Over the past few years, many researchers have studied the debate on the legalization of marijuana. Researchers from universities such as Harvard University. Due to this research in 2007, arrests for marijuana possession alone totaled 775,138.

• Regulating marijuana: According to a report authored by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron and endorsed by Nobel Laureate Milton Friedman it would produce $40 billion a year in taxes. The California’s State Board of Equalization estimated legal, regulated, and taxed marijuana would generate $1.4 billion for the state annually. Prosecuting marijuana offenders contributes significantly to the current state budget crisis: Currently, one in every 15 dollars in the states’ main pools of discretionary money goes to corrections.