A new petition signed by over 300 US economists, including three nobel laureates, calling to the attention of the paper made by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, suggesting that if the US government legalize marijuana, it would save around $13.7 billion annually. The report calculated a saving figure of $7.7 billion per annum from the non-enforcement of the current prohibition of the drug. An additional savings of $6 billion per annum contributed to the taxed marijuana at tax rates similar to alcohol and tobacco. While the economists did not call for a direct marijuana legalization, they’re pushing towards an open and honest debate about the benefits of legalizing marijuana.
Ron Paul, a US politician running as a candidate for presidency, said that he believes that the U.S. Constitution gives the fifty states the right to legalize hemp production or marijuana. He also added that the issue was a matter of personal liberty, however drug users should not be entitled to government-funded treatment if they abuse legalized drugs. “If drugs are legal and people misuse them, then they do it at their own risk,” he said. Bottom line, said Paul: “I do trust individuals to make their own decisions.”