Argument: Marijuana prohibition is highly costly and wasteful

Support

• Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). “On the Legalization — or Not — of Marijuana.” New York Times, Freakenomics. October 30, 2007 – “Hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent by the government since 1937 to both enforce and prolong marijuana prohibition. Meanwhile, over 19 million people have been arrested since 1965 (830,000 marijuana-related arrests in 2006 with 89 percent on possession-only charges), and an estimated 45,000 to 65,000 marijuana-only prisoners are currently incarcerated. There are more marijuana arrests annually than arrests for all violent crimes combined. As such, the moral and economic imperatives are clear in seeking logical and pragmatic alternatives to prohibition.”