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Lot's of good come from this:
1. Another "Sin" tax to go after.
2. Better weed (Anybody not doubt what big tobacco could do with cannibis?)
3. Jump start the foundering snack food industry.
....the list goes on
What does the brain trust here in the political forum think about the effects of legal weed on the economy? A lot of talking heads seem to think that legalizing marijuana will be the giant beanstalk that grows from the magic seed. Bad analogy, but I am interested in the opinions of those who post here. I'll share my own thoughts after a few responses are made.
Lot's of good come from this:
1. Another "Sin" tax to go after.
2. Better weed (Anybody not doubt what big tobacco could do with cannibis?)
3. Jump start the foundering snack food industry.
....the list goes on
from Reason:
From the government's (and taxpayer's) point of view, the real fiscal benefit from abandoning the war on marijuana would come from no longer arresting, prosecuting, and jailing pot smokers, sellers, and growers. Drug law enforcement costs something like $40 billion a year, and marijuana accounted for 43 percent of drug arrests in 2005. That doesn't mean legalizing marijuana would save two-fifths of the money spent on the drug war, since marijuana offenders are much less likely to be imprisoned than other kinds of drug offenders. But the savings certainly would be substantial.
I would say there would be some decent savings from reduced drug enforcement.
And the potential increase in jobs would be fairly large, I could see the pot industry keeping as many people hired as the tobacco industry does now. That completely discounts the amount of extra tax revenue.
I wouldn't say it would fix the economy, but it would help.
Yes to both 101A and WH23.
There're many benefits, and slim to no risks involved.
Oh, and let's not forget it will take away a piece of the pie from black market sellers as well.
It'd be a nice revenue stream. However, I doubt any one thing can "fix the economy".
I'm all for it and I don't even smoke.
You could require a license to carry it, require a more expensive license to grow it (in order to promote buying instead of growing... kinda like how it's illegal to make your own booze), and have a progressive fee attached to the license depending on the size of your operation (large shops would pay more for a license than a dude growing it on his window sill).
On top of that you could tax it. Sounds good.
Too bad social conservatives will fight this tooth and nail. We're probably still a generation away from this happening, but with the economy the way it is you never know.
You could give government an extra 500 trillion dollars in tax revenue and they will spend 1 Quadrillion....
I'm fine with legalizing it, but to think it would solve any fiscal government problem is completely foolish.
The prison business will take a huge hit.
A true social conservative would conclude that it’s not the governments business what a person does to his/her own body.
Which I'm fine with, because as a taxpayer I don't think we're getting our money's worth.
I think a lot of people will take huge hits.
I would agree to an extent. I don't mind if people kill themselves with drugs, its when drugs cause them to act in manners that endanger others. Pot, if used sensibly doesn't do that. Other drugs that cause hallucinations and whatnot are still bad, because the chances of someone hurting those around them are far higher IMO.
I'm guessing there's been more alcohol-related deaths over the past 10 years than pot-related.
Thanks for getting the ball rolling with a few quick responses. I'll chime in now. I do think that any and all possible taxation benefits, from a sin tax on packs of marijuana cigarettes to a license for personal or commercial growing as jman3000 suggested, would boost the economy quite a bit. We already have a vast, expansive group of consumers the world over who are cognizantly breaking the law to get high. I would assume the number of marijuana smokers would at the very least double if it were legalized.
One thing I'm wary about is Big Tobacco throwing its eggs into the basket too. I've heard unconfirmed reports that the R.J. Reynolds Company already has dozens of strains of marijuana patented and on tap for release in case Washington ever moves on this. The first brand is already set to be called "Marlboro Purple," they say. Sure, buying a pack of cigarettes and a pack of joints at the same time would be very cool, but not if the tobacco companies start adding ingredients to the recipe. There's a lot more than tobacco in a cigarette, and I'd hate for them to spill chemicals all over the grass.
