regarding the idea that the government profits off of prohibition: negative. the government spends on average about 15 billion dollars a year on jailing people for possession, trafficking, possession of paraphernalia, and other marijuana related crimes. THIS IS 3 TIMES THE AMOUNT OF MONEY SPENT ON EDUCATION ANNUALLY. if marijuana WERE legalized the benefits would not be limited to people who smoke weed. it would not only save the US billions of dollars each year but it would also help lessen the problem of overcrowding in jails. in some parts of the country such as california, marijuana has actually also lessened the effect of the recession by replacing failing industries such as timber. marijuana is basically illegal because of the lack of true understanding of it's affects and a big part of that is due to how differently it affects certain people. some people become lazy. some become violent. some become apathetic. these are the most common stereotypes of a marijuana smoker. this list obviously proves there are exceptions, and many of them, i consider myself one.


some other great folks left out on this list are ken kesey (author, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), tom wolfe (author, The Bonfire Vanities), AND OBVIOUSLY MICHAEL PHELPS.