the cost of criminalization simply isn’t worth the benefits it provides.

Legalization would save the state millions annually while opening the possibility of generating revenue through taxation ““ both things the state desperately needs to get out of this mess.

According to the report by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, California police arrested 60,111 people in 2002 for the possession or sale of marijuana. This comprised an astounding 23 percent of all drug arrests.

California is among the leaders in the nation in marijuana-related arrests, and thus has the most to gain from its legalization.

Each arrest racks up costs to the state in the form of police and court processing tasks as well as incarceration and probation supervision. When it’s all said and done, California would save upward of $1 billion annually from the legalization of marijuana, a large enough amount to make headway in balancing the budget.

Net savings aren’t the only benefit. Legalization would allow the state to tax the sale of marijuana like it does both alcohol and tobacco.

Although the actual revenue would depend entirely on the tax rate and amount sold, based on the revenue stream that tobacco and alcohol taxes produce, it’s safe to say that the state government would have a significant new source of funds.

Opponents of legalization often cite the drug’s negative effects on individuals and communities as reasons to keep marijuana illegal. For them, the harms of drug trafficking, combined with the association of drugs with violent crime and risk of increased use, provide the crux of their argument.

Drug trafficking and addiction are problems, but legalization, not criminalization, is the answer. The regulation of marijuana production and distribution by the state would diminish marijuana trafficking and the violent crimes associated with it. Legalization would shift the power from dangerous drug cartels to the state government.

Similarly, those who argue that legalization would result in a spike in consumption are simply not looking at the facts.

Studies of jurisdictions that have decriminalized marijuana have provided little evidence to conclude that marijuana use actually increased as a result.

The central arguments against legalization focus mainly on its social and moral consequences, yet these same concerns aren’t raised about alcohol and tobacco, which by any statistical measure are worse for one’s health.

When legalization would free up time and money for police to focus on more serious crimes such as methamphetamine abuse or rape, the moral arguments for its legalization seem more compelling, at least in this corner.

It costs the state $25,000 a year of taxpayer money to incarcerate a single criminal, a sum that could cover three people’s student fees at UCLA. With such a high price attached, it’s time for California to rethink how it treats marijuana users.

When the issue is addressed holistically, taking into account both the potential benefits to the state and relative lack of negative consequences, legalization is the necessary and just solution.

The real crime isn’t possession of marijuana. The real crime is committed against the taxpayers who must pay for the prosecution of petty criminals even as the state’s economy is in shambles.

E-mail Wright at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected].