Economic Impact Of Marijuana Legalization Economics Essay

Economic Impact Of Marijuana Legalization Economics Essay Drug dealers in America have mastered the concept of supply and demand. They have identified their target audience and are doing an incredible job at keeping competition down. They rapidly work towards a monopoly in their respective areas. They even keep ahead of the game by obtaining the best product at the lowest price before hiking up the price to potential buyers. They are running an underground gold mine and the government hasnt been getting a penny of the proceeds. In fact, the government and taxpayers spend between 20 and 25 billion dollars a year (Osler, 2012), on prosecuting dealers and incarcerating those who possess marijuana. But facts are facts and this is how America works. It may be for this reason that voters in Washington and Colorado decided to legalize marijuana. On November 7, 2012, state legislators in both Washington and Colorado passed an initiative and an amendment, respectively, to allow for the possession, distribution, and private recreational use of cannabis. From an economic perspective, there would be numerous benefits to legalizing marijuana. The states expect to see a rapid decline in arrests for marijuana possession, saving money from the reduced need for law enforcement for marijuana prohibition. This proves to potentially save Colorado alone an average of $40.1 million, (Stiffler, 2012), in costs associated with incarceration. Not only will the economic impact of legalization of marijuana help save the government on law enforcement expenses, but it will also encompass the possibility of large sums of revenue from the market supply and demand of the newly legalized product, generating an impressive profit from sales tax. As a new industry emerges within the workforce, desperately needed employment opportunities will arise across the country, stimulating the economy by initially providing 4,200 new jobs (Fottrell, 2012). It will also help upsurge our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as more goods will be produced and retailed. The economic impact of the legalization of marijuana covers many aspects of the economy. In Mark Oslers U.S. Should Honor States New Pot Laws CNN.com, Osler discusses the conflict that arises from a state passing a law that contradicts a federal law. He examines the sides of both the proponents and opponents to the federal government cracking down on drug use in Colorado and Washington. Osler goes in depth about how the federalists support the States and want the government to leave them alone to govern their states how they choose, and how the moralists would like to see the federal government enforce the federal narcotics laws despite the voters decisions in the states. The article also analyses how harder drugs deliver a lesser punishment than more minor drugs and how drug laws in the past have done little to permanently curb drug use. Amendment 64 would produce $60 million in new revenue and savings for Colorado, by Christopher Stiffler, presents a systematic approach to how the government will benefit from the passing of the amendment. The article discusses the various ways that the legalization of marijuana will positively affect the economy and also describes in detail the how tax revenue will be generated and utilized to benefit Colorado. Stiffler also focuses on the details of the amendment itself and how a shift in governmental thinking can save millions of taxpayer dollars. Quentin Fottrells How to Invest in Legalized Marijuana, describes the rapidly growing market demand for marijuana and marijuana related products. He gives descriptions of several marijuana centered companies and offers his opinion on the direction of the economy. Fottrell also mentions how the marijuana market is spreading over to other industries and explains the benefits and pitfalls of investing in marijuana related stock. Unperturbed Puffery, by B.A., is an article that focuses on the likelihood of the Obama administration to enforce federal laws in Colorado and Washington. B.A. takes a strong stance on the issue and sides with the federalists who prefer a hands-off approach from the federal government. The articles examines the costs related to incarcerating people with marijuana related charges and concludes with mentioning how the government should have more important issues to tend to than marijuana possession. Mike Moffatts Would Marijuana Legalization Increase the Demand for Marijuana?, answers a readers question about the demand for marijuana if it becomes legal. Moffatt consults the experts to form an opinion on the issue. The experts seem to believe overall that demand will increase unless the price goes up too much, in which case it will stay the same. The article also mentions how the legalization of the drug may have the opposite effect because the allure of marijuana comes in part from the fact that it is illegal. Moffatt also looks at other countries experiences with the legalization of marijuana and concludes that legal or not, people will continue to use it. Should Governments Legalize and Tax Marijuana? by Mike Moffatt discusses the economics of drug dealers and compares their profits to potential profits that the government could make by legalizing marijuana. He breaks down the profit percentage from street sales and considers a shift from street profit to governmental tax revenues. Moffatt also considers the health of the consumers and educational benefits that can arise from the legalization of marijuana. C. Whitakers The Economic Effects of Legalizing Marijuana, takes a look at the business aspect of legalizing marijuana. The article discusses how the underground business can become legal and even how former underground drug dealers can get off welfare and become legal entrepreneurs. Whitaker also examines the economic impact of the marijuana and how a lowered price would allow for funds to be spent elsewhere in the economy. Whitaker claims in the article that the legalization of marijuana will help put an end to poverty by creating business opportunity for drug pushers and will also save money for prisons everywhere. As stated before, the economic impact of illegal marijuana comes at an expense to us all. This expense is obtained from the costs associated with cracking down on those who are buying and selling drugs, prosecuting them in the courts, and providing food and shelter for them in jail cells. According to Mark Osler, the amount that has gone towards these efforts has been between 20 and 25 billion dollars a year for the past decade (Osler, 2012). When breaking these figures down, it is revealed that, 12.4% of federal prisoners convicted on drug charges were locked up for marijuana offenses. Thats about 11,630 people, at an average cost of $25,500 to $26,000 per person per year (B.A., 2012). Multiplying these figures yields a result of more than 290 million spent annually on jailing inmates, at the federal level, who were caught with marijuana. In the grand scheme of things, this is quite a sum of money that could be allocated towards other things. A reporter for The Economist says that, Prosecuting people for marijuana offenses is a waste of resources (B.A., 2012). The reporters sentiment is understood based on the fact that, Four out of Five of the 1.64 million people arrested for drug violations were accused of possession, and half of those arrests were for carrying what were often very small amounts of marijuana (Osler, 2012). When comparing the effects of marijuana, a schedule 1 narcotic, and the effects of cocaine and opium, schedule 2 narcotics (less offensive), (Osler, 2012), it makes little sense that a substance that has no known scientific death toll, cancer causing side effects, or even evidence of being an addictive substance should cause so many people to be put behind bars at tax payers expense. This is one reason why voters have decided to make marijuana legal in Washington and Colorado. The expense of police in Colorado alone shows substantial potential governmental savings. According to Christopher Stiffler and Colorados direct budget costs for enforcing marijuana prohibition, $40.1 million is spent annually enforcing marijuana prohibition, (Stiffler, 2012). This is seen in the chart below, (Stiffler 2012). Colorados direct budget costs for enforcing marijuana prohibition Agency Total spending Percent spent enforcing prohibition Amount spent enforcing prohibition Police $82,676,491 4.41 $3,646,033 Judicial $340,243,578 7 $23,817,050 Corrections $634,934,029 2 $12,698,681 Total $40.1 million As explained on a state and national level, legalizing marijuana has a very positive effect on the police expense, potentially creating a notable amount of revenue from savings alone. Not only are expenses a detriment from illegal marijuana; but forgone profit is a negative effect as well. An economist named Stephen T. Easton conducted a study using data from Canada to calculate the amount of tax revenue that legalizing marijuana could bring to the government (Moffatt, 2012). The study showed that the average price of .5 grams of marijuana sold for $8.60 on the street with a production cost of only $1.70. (Moffatt, 2012) These figures would amount to a $6.90 profit for drug dealers. Any survivor of an ECON 5003 course would know that with a profit like this, competition would be intense. What keeps these drug dealers with a local monopoly is the fact that the possession and distribution of marijuana is illegal and subject to serious jail time. This risk factor is what keeps others from trying to get in on the action. This also keeps supply restricted and demand high for the product, leaving drug dealers with hefty profits at the expense of the government. Now that marijuana has been legalized, it is expected that the demand for marijuana will increase. With the risk factor gone, far more people will engage in recreational activities involving marijuana. Drug dealers will no longer make as much profit due to the fact that anyone can potentially sell marijuana. With a larger supply, the prices from the once exclusive drug market will drop drastically resulting in a price much closer to the cost of production. With marijuana being legal, there will be government run distributers who will, based on basic supply and demand modules, offer the drug at a much lower base price. However, because marijuana will be closely regulated much like tobacco and alcohol, the taxes from licensing and distribution will drive the total purchase price up and revenue will rival that of current day drug dealers. When transferring the profit once enjoyed by drug dealers to the U.S. government in the form of taxes and distribution costs, and leaving transportation and marketing issues behind, the government would end up with revenue of $7 per .5 grams of marijuana, (Moffatt, 2012) With the collection of tax on each marijuana cigarette and again leaving transportation and marketing issues behind, this adds up to over a $2 billion profit, (Moffatt, 2012). Without the legalization of marijuana, the street price of marijuana will stay the same because there is a very limited and risky to purchase supply. The distributors or drug dealers enjoy a relatively stable quantity demanded because of this unchanging price. Now that marijuana has been legalized, the demand will increase due to the fact that consumers no longer have a risk in purchasing marijuana. Looking at a supply demand curve, Figure 1 shows the effect that legalizing marijuana would have. With the demand curve increasing in order to stay with equilibrium, the price equilibrium would increase. Figure 1: Effect of Legalizing Marijuana Although legalizing marijuana has great potential of increasing tax revenue, a sense of morality is likely to appear due to the perceived negative effect of health throughout the population. With this in mind the government can either decrease consumption by raising taxes or increase it by dropping taxes. Figure 2 shows the effect if taxes are increased and consumption of marijuana is decreased. Figure 2: Increase in Marijuana Tax As shown by the graph, if marijuana taxes are increased, the supply curve would shift to the left. The quantity supplied would decrease from Q*1 to Q*2. This shift in supply changes the equilibrium from E1 to E2 and the price is increased from P*1 to P*2. Increasing taxes too much can have a negative effect because if taxes get too high marijuana growers will want to sell in the black market to avoid the high taxes. In addition to law enforcement expenses and forgone profit, another aspect that illegal marijuana hinders is the emergence of a new industry and job opportunities across America. With the legalization of marijuana comes a plethora of career options and job opportunities. Also, those who were previously victims of incarceration from the distribution of cannabis can now possibly start a legal profitable business. One such business that has already taken off is the medical marijuana industry. According to Quentin Fottrell from Market Watch, the medical marijuana industry is, estimated to be worth about $1.7 billion as of 2011, (Fottrell, 2012). In Colorado alone, sales topped $181 million in 2010, and the business employed 4,200 state-licensed workers, (Fottrell, 2012). The new marijuana industry spans from medical producers, to agricultural-equipment firms, dispensaries, vaporizers, and even edible goods. Producers are now able to ship the drugs out to the customers, as drug trafficking is no longer be illegal. This is one of the many ways new jobs are being created. The marijuana industry will also raise our Gross Domestic Product because it can be grown and sold here in the USA. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Illicit drugs accounted for 1% of the worlds GDP, (Whitaker, 2009). One percent doesnt sound like much at all, but this 1% is higher than 88% of all countries GDPs in the world (Whitaker, 2009). People participating in the marijuana industry would not only have a stable source of income, but also a legal source that would be taxed. From the consumers perspective, the legalization of marijuana could mean lower prices. Since there will be countless ways for purchasing legal marijuana, more competition will arise which will result in decreased prices for the consumer. Consumers will no longer have to pay such a high price resulting in an increase in their available funds that they can invest, putting money directly back into the economy. The newly legalized marijuana market also creates investment opportunities. Medbox (OTN:MDBX) [has] an OTC stock with a $45 million market cap, (Fottrell, 2012). Medical Marijuana (OTN:MJNA), [has] an OTC stock with a $69 million market cap, (Fottrell, 2012). And Cannabis Science in Colorado Springs, Colo. (OTN;CBIS), [has] an OTC stock with a $41 million market cap, (Fottrell, 2012). These new investment opportunities encourage investors to feed into the economy and stimulate the free market. As old products are losing ground, this new market is rapidly gaining appeal and helping the economy every step of the way. In conclusion, the legalization of marijuana brings up an interesting opportunity for the government.   If they become the suppliers of the good, they can produce on the true supply or marginal cost curve and then replace the cost of arresting and fighting dealers with marijuana revenue. A great deal of tax payer money goes into catching those who buy or sell illegal drugs on the black market, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. These costs seem particularly exorbitant when dealing with the drug marijuana, as it is widely used, and is likely no more harmful than currently legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. When looking at marijuanas effect on the economy as a whole, the positive and lucrative impact cannot be ignored. From the creation of new job opportunities, to the abundant new supply of revenue, and even the savings incurred from removing prohibition, it is clear that the economic impact created by the legalization of marijuana is beneficial to us all.

“Hunters in the Snow” by Tobias Wolff Essay

In many walks of life, people believe that humanity is one with nature ranging from plants to animals, and when the outer shell dies, the spirits that were within them become abstract images of individual creatures. We have the same instinct as animal just a few adaptation and the ability to reason. In the short story â€Å"Hunters in the Snow† by Tobias Wolff, the use of symbolism and imagery to show contradistinction between humanity and the natural world. Wolff brings such a correlation between being human and also being a beast that it’s difficult to differentiate which one is who. Tobias is consistently showing the true nature of Tub, Kenny and Frank by relating them to hunting deer, but hunting the secrets that they concealed within themselves. Tobias makes claims to the sensitive nature of man by trepidation that fills a void in the three characters. â€Å"In Hunter’s in the snow,† Wolff is indirectly elucidating the symbolism between Tub, Kenny, an d Frank with their snowy environment, showing how tyrannical they have become and the symbolism of the deer. The first brush of snow is sweeping the landscape. The deep dark clouds and brisk winds stabbing Tub coat. The ground painted with the circles of footsteps as cars pass by like a shooting star. â€Å"Tub had been waiting for an hour in the falling snow.† Tobias Wolff (page) Tub, the first character, is the most soft-spoken of the trio. He was much heavier than Kenny and Frank but kinder at heart. In retrospect to Tub, the first line of the story gives evidence to his demeanor, showing an explicit representation of Tub’s personality; like the falling of the snow, he is very soft, and fluffy in appearance. Wolff also gives the illusion of the hunters as they try and hunt for deer, but the deer symbolizing the truth that’s within themselves. â€Å"He paced the sidewalk to keep warm and stuck his head out over the curb whenever he saw lights approaching.† (page) Wolff drew a connection with Tub as a deer pacing the snowy covered ground poking his head out like a deer in a sniper scoop. â€Å"The snow was light but the drifts were deep and hard to move through.† (page) Tub noticed the smooth, undisturbed snow to bring the deception of himself and the struggle  he goes through with his weight. Kenny helps create these deep drifts by targeting Tub, which hindered him from overcoming his low s elf-esteem, but Tub mentally has to push through. Wolff then makes the exact nature of the guilt inside of Tub transparent. Wolff shows how effortlessly Kenny and Frank were walking upon the snow while Tub strenuously tried to keep up but kept sinking in the soft snow. Tub surrendered to the snow, sits down and began to forego on the things that’s eating him inside. The snow is changing in size. The sky is getting darker by the minute. The wind is increasing in intensity. The footprint of deer disappears as their animal instinct begins to make way. Kenny is the leader of the pack and is the bitter cold winter himself with a frozen heart and a crystal core. As they hiked deeper into the woods, Kenny attitude progressively became as thick as the snowy landscape. Kenny first taunted an old dog, shot a post, then a tree and then the old dog dead center in the eye. Like a hurricane, peace lies in the center of the eye. â€Å"The clouds were low and heavy-looking and the wind blew in shrill gusts. There was a screen loose on the house, and it banged slowly and then quickly as the wind rose again.† Kenny then turned to Tub. â€Å"I hate you† (page) Tub with no hesitation shoots Kenny from the waist throwing him against the fence. The events of the snow picking up showed the growing tension in the story, the clouds low and heavy-looking described Tub and the position of the rifle. The banging of the screen door simulated the gunshot that hit Kenny in the stomach. The pellucid event had turned the tables around. The snow starts to breaks; the wind started to whisper, and the lifeless snow became white. Kenney the cold harden anarchy began to subdue slowly to his frozen soul as the freezing winds covered his body spilling not red but a bluish blood on the crimson ice. Wolff, prudently shows that the deer and Kenny, at the tavern, they stopped to warm up with the other group of deerstalkers. Kenny tied to a post, covered with the warmth of his blood waiting to be nailed to the wall like the brothers that are there. Tub and Frank pay little care to the severity of his situation. An iceberg, floating peacefully only showing the outer nature of his stability. The water is slowly breaking down the composites leaving way to the truth inside. Frank representing an iceberg, through all the shooting he stood still, as if in shock of what he sees. He gives the outward app earance of an ordinary guy tagging along to whomever more favored or had the  authority. Like an iceberg, his actual intention lies beneath the skin; flaky like the snow on their clothes. â€Å"The snowfall lightened, and the clouds began to roll back off the fields, but it was no warmer and after a time both Frank and Tub were bitten through and shaking.