The real problem with this issue is desensitizing the United States from all of the anti-pot propaganda that has been going on for 80+ years. I think that, by now, most people have figured out that Reefer Madness was all bull , that marijuana doesn't take young, bright and motivated individuals and turn them into lazy slackers unless they were already lazy slackers to begin with, and so forth with all of those old doomsday anti-pot ads. Well, that and the endless amount of money this country has spent on a farce known as the "War on Drugs." I don't know how many narcotics officers are assigned to specifically deal with marijuana, but I can't see a massive loss in jobs over just legalizing weed. People are abusing other drugs out there, and it would get cops out of the hassle of booking 16-year-olds for getting caught with dime bags.
I'll take some time to collect my thoughts, read some more responses and come back for seconds.
I'd guess there's been more alcohol related deaths than guns, pot, cocaine, heroine, crack, meth, shrooms, and extacy combined.
The dutch model:
- Legalize marijuana -> lowered the price of it -> lowered rate of related crimes AND reduced power of criminal orgs -> cheaper and safer society.
- Most of the tax on the sale of weed is re-invested in drug prevention and education -> less addicts -> lowering of medical costs for drug addicts treatment.
I think those are the real savings, not really a traditional boost to the economy but a big saving in the long term (You need at least >10 years for the first results to manifest themselves).
Just my two (oversimplified) cents.
P.S. Legalizing weed without a huge increase in drug prevention programs and give it to the big tobacco corps. is not really what I would want.
Which is exactly why you don't want to repeat the mistake with the legalization of weed (not against it, just think it has to be done right).
So does this mean we'll start seeing weed ads with Monday Night Football? I can already see the ad now...
John Stewart: "Have you ever seen Felix Jones run... On Weed???"
I don't think it will be legalized. More like still illegal but highly regulated. They might even have to increase the punishment for possession in order to force people to get the licenses. It'd be even more heavily restricted than tobacco in regards to ads too. No TV. No magazines. Probably just word of mouth... but it's weed so it's not like that's a problem.
Any guess on what Miller & Anheuser-Busch's lobbyists will have to do with such a proposal?
As has been pointed out above, any move towards legalization will be resisted by various interests who currently benefit from the "War on Drugs."
At the end of the day, this issue, like many others, comes down to the masses being afraid of greater individual liberty. Americans cir scribe their own liberty in large part because they are afraid of being free to live their own lives as they see fit, and incur the inherent responsibility.
We know marijuana use is less dangerous than other harder illegal drugs and as dangerous as other weaker, legal drugs (ie alcohol). Regardless of the legal status, more people use weed than coke and smack as most people know that marijuana is far less addictive and harmful than those. Fortunately alcohol consumption was far more popular than the prohibitionists could contain. Marijuana was easily stereotyped as the drug of choice for filthy lazy brown people, so it was easier to ban once upon a time.
In general, our society hates the notion of individuals enjoying their liberty. Be it drugs, sex, carbon use, or health care, we can't bear the thought of people actually enjoying life and being responsible for themselves. We all must self-flagellate ourselves for all of our natural desires. the Puritans of the left and right.
Last edited by Marcus Bryant; 06-29-2009 at 04:31 PM.
anybody ever wonder how many hard working honest people lost there jobs due to coming out dirty for a piss test. i am a union sheetmetal worker. we require drug testing every time we start with a new company. i cant tell you how many good ,smart, hardworking members we lost because they couldnt pass a piss test. they end up going non union and having to settle for half the pay we get and no benefits. their familys suffer. on the flip side if they were concerned about their families they would just not smoke. my point is the drug tests should be called the "marijuana test". if i do coke on friday and get a job interview on monday, im borderline clean. ide rather have a pothead as a co worker than a coke head working with me.
It won't fix the economy, but far fewer people will give a .
when i was young i would stay at home and just get baked. i was too stoned to go out and commit crime. also i could walk into a party and make 10 new friends by simply saying "anyone wanna smoke a joint?" i would spend the rest of my cash at jack in the box. trust me, weed is better for the economy in more ways than just profiting off it.
economically it'd be great.
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