weed and money
juan lester
Posts: 321
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/1 ... ostpopular
Your plans to celebrate 4/20 this Friday could actually make the government some money, if only such activities were legal. That’s according to a bunch of economists, and some prominent ones too.
More than 300 economists, including three nobel laureates, have signed a petition calling attention to the findings of a paper by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, which suggests that if the government legalized marijuana it would save $7.7 billion annually by not having to enforce the current prohibition on the drug. The report added that legalization would save an additional $6 billion per year if the government taxed marijuana at rates similar to alcohol and tobacco.
That's as much as $13.7 billion per year, but it's still minimal when compared to the federal deficit, which hit $1.5 trillion last year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
While the economists don't directly call for pot legalization, the petition asks advocates on both sides to engage in an "open and honest debate" about the benefits of pot prohibition.
"At a minimum, this debate will force advocates of current policy to show that prohibition has benefits sufficient to justify the cost to taxpayers, foregone tax revenues, and numerous ancillary consequences that result from marijuana prohibition," the petition states.
The economic benefits of pushing pot into mainstream commerce have long been cited as a reason to make the drug legal, and the economists' petition comes as government officials at both the federal and local levels are looking for ways to raise funds. The majority of Americans say they prefer cutting programs to increasing taxes as a way to deal with the nation’s budget deficit -- marijuana legalization would seemingly give the government money without doing either.
Officials in one state have already made the economic argument for pot legalization, but to no avail. California Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano proposed legislation in 2009 to legalize marijuana in California, arguing that it would yield billions of dollars in tax revenue for a state in dire need of funds. California voters ultimately knocked down a referendum to legalize marijuana in 2010.
Economist Stephen Easton wrote in Businessweek that the financial benefits of pot legalization may be even bigger than Miron's findings estimate. Based on the amount of money he thinks it would take to produce and market legal marijuana, combined with an estimate of marijuana consumers, Eatson guesses that legalizing the drug could bring in $45 to $100 billion per year. Easton’s name doesn't appear on the petition.
Some argue that the economic argument for pot legalization is already proven by the benefits states and cities have reaped from making medical marijuana legal. Advocates for Colorado's medical marijuana industry argue that legalization has helped to jumpstart a stalled economy in cities like Boulder and Denver, according to nj.com.
-market? seriously, that is one product that does just fine without an ad campaign.
Your plans to celebrate 4/20 this Friday could actually make the government some money, if only such activities were legal. That’s according to a bunch of economists, and some prominent ones too.
More than 300 economists, including three nobel laureates, have signed a petition calling attention to the findings of a paper by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, which suggests that if the government legalized marijuana it would save $7.7 billion annually by not having to enforce the current prohibition on the drug. The report added that legalization would save an additional $6 billion per year if the government taxed marijuana at rates similar to alcohol and tobacco.
That's as much as $13.7 billion per year, but it's still minimal when compared to the federal deficit, which hit $1.5 trillion last year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
While the economists don't directly call for pot legalization, the petition asks advocates on both sides to engage in an "open and honest debate" about the benefits of pot prohibition.
"At a minimum, this debate will force advocates of current policy to show that prohibition has benefits sufficient to justify the cost to taxpayers, foregone tax revenues, and numerous ancillary consequences that result from marijuana prohibition," the petition states.
The economic benefits of pushing pot into mainstream commerce have long been cited as a reason to make the drug legal, and the economists' petition comes as government officials at both the federal and local levels are looking for ways to raise funds. The majority of Americans say they prefer cutting programs to increasing taxes as a way to deal with the nation’s budget deficit -- marijuana legalization would seemingly give the government money without doing either.
Officials in one state have already made the economic argument for pot legalization, but to no avail. California Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano proposed legislation in 2009 to legalize marijuana in California, arguing that it would yield billions of dollars in tax revenue for a state in dire need of funds. California voters ultimately knocked down a referendum to legalize marijuana in 2010.
Economist Stephen Easton wrote in Businessweek that the financial benefits of pot legalization may be even bigger than Miron's findings estimate. Based on the amount of money he thinks it would take to produce and market legal marijuana, combined with an estimate of marijuana consumers, Eatson guesses that legalizing the drug could bring in $45 to $100 billion per year. Easton’s name doesn't appear on the petition.
Some argue that the economic argument for pot legalization is already proven by the benefits states and cities have reaped from making medical marijuana legal. Advocates for Colorado's medical marijuana industry argue that legalization has helped to jumpstart a stalled economy in cities like Boulder and Denver, according to nj.com.
