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Lit_Match

Legal Pot, a Plus
09-25-07|Collegian|By Rachael Baldwin

The legalization of marijuana would greatly impact the U.S. economy. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, DEA, website, marijuana is “America’s most valuable crop.”

Marijuana crops in the United States are worth about 35.8 billion dollars per year, which is 12.5 billion more dollars per year than corn, the second most profitable crop. If taxed like alcohol and tobacco, marijuana could bring in even more money.

Marijuana sales could generate an estimated 6.2 billion dollars per year in taxes, according to Harvard professor Jeffrey Miron.

Legalization of marijuana could also save law enforcement agencies an astronomical amount of money. Miron estimates that marijuana legalization could save the United States as much as 7.7 billion dollars in law enforcement costs per year.

Marijuana legalization would be great for our economy, but isn’t marijuana a dangerous drug that could lead users down the hopeless road of addiction?

First of all, marijuana is not physically addictive. Unlike heroin, alcohol and even tobacco and caffeine, discontinuing the use of marijuana does not produce physical withdrawal symptoms, thus one cannot be detoxed from THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for producing the “high” in the smoker.

Secondly, marijuana, if used responsibly, is safe. According to drugwarfacts.org, there are an estimated 435,000 deaths per year in the United States due to tobacco use and 85,000 deaths due to alcohol.

So, how many people die every year from using marijuana? Zero. That’s right, the use of marijuana alone has not been shown to cause any deaths.

Marijuana is demonized and reputed to be a “gateway drug” that leads to the use of harder drugs like heroin. Many people who sell marijuana also sell other illegal drugs.

If one could purchase marijuana legally, then one would not be exposed to or offered other drugs when purchasing pot, which could reduce the risk of experimenting with hard drugs. Legalizing marijuana could actually help decrease the use of dangerous drugs by reducing exposure to them.

People are always going to use illegal drugs, but many more people use marijuana than heroin, cocaine, LSD or ecstasy.

Marijuana use is prevalent in the United States. According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, marijuana is one of the three most popular drugs used in America, along with alcohol and tobacco.

It is estimated that 20 million Americans have used marijuana in the past year. If this many people use marijuana, why have the laws against marijuana remained the same?

Times are changing. More and more people are realizing the need for marijuana law reform and decriminalization.

While recent 2006 marijuana initiatives were defeated, support for them is growing. In Colorado a law to legalize marijuana was defeated 60 percent to 40 percent.

In Nevada a law that not only legalized marijuana, but also set up a taxation plan, was only defeated 56 percent to 44 percent.

Decriminalization and legalization of marijuana are going to happen. It will be beneficial to the economy and those who enjoy smoking, drinking, eating or vaporizing marijuana.

The legalization of marijuana will mean a push for progress, not social degeneration.

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Donation links to NORML (The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) | MPP (Marijuana Policy Project)

 

BillieBudd

There is no disputing that legalization would save a lot of money in law enforcement, courts etc. but I think the value of the crop in stories such as this based on an artificially inflated price due to the current illegality of the commodity. IMHO, if it were legal, the price would drop through the floor, which would mean less in direct tax revenue, but it would also mean that those of us who use would have more money to spend on other taxable items, instead of pouring our money into some illicit abyss.

Buzzby

I wonder about this. I figure that 90% of what you pay for a bag of weed is the "prohibition tax". You're paying for the risk that each person in the supply chain takes for dealing in an illegal substance. Take away the illegality and the crop is worth 3.6 billion, not 35.8 billion.

Unless they're planning on taxing it at 172% of the actual value, I don't know where that 6.2 billion dollars in tax revenue would be coming from. If an oz of weed cost $20 to produce and market, and a $35 dollar tax was placed on it, the cost to the consumer would be $55.

For people like me who smoke around a QP a year, that's not too bad. It's not bad for anyone who has been paying 3 or 4 times that much. Even so, I'd be inclined to put a few seeds in the ground in the spring and grow a year's supply for next to nothing. I think people who smoke a lot more than I do would be even more inclined to grow their own or barter with growers.

In other words, I think a tax high enough to produce 6.2 billion a year would drive a lot of consumers out of the taxable weed market. The only thing that keeps people buying weed at black market prices instead of planting some seeds is the risk of involvement with the criminal justice system. If legal weed was priced higher than people deemed reasonable, there'd be nothing to stop them from stepping out of the taxable market.

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reggie_the_dog

In Spain you can grow your own years supply at home with no legal problems. Communal grow ops are also tolerated. There is still a shitload of hash coming through Spain but less and less stays there. When I was in Spain it was easy to find people SMOKING grass but selling it???!!!! People just grow and trade it with other growers, only hash could be bought not herb. I imagine the market in Alaska has to be more and more filled by people growing their own and giving extra bud to friends for no money.

Victor_vicious

Maybe, I doubt it. If you have produced high quality MJ you aren't going to give it away. VV

 

reggie_the_dog

that refused to sell me any grass but gave me some of their great home grown for free and I live in a country where growing is not tolerated.