Hey I'm all for it --- I'll post my research paper “’I would like everyone in this room to raise your hand if you’ve never smoked pot.’ Few hands went up” (Kimmel). Jimmy Kimmel addresses President Obama on the issues of marijuana legislation at the 2012 White House Correspondent’s Dinner. He continues with, “What is with the marijuana crackdown? Seriously, what is the concern? We will deplete the nation’s Funyun supply?” In recent years, marijuana for recreational use has gotten an extreme amount of support from the voters. In just four years, roughly fifty-eight percent of the population is in favor for legalization (Swift). The time is now for the federal government to listen to the people. It should be legalized in all fifty states and U.S. territories. Marijuana should be legal for recreational use at the federal level and will provide positive impacts to American society. Legalization will lead to a decrease in arrests, which will cost taxpayers less. In 2011, there were 663,032 marijuana possession arrests, whereas only 534,704 violent crime arrests. It currently costs the taxpayers, on average, approximately $25,000 per year to detain an inmate in minimum-security prison. Most marijuana related arrest offenders typically attend minimum-security prison. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting, every 42 seconds an arrest occurs and 86% of those are marijuana related. This is counterproductive. The government should not spend a lucrative amount of money on petty crimes related to marijuana. In 1993, Jeff Mizanskey from Missouri was arrested for unknowingly participating in a drug deal. Because he had two prior nonviolent marijuana convictions he was sentenced to life without parole (Wegman). Now, do you believe people like Mr. Mizanskey should face the same punishment as people who commit murder, attempt to murder, abuse children, -blam!-, or those that participate in human trafficking? As Martin Luther King Jr. eloquently states, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The consequences Mr. Mizanskey faced for a petty crime was out of his control. States like Missouri and California have adopted a three strike policy. Once you’ve been arrested for the third offense you automatically go to jail. His treatment is not justified and in no way should he have been sentenced to life without parole. New York City spent an estimated $75 million for marijuana related arrests in 2011. “Taxpayers have shouldered the cost of arresting and incarcerating hundreds of thousands of people for the possession of marijuana, often in small quantities for personal use. Some national estimates put the annual cost of marijuana arrests above $10 billion” (Hall). Since then, New York City has decriminalized marijuana. This has allowed the police department and task force to focus on violent crimes and use resources more effectively. If the government legalizes marijuana at the federal level, the judicial branch of government will save a significant amount of time and money no longer having to deal with petty marijuana related arrests. Looking at Colorado, the number of marijuana possession charges in the courts went from 30,428 in 2010 to just 1,922 in 2014. That is a 93.68% decrease in four years. This allowed the courts to focus their energy and funding on more serious criminals and improvements to their local governements. The legalization of marijuana for recreational use will boost the economy exponentially by introducing a new commodity in the market. This will lead to job creation and small businesses booming nationally. Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use on January 1, 2014. In that same year, Colorado issued licenses for recreational use to 322 retail stores (Steinmetz). The Marijuana industry offers many different career paths such as creating edibles, cultivating, glass blowing, delivery services, marketing, accounting, and consulting. When small businesses boom, communities thrive. It creates a reciprocated cycle. In the 2014 fiscal year, the pot shops generated $700 million in sales. They sold 4.8 million edible marijuana products and over 150,000 pounds of marijuana flower netting the state $58 million in tax refunds (Steinmetz). The state heavily taxes the transaction at 28%. With the approval from the voters, the state plans to channel $40 million back into the education system through its public school capital construction assistance fund. Another 12 million will support youth programs, marijuana education, and law enforcement. The remaining $6 million will be given to the states general fund (Levine). In other words, the state plans to use the tax refund to build new schools, improve older ones, provide and enhance community youth programs, provide education programs on marijuana, and increase the police department budget. This amount of revenue is generated at a small scale, state level to be precise. Just imagine the possibilities available if it is legal for recreational use at the federal level. The economy would expand exponentially, unemployment rates would decrease, and there would be an increase in small business owners. The country will flourish and we will begin to start paying off our national debt, instead of continuously running a deficit. Once again, marijuana should be legal for recreational use at the federal level. It will provide positive impacts to the American society while saving billions of dollars in taxpayers’ money and boosting the economy. The people have spoken and they want it legalized. Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington State have already begun experiencing the positive impacts from the legislation. Subsequently, to ignore the people’s voice of support for marijuana will diminish the meaning of democracy. The United States of America was built by the people and for the people. The very first line in the preamble of the Constitution states, “We, the People of the United States of America.” It is apparent, as the Constitution illustrates, the people have the power and control over the government. It’s ultimately up to the people, and not the government itself, to dictate what should be legalized. As Socrates verbalized, “he who has experience of the manner in which we order justice and administer the state, and still remains, has entered into an implied contract that he will do as we command him” (Plato 239). In this instance, the government is abided by this implied contract, the Constitution, and should do what the people want it to do. These up coming elections will give a strong indication of the amount of support for legalization.