-market? seriously, that is one product that does just fine without an ad campaign.
uke can save the world
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
and they're right...if the gov't treated it like cigarettes they'd be rolling in the dough
and we'd be ... well.. just rolling
jo
http://www.Etsy.com/Shop/SimpleEarthCreations
"How I choose to feel is how I am." ~ EV/MMc
"Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends." ~ One Stab ~
Alpine Valley Resort is etched in my brain!!!
When I hear about reports like this it always makes me ask two questions. First off with the 7.7 billion you would save on law enforcement by treating marijuana like tobacco. Does that include the administration costs that would result from setting up a legal product. I mean the FDA or whoever has departments associated with regulating tobacco right? And those government workers don't work for free. Plus even though alcohol and tobacco are legal there is still a law enfocrement cost associated with it. I mean what does the ATF do?
As far as the taxes thing goes and that 6 billion the government could make, if there are already a bunch of growers who have systems in place, how many of them are going to start claiming their drug dealing profits on their tax returns? Probably none, especially since they will have to compete with more sellers. And the best way to compete and make more profit would be to sell your product under the table with no taxes associated with it. So this would mean that in the US the IRS would need a bunch more people to investigate these tax cheats.
Personally I don't really care if people want to get high, but the whole idea that it will magically generate 13 billion seems like a bit much.
everything the kings & queens touch is ruined. taxes is only the beginning. although it would be nice if the u.s. picked up some different ways to treat folks. like eastern medicine, acupuncture and marijuana for sick folks who can't eat or have eye problems or headaches.
healthy people benefit smoking marijuana. today is april 18, 2012. this is not april 18th 1950 kansas.
when will people wake up and get a set of balls?
like my neighbor, this old nasty bitch she is. she is in her mid 70's, smokes cigarettes like wildfire and drinks beer until she falls down. she condems marijuana and the people who indulge. to me this woman and her way of thinking and living.... means she is an idiot and a brainwashed fool led by the collar as if a sheep
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
just legalize, straight across the board. leave the stoners to live their lives.
on a completely different note
my wife has an aunt marta with more goddamn ailments to count. broke her arm, went through a little pain pill/sleeping pill problema, put her in a bad place. she kicked the pills, but had wicked insomnia, another bad place to be. she got snowed in a weekend at our house few months back, her and her insomnia, and i was laid up with blown out knee. camped out on the coach up with bong, giant ice bag, and ukulele on the couch. marta is old school lady (weed is illegal, so it must be BAD) like my parents, like a lot of people.
after watching me rip through a tube, then rip thru uke songs (no vocals, thanks god) as opposed to say, going insane (she had never seen a bong before, and when i smoked it, she looked WORRIED), she confided in my wife that she would like to smoke some after dinner to help her sleep. cabin fever, curiousity and the glorious smell got the better of her.
the three of us shared a pipe and watched elf (wanted to start her out with lebowski but was overruled by the boss). she giggled her ass off for 2 hours, then passed out cold and slept from 11 until 10. next day she looked like a different person. said she hadn't slept like since she couldn't remember.
and so a 60 year old woman joins the stoner ranks. hurray!
Ha! Amazing what happens when those who have been told over and over it's the evil weed eventually just believe it. Until they are shown or educated otherwise.
My mom (now 80) temporarily joined the stoner ranks after having shoulder replacement surgery a few years ago. And, many in my family who've battled cancer (still are, too) turned to it for relief from pain, nausea, etc.
Me, I enjoy and benefit from it on both the recreational and medicinal fronts. There are many, I'm sure, who do the same and just keep it under wraps. Damned stigmas, still!
An initiative seeking to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana will be decided by voters, Washington state lawmakers said Thursday.
By JONATHAN KAMINSKY
Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. —An initiative seeking to legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana will be decided by voters, Washington state lawmakers said Thursday.
If passed, Initiative 502 would make Washington the first state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. It would place the state at odds with federal law, which bans marijuana use of all kinds.
Rep. Sam Hunt, D-Olympia, who chairs the House State Government & Tribal Affairs Committee that was considering the initiative, said the Legislature would not act on it, meaning it will instead automatically appear on the November ballot.
"We will have more opportunities on the campaign trail this year to discuss this issue," Hunt said.
Because the measure proposes new taxes on marijuana production and consumption, the Legislature would need a two-thirds majority to pass it.
The initiative was certified by the secretary of state's office last month after pro-legalization campaigners turned in more than the 241,153 necessary valid signatures.
The measure would create a system of state-licensed growers, processors and stores, and impose a 25 percent excise tax at each stage. People ages 21 and older could buy up to an ounce of dried marijuana, one pound of marijuana-infused product in solid form, such as brownies, or 72 ounces of marijuana-infused liquids.
