The Benefits of the Legalization of Marijuana in Colorodo and Research Paper

The Benefits of the Legalization of Marijuana in Colorodo and Washinton state - Research Paper Example The legalization of marijuana means that there will be no more arrests that will be made to people either found using or in possession of the drug. Under the new Colorados law, residents who are beyond 21 years of age can possess, produce, sell and use up to an ounce of the drug at any given time. The law has had an immense and measurable effect to the colored people in Colorado where racial disparities regarding marijuana use and possession arrests have been questionable. Police in Colorado have been arresting blacks three times more than the whites. The arrests have been questionable since the whites have higher rates of using the drug than the colored residents. According to the NAACP, the legalization will alleviate the biased arrests. The blacks make 11% of Colorado’s population, but for every three Marijuana related arrests made, one must be a black person. The arrests have long-lasting and devastating effects. The arrests records affect an individual’s chances of getting a job, loans, housing, and other public benefits. People with Marijuana arrest records are demoted to the second class status. With the legalization of Marijuana, such arrests are stopped making life easy for all residents (Franklin 4). Legalizing the use of marijuana solves the problems associated with the illicit market. Marijuana users will shift to purchasing the drug from regulated stores. Violence originating from street corner trades will cease as the markets will be replaced with well-guarded stores having security and surveillance systems. Consumers now get clear information of what they are buying instead of getting whatever that is wrapped up in a baggie. The consumers will now have the benefit of choosing of what they want from a wide variety of the product depending on the price and the quality they want. The prices of the drug will respond like those of other products depending on supply and demand. The