The Economic Impact of Federally Legalizing Marijuana in the United States

Marijuana has been illegal at the federal level in the United States for multiple decades, but some states and some other countries around the world have been making marijuana legal for recreational and medical purposes as well as decriminalizing marijuana. With both public perception of marijuana and state laws regarding marijuana changing, legalization of marijuana in the United States at the federal level just seems like a matter of time. If marijuana is going to become legal there will likely be a large impact on the United States, particularly a large economic impact, so I decided to research what the economic impact of federally legalizing marijuana in the United States might look like. This seemed especially relevant to research since most of the available literature talks social impacts and opinions about the effects that marijuana could have on the mind and body. This research was completed by examining the available research about what impact the legalization of marijuana has already had in places that it is legal and examining what impact the current legal status of marijuana has had on communities around the United States. Except for some opinion being included in a personal reflection section, this research was almost entirely secondary research where I analyzed available data and opinions from experts on the topic of the legalization of marijuana. The conclusion of the research that I performed was that if marijuana were to become legalized in the United States at the federal level, then there would be a tremendous positive economic impact. There appear to be few downsides to legalizing marijuana at the federal level and those downsides are small compared the benefits that full legalization would have. This research provides an objective view and analysis of what impacts marijuana legalization might have in the United States and gives policy makers a detailed argument for why they should move towards the legalization of marijuana