MARIJUANA PROHIBITION COSTS U.S. $40 BILLION A YEAR

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NORML - Marijuana prohibition costs US taxpayers nearly $42 billion
dollars per year in criminal justice costs and in lost tax revenues,
according to an economic analysis.

According to the study, "Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws,"
law enforcement spends $10.7 billion annually to arrest and prosecute
marijuana offenders. This amount comprises nearly six percent of
America's total criminal justice expenditures.

Pot's criminalization also artificially raises the plant's retail price
and diverts billions of dollars into the black market economy, the study
finds. According to the report, Americans spend some $113 billion
dollars annually to consume an estimated 31.1 million pounds of pot. By
criminalizing this market, the study estimates that the government loses
more than $30 billion per year in tax revenue.

According to data released last week by the US Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), police arrested a record 829,625 persons for
marijuana violations in 2006. Of those arrested, 738,915 Americans (89
percent) were charged with marijuana possession.

http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID-7380

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