With the current proposal to tax marijuana at stake, the government is starting to forget why marijuana is illegal in the first place.

According to the Shaffer Library of Drug Policy, marijuana has been illegal in the state of California since 1913.

One of the major reasons why it has been illegal this long is because marijuana is classified as a drug that has a high potential for abuse. Studies have shown that marijuana is not addictive, but marijuana does have a history for being mixed with heroin, which can lead to addiction.

In a 2005 study by the American Medical Association, marijuana mixed with heroin has been proven to be a “Gateway Drug” and that any type of consumption of this marijuana will more likely have the person move on to harder drugs.

Allowing all types of marijuana to be taxed would only be the beginning of the government’s ability to legalize other hazardous drugs.

Another reason why marijuana is illegal is because marijuana is a mind-altering substance.

According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, the effects of smoking marijuana occur almost immediately and last over a minimum of three hours or more, depending on how much is consumed. The effects of consuming marijuana vary, but most commonly take place in the person’s brain. Some of the common side effects include a loss of memory and a loss of of concentration, which can be very dangerous.

Since the government has difficulty controlling alcohol consumption, what makes marijuana any different when users have similar mind altercations?

Legalization would entail a lot of new legislation to control the substance.

Additionally, a huge amount of jobs would be lost if cannabis were legalized. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) alone hired more than 10, 800 employees in 2006.

It would be an enormous and costly undertaking to legalize marijuana; it would cost more to legalize than to reap the benefits of taxation.

Furthermore, since marijuana is one of the top crops with an estimated 103 million plants cultivated each year it would be also hard for government officials to control where it can be grown.

Taxing marijuana can be a good solution to bring in money for the government, but to actually have control over it the government will need more than just taxpayers.