Criminal Justice: How Society Can Profit from the Legalization of Harmless Crimes

There are many controversial crimes in the penal law. These crimes I am talking about - harmless crimes - are controversial not due to their maliciousness, but due to their minimal to no effect on society or others in a negative manner. Harmless crimes generally harm only the person(s) participating and engaging in these "unlawful" activities, and no one else. However, legalization and regulation of these crimes can help boost our sapping economy, especially in a time of need like this.

Prostitution
Prostitution is a harmless crime in which people engage in sexual activity for fiscal means. Prostitution is legal in two states: Nevada and Rhode Island (although the ideologies and polices of pimping and opening brothels are strictly prohibited in Rhode Island).

There are current pros and cons to legalizing prostitution. Some experts say that legalizing prostitution will have a dramatic decline in the percentage of rapes that occur per year in the United States. Another pro to legalization of prostitution is clear regulation, making prostitution safer for everyone. Legalization and regulation would also lead to safer transactions, cut the spread of HIV/AIDs and other sexually transmitted diseases, and feed the economy money that is otherwise going under the radar.

It's obvious that prostitution, whether legal or not, is going to occur. Legalization of this harmless crime would make it safer, and offer a nice boost to the economy. Revenue made from the legal prostitution in the past within the United States has paid for education, roadwork, and much more.

Marijuana
The movement towards the legalization of marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes has gained much momentum over the past year. Political leaders such as Ron Paul are advocating the legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana. Not only is this ideologically plausible, but there's no reason why this hasn't been done prior in United States history. It's obvious that prohibition doesn't work (I'm looking at you, alcohol), and has never worked before. Also, Marijuana is reportedly easier for teens to obtain than alcohol. Lets also remember that alcohol has more adverse effects (short and longterm) than marijuana, and has more of an aggressive effect.

However, this article is about how the United States can capitalize from harmless crimes. With the legalization of marijuana the government can easily regulate it, and tax it. The prices of marijuana would also be cut, since marijuana would be distributed from the government itself, or contracted pharmaceutical companies. Additionally this will also help safety and health matters, as there would be no laced marijuana (marijuana that is combined with drugs such as cocaine, LSD, PCP, angeldust, ect).

The government can also tax the sales of smoking apparatuses such as glass pieces and vaporizers. With marijuana becoming more mainstream and legal, I bet there would be a surge in prices of these items. Taxing these apparatuses would be a small, yet beneficial tax. This would also allow smokers to smoke in a healthier fashion - glass pieces help filter out the bad substances in marijuana, and vaporizers are the healthiest way to smoke, as it only toasts the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) off the bud.

Another way to gain money through legalization of marijuana is through licenses of private parties to grow their own marijuana and to distribute it to others. This would help regulate who sells what, and how much, and can hold people criminally liable for intentionally lacing their product.

An additional way that legalization would boost our economy is through less people being incarcerated for possession of marijuana. According to www.drugwarfacts.org over 872,000 people have been arrested for marijuana possession, which, in essence, wastes our tax dollars prosecuting and incarcerating these individuals.

Pertaining to the toxicity of marijuana, I have found another quotation from www.drugwarfacts.org:

"The DEA's Administrative Law Judge, Francis Young concluded: "In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within the supervised routine of medical care." (www.drugwarfacts.org)

Collaboration of Savings From Legalization
Money would be proactivlely saved if these two harmless crimes were legalized and regulated. Police personnel could turn their attention to actual crimes that harm individuals and society alike. The judicial system would thin out, allowing speedier trials to occur, and costing us, the people, less money to move people arrested/summoned for these harmless crimes through the judicial system.
As a footnote, I'd also like to state that although these harmless crimes are illegal, we have to take notice of our political leaders and follow in their footsteps. Eliot Spitzer was caught hiring a prostitute and taking part in an illegal sex ring. President Obama has notably admitted that he "inhaled [marijuana] frequently. That was the point".