SUMMARY

Marijuana came to the United States in the early-20th and it was particulary popular among the black community and among Mexican-Americans. However, it was prohibited: in 1937, a Marihuana Tax Act passed, which was a prohibition measure. Today, even if it is known that alcohol and tobacco are more harmful than marijuana, it is still prohibited under the federal laws, except in some states when it comes to a medical use. The idea of legalization is more and more debated. Regarding the Obama administration, the matter does not seem to be a big issue: Obama declared a hands-off approach and said that he would not pursue the prosecution of marijuana users who comply with state laws. Yet he is not encouraging scientific research on the possible therapeutic benefits of smoking medical marijuana. The question is: what would be the implications of that legalization for the United States ?

From an economical point of view, legalization of marijuana could have been a good thing. Some states think that legalizing marijuana could be a good plan, since there are politicians complaining about a $24 billion budget deficit. If marijuana were legal, it could help to reduce that deficit because it would produce $250,000 untaxed revenue per crop. But the point is that, before considering marijuana as a solid revenue, the size of marijuana crops has to be evaluated. Moreover, selling cannabis to people who use it moderately gets no money. That means smoking marijuana should be encouraged to make profit, which is not a very well seen idea since it is still a drug and can be dangerous. It is also believed that, if marijuana were legal and taxed, it would not help the economy because the price would collapse and so, it would not work fiscally. In California, the City Council tentatively approved a plan to permit wholesale marijuana production in the city. It would license four wholesale dealers to grow, package and process marijuana and could help the struggling