†(page) The tension between the friends died down like the wind, but the coldness was still prevalent because they were aloof to Kenny situation. Frank who has a wife and kids seem to have a good family but holds a dark secret. The story goes deep into the imagery of the snowy environment, and the deer only to reveal the deepest secret frank is in love with his fifteen-year-old babysitter. In this incredible piece that show claim to the true nature of the humanity and how uncaring and ruthless society can become. Within this short story, â€Å"Hunters in the Snow,† the relationship of the men corresponds with the snow and as tensions builds, so does the weather. Wolff creates this magical illusion tying us to a winter storm and how certain winter objects we can be related to. The symbol of a deer that re present life and death but also shows the hunters Tub, Kenny and Frank what’s is hunting them inside. Word Cited â€Å"Hunters in the Snow–Tobias Wolff – Classic Short S.† Insert Name of Site in Italics. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2014 .

The analysis of the text “From: W.S.” Essay

The text under study is taken from the book â€Å"The Complete Short Stories of L.P. Hartley† written by L.P. Hartley. Leslie Poles Hartley, an English novelist and the son of a solicitor was educated at Oxford’s College and for more than twenty years he was a fiction viewer for magazines. He wrote a lot of novels and made a great contribution to English fiction. â€Å"W.S.† was published posthumously in 1973. The genre chosen by the writer dictates the adoption of the certain style. The genre of this text is the short detective story. When we read this story, we learn everything from the author, so here we can observe the author’s point of view. This excerpt is very interesting from the form of narration: it is not homogeneous because the narration is often interrupted by the inner monologues and by the elements of description. Because of the big amount of such elements, the form of narration is descriptive. Also we can observe non-personal direct speech. The main character of the story – Walter Streeter – gets one after another four postcards with messages from anonymous and starts thinking them over. His reaction on these postcards changes from the first to the last one. At first he was glad not to answer because he had a lot of things to do and the answering on such postcards required too much time and energy. But he was shocked and astonished about it, so he got rid of the first and the second one. Moreover, these postcards lingered in his mind and he pondered over the anonymous. He couldn’t understand who it was – a woman or a man because the handwriting and style of writing were extremely different. If the first postcard was about Walter Streeter’s personal features of character about his grip with people, the second one told that he was on the border of something. Walter Streeter had the difficulties with his work and he needed a new source of inspiration. After the receiving the third postcard he paid an attention on the initials of the sender. T hey were like his own. Walter Streeter even thought that it was he by his own who sent these postcards. The man went to his friend to ask for advice and after the conversation he felt reassured for a moment. He thought that it was a woman, who had somehow taken a fancy to him and she was a lunatic. Walter Streeter couldn’t destroy this postcard as the previous one, because they became the leading factor in his life. But after the fourth postcard the wave of panic surged in him and he even wanted to go to the police to protect himself. The author depicts very peculiar characters. The main hero is Walter Streeter, a novelist. While reading this excerpt we get the information about him and it may be said that the author tries to thrust his opinion on the readers. We feel some sympathy to Walter Streeter from the author’s descriptions. About some features of this character we learn only from these anonymous postcards. Mr. Streeter is usually friendly but sometimes critical. He is interested in Scotland and cathedrals. This man is conscientious, he is not a man to experiment with acquaintances and he is ready to escape into an ambiguous world, where the conscious mind didn’t have things too much its own way. These facts we know from some inner monologues, thoughts and feelings which are imperceptibly interwoven with the narration. The author uses such device for us to better understand this particular character and to show his full portrait. The next character is W.S. Only from the very end of the story we find out that W.S. is William Stainsforth, the character of Walter Streeter book. Walter Streeter didn’t endow him with some good features; he got some fun of this character