Drug Enforcement Administration, the Controlled Substances Act, and the War on Drugs all show that drug prohibition has been framed as a federal issue. Recent state-by-state legalization of cannabis (marijuana) has challenged and undermined the efficacy of federal drug laws and anti-drug policies. Almost half the states have now legalized marijuana for either medical or recreational use (Hill, 2015). The state-by-state legalization scheme creates legal and ethical conundrums. For example,

Another important aspect of the medical marijuana debate that many people are not recognizing is the potential for additional revenue. States are taxing dispensaries on their sales, and adding much-needed revenue to their coffers. Another writer notes, "Colorado is now the second state, behind California, to tax and regulate medical-marijuana sales, a move that comes on the heels of the Obama administration's decision in October to leave enforcement of laws

One very important aspect related to smoking marijuana concerns the number of deaths reported on an annual basis linked to using other legal and illegal substances. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Mortality Statistics, 400,000 Americans die annually as a direct result of smoking cigarettes; 100,000 die prematurely from drinking alcohol; some 20,000 die from abusing legal prescription drugs like Oxycontin, Valium, Percodan, and other drugs prescribed by

Although the cost of these successes can be tabulated in billions of dollars, money was also recovered from these arrests, and there is no way to measure the human lives that were not lost or affected due to the apprehension of dangerous drug lords. Still, the EU Commission has raised the familiar argument that economics can generally used to support the side against continuing the drug war. In addition to

, 1995). Some of laws and restrictions imposed by USA between 1960 and 1997 are as follows: 1) "Drug Abuse Control Amendments-- referred to amphetamines, barbiturates and LSD as dangerous drugs and allowed for FDA to recommend to Department of Health Education and Welfare to control them and other drugs that may later be deemed a problem. (1965)" (History of Drug Laws and Restrictions in the U.S., reference 4) 2) "Comprehensive Drug Abuse

Abstract This paper looks at the concept of legalizing marijuana nationwide. It examines what the current literature has to say on marijuana research, medicinal benefits, and legal history of the substance. It also includes a look at the economic benefits of marijuana legalization in states like Colorado. An analysis section follows the review of literature, and in the conclusion recommendations are made for further action. Introduction Though the banning of marijuana began in