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Legalize marijuana---Pay For Stuff....

Sean Conners aka SConn1

Join Date 03/2004

Legalize marijuana---Pay For Stuff....

Right now, everyone gets a cut, except the goverment

People have been debating the re-legalization of marijuana since the criminilizing of the very substance some of our most historical documents were written on, like the Declaration of Independence.

Now we face record deficits and a lack of funding for just about everything we need. The war(s) we are fighting, health care, education and just about anything else you can think of. Unless you want a piece of blatant pork, spent in a republican congressman's district, there probably is a shortfall of funding.

But what about marijuana? Could this, already used recreational substance give a much needed cash infusion to our system? Before jumping to "moral" conclusions on why the goverment shouldn't "endorse" pot smoking....what about the children?....and all that.....keep this in mind....

America repealed the 18th ammendment to re-legalize booze to help out with the depression and help pay for some of FDR's big programs. Taxing cigarettes is a big income source to every state in the union even as our goverment effectively preaches the dangers of smoking. So why not pot?

It is estimated that about 20 million americans smoke marijuana in much of the same way that millions of good americans drink. They do it responsibly, they do it prudentlyy and they do it relatively safely. Indeed, no one has ever died from a marijuana overdose and people who are high on pot aren't exactly known for doing anything worse than eating all the doritos.

If we are to equate 20 million smokers with say a joint a day (an average only), with each joint carrying a 1 dollar tax, we can figure out how much money legalization could raise.

The math is simple. We have 365 days a year. So 20 million times 365 would equal about 7.3 billion dollars. No, that won't cover the war, but that isn't the only part of the equation.

We spend about 20 billion annually on the drug war. Well over 1/2 of that involves marijuana alone. Indeed, marijuana has been the soap box for law enforcement as it is the bulkiest, smelliest and often least profitable of all the drugs that they "fight."
So, now we are up about 18 billion when you figure in money not wasted on chaising ones own tail, which is what marijuana enforcement has long been. This would have covered the entire "reconstruction" budget for Iraq. This amount alone would justify the legalization. But wait, there's more!.......

Also contributing to the income stream will be the new businesses and employees all paying taxes and contributing to the general welfare. The goverment will get to issue a new kind of "business license" which will bring in revenue. Plus, i'm sure they can come up with other little fees and such to boost our numbers even higher. The goverment is always good for that.

Of course, I know that this little article doesn't cover all the issues. But at the end of the day, keeping marijuana illegal and jipping the goverment out of it's fair share while a 70 year old "war" against it has been less than fruitless, seems rather stupid.

By the way, if you enjoyed this...check out my other articles on the subject...some are true stories like " Can You Buy Pot On the Internet?" and "Smuggling Pot from Jamaica- A True Story" both of which can be found on this very blog site. Just check out the articles list at the top or click the links below to be instantly transported.

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lol on the chong comment:)

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funny:) i don't think the president smokes tho...lol

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You're probably right SConn1 (about the pres.), I guess you aren't supposed to have any intoxicants after re-hab.

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Intoxication is frowned upon universally, you overlook that

"universally" hah. Apparently we live in different universes, which intersect only at politicalmachine.com. Lots and lots of people think that occasionally getting drunk is a perfectly valid way to have a good time.

Opinion in this thread is certainly strongly in favor of marijuana legalization. Several states have passed laws legalizing it for medical use. One in three people nationwide support full legalization. Support for legalization is trending upward. Some countries have legalized it. Many places have decided not to enforce marijuana laws.

Anyway, it's irrelevant whether it's "universally" believed or not. 150 years ago, interracial marriages were "universally" deplored. That didn't make it the correct position.

Change minds on joeloser? What, are you KIDDING???

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thanks for the comments vin...yes, indeed support has grown over the years,,,nevada came close a couple of years ago getting 40% of the vote for full legalization. i have the feeling we'll see more propositions on the ballot in the future...both for medical and for legalization.

if nothing else, we should be using hemp seed oil to fuel our cars and end our dependece on foreign oil. if we did that, maybe we won't have any more disasters like in Iraq,,,terrorists would lose a lot of their leverage...as would guys like the saudi royal family...then maybe their citizens would do what they should do and overthrow their own goverments and become part of the world community.

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Ozzy did alot more than smoke pot...like cocain and meth

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ozzy did everythiing,,,but in interviews, he usually refers to alchohol and heroin as his biggest and worst demons.

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I wouldn't care if they legalized all substances for consumption. If someone wants to eat, smoke or shoot something, I could care less. It would kill a large aspect of street violence, prevent losers for making "mad" money, and weed out some folks. I'm all for regulating CONDUCT instead of CONSUMPTION. You get high/stoned/whacked or whatever, then you better behave while doing it, including not driving.

Likewise, if you have a drug problem, don't ask me as a taxpayer to bail your butt out of a trouble of your own making.

I educated my son well enough with facts and examples so that he won't rely on the illegality of drugs not to use them.

Why do I think legalization won't happen? Because I believe doctors would lobby strongly against it, not to mention those already opposed to legalization (quite a substantial lot of people). If you could go buy dope over the counter, then you would be able to buy other legal drugs over the counter without having to have a prescription.