and made him just nasty as he could. While writing the book about W.S., Mr. Streeter unloaded all his self-dislike on him. So W.S. decided to kill his creator. The author uses a gradation to create tenser atmosphere and to show that W.S. is coming nearer to Walter Streeter. This gradation can be observed in the end of the text of the postcards with word â€Å"handshake†. From the first till the last the â€Å"handshakes† were â€Å"A handshake, a firm handshake, a hearty handshake, a hard handshake†. It shows the significance of these postcards. This extract is full of stylistic devices. First of all, there are many interrogative sentences and it shows the hesitation and anxiety of the character. We can observe here such stylistic devices as zeugma – â€Å"took up the time and energy†, metonomy – â€Å"faint strings of curiosity†, personification – â€Å"growing pains†, periphrasis – â€Å"conscious mind†, â€Å"little mouse-like creature†, â€Å"poison pens†, a lot of examples of inversion. Also the author uses a lot of anaphoras. It is used widely to improve emphasis on some facts: â€Å"Perhaps they didn’t have their feet on the ground. Perhaps he was ready to escape†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Another type of repetition which is called anadiplosis is used: â€Å"†¦into an ambiguous world, a world where the conscious†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Besides we can meet such epithets in the text: â€Å"November fire†, â€Å"other-wordly†, â€Å"handshake from W.S.†; some metaphors such as â€Å"fruitful conflict†, â€Å"I’ve been re-reading your novels, living in them†, â€Å"a borderline case†, â€Å"lingered in mind†. A beautiful antithesis as â€Å"perfection of ordinariness† doesn’t let us calm to Walter’s style. As we see the language of the writer is very rich and full of various kinds of stylistic devices. It makes the story vivid, bright, interesting and picturesque. In conclusion I want to say, that this story tells us about the life of writer but it is unusual because of its mysterious detective plot. This story was interesting for me because of exciting plot, specific characters, incomprehensible end and lively language of the writer.

How does leisure activity effect the elderly Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Fur most significant aspects towards leading a healthy life mostly among the elderly include physical activity, nutritional status, and cognitive and social stimulation (Haight, 2005). The latest statistics show ideally that physical inactivity is considered the fourth leading risk factor contributing to approximately 6% of the annual global deaths (Maddox, 1995). This points out clearly the significance of the above named four factors, physical activity, nutritional status, and cognitive and social stimulation. Additionally, lack of engagement in physical activities during leisure time contributes to loss of muscle mass, resulting to muscle weakness, enhancing the chances of development of chronic diseases. Leisure activity is significantly affected by increase in age. In the field of occupational therapy, there is a correlation between the leisure activity and depression. In youthful stages, individuals tend to get company from the many friends that they usually have company, which caters for the depression aspect that such individuals tend to experience. However, as one ages, the available company reduces thereby enhancing the chances of stress and depressions (Ting, Chan, and Cheung, 2009). This is based on the perspective that an individual has to provide all the solutions to all problems that arise and hence increasing the chances of depression. We will write a custom essay sample on How does leisure activity effect the elderly or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Occupational therapy has it that there is substantive reduction of depression in individual who engage in leisure activity as compared to those that never engage in leisure activity. Through leisure activity, the elderly are able to engage their minds fully in activities thereby reducing the chances of depression. Leisure activity also enhances brain activity, a factor that enables the body to increase in its functionality. Enhanced brain activity through leisure activity also has an effect on enhancing body immunity and hence enabling the body to fight substantively against certain diseases and conditions leading to a healthy life (Lee and Lim, 2012). A number of factors constitute maintenance of a healthy life in elderly people. Other than leisure activity, which is one of the most important routines of a healthy adult, proper nutrition is very important for maintenance of a healthy life (Ting, Chan, and Cheung, 2009). Muscle mass, which usually reduces in aging individuals, is the most important aspect in sustenance of a healthy life. In order for it to be revived, there is the requirement of intense leisure activity and proper nutritional feeding in the elderly.