Speaking at a joint House and Senate work session Thursday, backers of the measure said it would allow the state to regulate marijuana use, raise tax revenues and squeeze the powerful drug cartels controlling the black market.
"Locking people up and putting handcuffs on them is not the way to resolve our society's issues with regard to marijuana," said John McKay, a former U.S. attorney for Seattle who has become an outspoken advocate for marijuana legalization.
Charles Mandigo, the former head of the Seattle FBI office, also spoke in favor of the measure.
"It is the money, not the drugs, that drive these criminal organizations and street gangs," Mandigo said. "Take away the money and you take away the criminal element."
McKay and Mandigo conceded that getting criminals out of the marijuana business would take time.
Opponents said legalization would likely increase marijuana use by teenagers, and they questioned whether criminal gangs would be seriously impacted.
"There is a thriving industry in place," said Steve Freng, a federal official helping coordinate Washington state's drug prevention and treatment efforts. "It's silly to think the cartels will simply pack up and leave the state with their tails between their legs."
Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza argued that it would be better to instead pressure the federal government to change marijuana's designation from a Schedule One to a Schedule Two drug, meaning it would still be classified as having a high potential for abuse but would also be recognized as having legitimate medical uses.
"If we start with the pharmaceutical end and move forward from there, I think what a great start we've already done," Snaza said.
Some medical marijuana advocates oppose the initiative because it would place a limit on motorists' TCH levels - 5 nanograms per milliliter of blood - that they say doesn't accurately measure impairment. THC is the active ingredient of cannabis.
Such concerns are overblown, said Dr. Kim Thorburn, Spokane County's former top public health official, who favors the initiative.
"In order to be stopped for impaired driving you have to show impairment," she said. "This is not a concern for medical marijuana users and has been kind of a red herring that has been raised."
Activists in a handful of other states, including California, Oregon and Montana, are attempting to get the legalization of recreational marijuana use on the ballot, though none has yet secured the necessary signatures.
Colorado legalization activists were about 2,500 signatures shy of getting an initiative on that state's ballot as of last week. Their deadline is Feb. 15.
Washington is among 16 states and the District of Columbia that have legalized the medical use of marijuana.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/l ... ethru.html
it makes good sense and can work well. as long as when implemented the feds don't come in attemping to bust it up. let WA state handle and tax it
i'm in favor of it. actually one of the signatures on the initiative is mine... can't wait to fill out my ballot in Nov.
i think it'll be cool for those wanting to partake to be able to go to the marijuana store to pick out, buy & take home their weed of choice
angels share laughter
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
That's a great story. Kicking the pills and turning on to the natural medicine...at 60! I've had my share of pain killers from numerous surgeries, and I couldn't wait to get off them, they really mess with your head whereas weed doesn't.
The problem with this is that federal law trumps state law, and the Feds can go into any state that passes use of marijuana and raid it. It sucks.
its great for pain
and...just a note
60 year old women were smoking weed back in the 60s so its prob nothing new to her, even if she says it is
jo
http://www.Etsy.com/Shop/SimpleEarthCreations
"How I choose to feel is how I am." ~ EV/MMc
"Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends." ~ One Stab ~
Maybe legalizing pot wouldn't resolve the deficit problem but it would make a lot of people happier. People who are afraid to use pot as medicine but who would if it were legal for one. A less up tight nation. More hugging and laughing instead of hitting because people are having a smoke once in a while instead of getting angry on booze (not that all people get angry on booze- I sure don't- but many do.) More creativity because pot is very active in the right side of the brain. More pot grown outdoors where it can do its wonderful work of nitrogen fixing the soil. Lots of good reasons to legalize pot!
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
I'd only favor this if they agreed to give tax breaks equal to the money they would save and bring in.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
Hi!! :wave:
"what a long, strange trip it's been"
Ola
How is everyone celebrating tomorrow?
Other than the obvious
jo
http://www.Etsy.com/Shop/SimpleEarthCreations
"How I choose to feel is how I am." ~ EV/MMc
"Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness and they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy, or they become legends." ~ One Stab ~
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/ ... nglish.pdf
and that's just the first couple of pages
and keep in mind, this isn't some dressed up NORML-fueled wishlist. this was from a group of international leaders, co-chaired by Ronald Reagan's Secretary of State (George Shultz)
by all acounts the drug war costs billions annually. and marijuana is overwhelmingly the #1 most popular illicit drug. if people want to go the $ route, that's fine with me, but personally I think it's more of a fredom issue
Although driving home this evening through West Hollywood, it was nice to see a small storefront with a neon leaf in the window and a welcoming "come on in!" sign above the door. Hope they and others like them won't be going anywhere.