Top 10 Reasons to Legalize and Regulate Cannabis 1. A country that values liberty should not be punishing adults for using cannabis. Cannabis is far safer than alcohol, tobacco, and many medications. In a nation dedicated to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the government should not be tearing families apart over a plant that is safer than alcohol. 2. Prohibition wastes public resources, while legalizing and taxing cannabis brings in much-needed revenue. An estimate by the Congressional Research Service projected that replacing cannabis prohibition with taxation and regulation could yield $6.8 billion in excise taxes alone. In Washington State, taxes on cannabis sales brought in $600 million in 2020. 3. Arresting cannabis offenders prevents police from focusing on real crime. In 2019, the FBI reported 663,367 cannabis arrests and citations — more arrests than for all violent crimes combined...