Marijuana is becoming more and more important in today's society, it has become something that is almost easily available whenever you want it. This issue has become a critical situation because it has divided many people, some believe that legalization would be good for the economy and society. Others fear that legalization for recreational use will destroy our youth and cause financial problems in the future. Legalizing marijuana would have overall positive effects on society and the economy. Funding for the “War on Drugs” would be dramatically reduced allowing officials to focus on illegal drug trafficking in and out of the United States instead of spending large amounts of taxpayer dollars to prevent the public from obtaining and using marijuana. The general public could openly consume cannabis, which is extremely less dangerous and unhealthy than the consumption of alcohol, and tobacco products, which could even prevent harm and addiction to these more harmful substances. The national debt could be eliminated very quickly through cannabis taxation. Colorado and Washington have already legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, and both states have earned a huge amount of money in taxpayer dollars instead of having to raise taxes in other areas to ensure public funding meets community needs. Katel, Peter. "The problems." Legalizing Marijuana 19.22 (2009): 525-33. Online QC Researcher. Network. February 27, 2014. Katel begins by stating that law enforcement is not focused on arresting individual growers who grow for personal use, rather they are going after the large cartels that add violence to the community. Legalization would cause… half the paper… President Obama isn't entirely sure whether he thinks this goal is worth pursuing or not. However, he knows that this will benefit us and if we benefit from it perhaps drug-related violence will be diminished somewhat. Of course there will be some restrictions on how much can be grown and when it can be sold, but if we were to make this something easily obtainable, the government could relax and not have to worry about something as simple as marijuana. Initiative 502 (legalization of medical marijuana) is currently under discussion at the Liquor Control Board. If the government passes this law, people will be able to purchase medical marijuana without having to make false claims about illnesses that most of them don't even have. Overall I believe this article relates to my topic because it discusses why legalization will help our society and economy.