Economist agree legalization could save tax payers 13.7 b pe
WaveCameCrashin
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http://www.prisonplanet.com/hundreds-of ... -year.html
Marijuana prohibition currently costs taxpayers billions of dollars a year to enforce, and it accomplishes little or nothing beneficial in terms of economic benefits. On the contrary, legalizing marijuana would not only save taxpayers billions of dollars a year in unnecessary costs, but it would also jumpstart the economy to the tune of $100 billion a year or more, say some economists.
In an open letter written to the President, Congress, State Governors, and State Legislators, more than 550 economists, including several nobel laureates, draw attention to a report authored by Professor Jeffrey A. Miron that highlights the potential economic benefits of marijuana decriminalization. EntitledThe Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition, the report states that legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana would do wonders to reduce inflated budgets and generate new revenue streams.
“[R]eplacing prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation [...] would save $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods,” say the economists. “If, however, marijuana were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as $6.2 billion annually.”
You can view the entire petition at:
http://web.archive.org
As many as 60 million Americans are already estimated to be spending upwards of $110 billion a year on marijuana, the vast majority of which ends up in the hands of organized crime units. If marijuana was legalized, honest citizens could grow and sell it instead, which would inject new life into the flailing economy, and redirect billions of dollars in cash flow from criminals to legitimate growers.
“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,” add the economists.
Marijuana prohibition benefits Big Pharma, prison system
If marijuana were legalized nationwide, however, the drug industry and the prison system, much of which has now been privatized, would suffer greatly. And this, of course, is one of the primary reasons why these special interests are working hard to squelch all efforts to legalize marijuana at the national level.
According to a 2009 report published byNowPublic, the United States incarcerates the most individuals per capita compared to any other country in the world. And the “War on Drugs,” which continually targets marijuana users and dealers, is largely responsible for making America the most imprisoned nation in the world (http://www.nowpublic.com).
“According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), 30 to 40 percent of all current prison admissions involve crimes that have no direct or obvious victim other than the perpetrator,” says a 2008 DOJ report. “The drug category constitutes the largest offense category, with 31 percent of all prison admissions resulting from such crimes.”
If drugs like marijuana became decriminalized, the prison industry would lose a large chunk of its business — after all, who is going to fill all those empty prison cells in all the new privately-owned prisons being erected across the country?
The other major player in the “War on Drugs” is Big Pharma, which stands to lose a significant portion of its business if marijuana is legalized as well. Marijuana, after all, is a powerful, natural medicine that can eliminate chronic pain, balance brain chemistry, mimic the regulatory system of cellular physiology, and even treat cancer, among other things.
Be sure to check out this amazing video about juicing raw marijuana for non-psychoactive medical treatment:
http://youtu.be/rDJv9OgATok
Marijuana prohibition currently costs taxpayers billions of dollars a year to enforce, and it accomplishes little or nothing beneficial in terms of economic benefits. On the contrary, legalizing marijuana would not only save taxpayers billions of dollars a year in unnecessary costs, but it would also jumpstart the economy to the tune of $100 billion a year or more, say some economists.
In an open letter written to the President, Congress, State Governors, and State Legislators, more than 550 economists, including several nobel laureates, draw attention to a report authored by Professor Jeffrey A. Miron that highlights the potential economic benefits of marijuana decriminalization. EntitledThe Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition, the report states that legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana would do wonders to reduce inflated budgets and generate new revenue streams.
“[R]eplacing prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation [...] would save $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods,” say the economists. “If, however, marijuana were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as $6.2 billion annually.”
You can view the entire petition at:
http://web.archive.org
As many as 60 million Americans are already estimated to be spending upwards of $110 billion a year on marijuana, the vast majority of which ends up in the hands of organized crime units. If marijuana was legalized, honest citizens could grow and sell it instead, which would inject new life into the flailing economy, and redirect billions of dollars in cash flow from criminals to legitimate growers.
“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,” add the economists.
Marijuana prohibition benefits Big Pharma, prison system
If marijuana were legalized nationwide, however, the drug industry and the prison system, much of which has now been privatized, would suffer greatly. And this, of course, is one of the primary reasons why these special interests are working hard to squelch all efforts to legalize marijuana at the national level.
According to a 2009 report published byNowPublic, the United States incarcerates the most individuals per capita compared to any other country in the world. And the “War on Drugs,” which continually targets marijuana users and dealers, is largely responsible for making America the most imprisoned nation in the world (http://www.nowpublic.com).
“According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), 30 to 40 percent of all current prison admissions involve crimes that have no direct or obvious victim other than the perpetrator,” says a 2008 DOJ report. “The drug category constitutes the largest offense category, with 31 percent of all prison admissions resulting from such crimes.”
If drugs like marijuana became decriminalized, the prison industry would lose a large chunk of its business — after all, who is going to fill all those empty prison cells in all the new privately-owned prisons being erected across the country?
The other major player in the “War on Drugs” is Big Pharma, which stands to lose a significant portion of its business if marijuana is legalized as well. Marijuana, after all, is a powerful, natural medicine that can eliminate chronic pain, balance brain chemistry, mimic the regulatory system of cellular physiology, and even treat cancer, among other things.
Be sure to check out this amazing video about juicing raw marijuana for non-psychoactive medical treatment:
http://youtu.be/rDJv9OgATok
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Comments
1) if marijuana were legalized tomorrow, how many dealers would actually start paying taxes on what they were selling?
2) how much would it cost to set up a government people to handle inspection (similar to food inspection) and taxation (more people needed in the IRS to keep track of tax revenue and tax cheats) and enforcement (to bust the people who aren't paying their taxes, or selling without the required permits). And were these costs taken into consideration when that 13.7billion number was thought up.
Well, I guess I should have said -- current dealers would be out of business depending on how the regulated pot shops price their product. I assume growing would become legal (if highly restricted and regulated), so supply would go waaaay up, driving prices down. So then it's just a question of how much pot would be taxed.
Godfather.
I would be curious to see how that would happen. I mean prices would drop, but at the same time the illegal guy who already owns his equipment probably has way less overhead than the legal guy who has to buy his equipment legally, pay taxes, pay insurance and pay his employees, which would give him tons of room to compete (the same way the guy selling bootleg dvd can sell them for cheaper than even Walmart) . Plus even if pot was legal, it would still have a stigma around it for a lot of people, ie the business man with the 9-5 job who is ok being seen buying a 6-pack of beer at the grocery store, is still going to worry about his boss seeing him buy pot, even if he was buying it in a legal store. So the shady dealer selling out of his house is going to have an advantage there too.
...are those who've helped us.
Right 'round the corner could be bigger than ourselves.
why do people go to walmart? because of the cheap prices.
so how did the liquor industry turn out after prohibition was lifted?
my guess would be it will get zoned. permits will be needed to grow in houses and all that. If you have an old grow lab you will probably be required to register or face fines. I don't think much thought needs to go into to to be honest...it will work itself out. So a person might be able to turn a profit on selling there few pounds for 25 an ounce, and people would probably still go to them, but a larger retailer will simply settle for volume. These are all things that shouldn't keep us from legalizing it. most pot smokers I know are otherwise law abiding citizens who would rather do it law abidingly if given the option
It is terrifying when you are too stupid to know who is dumb
- Joe Rogan
Godfather.
The guy who is already growing would be overrun within months. Make no mistake – if it was legalized, it wouldn’t take long for it to become a large industry. How many mom n pop industries are left in this world? The mass producers would undercut prices and the small guys would be out of business fairly quickly.
There are other flaws in this negativity….first, the advantage of having your own setup is not noteworthy. A person can be set up to fill a room with plants for under a grand. It’s a weed, growing it is not rocket science. The more elaborate setups are more expensive, but even a top-notch home-grow can be setup for fairly low cost. I was once told if I wanted to get rich, I could give a guy $5k and find a rental house – he would have a full continuous growth system up and running, complete with clones, lights, growing medium/hydroponic gear, ventilation, ‘tapped’ power, a false identity to use for the rental house, and a couple of people to tend the garden - within a week. $5k is not a big advantage when it comes to startup costs for a business. Besides, these two operations would not be in direct competition: the home-grower would be black market, the commercial grower would be retail….so the startup cost point is kinda moot anyway. If you’re inferring that the home-grows would go legit; they couldn’t, really….I don’t see the regulations allowing commercial grows to happen in residential areas….
I think you’re also overestimating the stigma. The stigma is 90% a result of illegality. Would that businessman rather be seen leaving a store that sells pot, or be caught in a dealers house when there is no reason to be?
As for the overhead costs to administer the programs associated with legalization….that could all be factored into the tax revenue, if they wanted to. I don’t know if the 13b number factors ALL administrative savings in the drug war, but I doubt it. How do we recoup those costs? Ideally, if legalized, it would be legal to have small closet grows in your home, and eventually no one would even need the retail stuff. Two small lights can keep 3-4 heavy smokers happy for eternity….
Your ‘would they pay tax?’ question is a bit of a strawman too….do bootleggers pay taxes? No. Soooo….should we ban cd’s and dvd’s?
All said, I don’t like using money alone as an argument against prohibition. The human costs are much higher than the financial ones. Thousands of lives are destroyed by the drug war every year. Not to mention the ways the government uses it to control people, and other governments. IMO, even if it COST 13b to end it, it should be done.
^ Great post right here. Well said, my man.