VES

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thanks for the comments vern,,,i'm not sure i agree with you 100% but i think you make some valid arguements for your viewpoint. i too believe in educating our children properly that does not feature "the boogeyman" as a deterrence. after all, sooner or later, kids figure out that there is no such thing and like with george bush,,,we lose credibility instead of being a source of guidance or a standard of behavior.

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Tonight CN8, which every philly cable subscribers know as the comcast channel that doesn't show flyers games, will be doing a live call in show at 8pm about medical marijuana and that canada has now approved it into law...and they cite american medical journals as supporting the move for the US...i know everyone won't be able to, but if you are a comcast subscriber in pa, nj, de and a little of maryland you may want to check it out

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you said you started smoking to be "cool". To be honest there is nothing cool, attractive, sexy, or smart about smoking at all. Can you even stop. How many people besides your friends told you that you look cool. You would rather be cool and die young or be healthy and live a good age

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ummm,,,jane, it's been a while since i read my own article,,,but i went back and read the article,,,where do i say i started smoking to be cool? in fact, where did i say i smoked for any reasons? i did say that 20 million americans smoke it resonsibly and are no more criminal than the guy who comes down and slugs down a couple of brandys or whiskeys after work. as far as anyone smoking pot in public, that doesn't happen, therefore no one is making any aeffort to look anything except maybe "not a criminal." somehow, you have seemed to have managed to either show yourself to be clueless on the subject or warped it into a cigarette debate. which this isn't.

you've obviously have your own agenda jane and don't even want to show your face to proliferate it...have fun on your trolls:)

and jane, i'm hitting middle age,,,i am well beyond the "you'll stunt your growth" arguements...i am a consenting adult who should have the freedom and liberty to do whatever i want with my own body....i have no felony convictions or any record like that, i have managed to live, thrive and survive and have a loving wife and child who are well taken care of on every level from financial to emotional to spiritual. if the bushites truly believed in freedom and liberty, they would respect the rights of people who are voting adults who resent the goverment trying to control my life and my personal decisions. whether or not my choices are the majority or minority are of no consequence.

bottom line,,,marijuana should be taxed, regulated, legalized and irresponsible use punished. but if consenting adults choose to partake, it shoud be their choice , not the goverment. and in turn, the goverment should get a "cut" instead of cartels and smugglers getting it all....it would raise billions in place of costing the goverment billions, and the use won't stop if kept illegal. there are even biblical references to using pot in religious ceremony if you need that endorsement. (i will be happy to provide if there are doubts) and potential dangers could be dealt with honestly instead of being dealt with on political levels as they are now.

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Do you seriously think that that is good to people's health they are slowly killing themselves. Think about it...do you want to waste your life away! There's no need for it to be legal.

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The government should regulate CONDUCT that involves one human being using force on another or causing harm to another (I know that I'm stating this in an overly general sense). The government should not regulate the consumption of anything by an individual regardless of whether he/she is harming himself / herself. Let that person deal with the moral consequences of their own activity. If that person while under the influence engages in activity harmful to others, then by all means, they (the government) should take enforcement action.

Our prison system could be more efficiently utilized then to address criminals who are actually harming others rather than themselves.

A significant amount of street violence perpetuated by the illegal drug market would be eliminated.

Educating and setting an exampple to those people you care about is the best way for them to make rational decisions regarding the use or lack thereof of recreational drugs.

VES

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The trouble is, the oil industry is against leagisation. Before you laugh and wonder what on earth the Oil industry has to do with it, remember that Hemp is very efficent for making paper etc with a fraction of the petrolium and chemicals that normal manufacturing involves. The uses of hemp is well documented prior to WW2, and it was the Oil Industry that forced it to become ilegal, in order to remove a future threat.

This is nothin new. The coal industry tried its muscle to stop electrical heating but failed, and look at where it is now!

A morden day representative is RIAA against P2P insted of being against piracy.

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harcon...i wrote an article on this blog ablout hemp as fuel,,,you can find it here...Link

actually, there are many reasons to legalize pot...and very few to keep it illegal...this article, and that one, were merely 2 reasons...thanks fro your comments,,,most appreciated:)

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reread this today,,still makes sense

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The biggest problem with the 'legalize and tax' approach is that Marijuana can't be exclusively manufactured by the government.

Once that cat (or seed) is out of the bag, people will ignore highly taxed Marijuana cigarettes in favor of their own homegrown. Laws can be passed only allowing possession for government sanctioned smoke (watch RJ Reynolds land the no-bid contract for manufacturing the pre-rolled legal green) but do we want to give police yet another reason to invade our vehicles and persons checking to see if we have legal or illegal Marijuana?

Face it, we'll still see the same high-priced 'war on drugs' being funded and agitated by 'legalize and tax' and all incoming revenue from taxing marijuana will most probably simply boost the budgets of both local and federal authorities to crack down on - you guessed it - illegal Marijuana use.

Don't get me wrong, Marijuana laws today are unreasonable - the punishments handed out for simple posession of an intoxicating plant drastically hurts the user more then does the use of the substance, but 'legalize and tax' won't work.

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BakerStreet, beer is a relaxant, same as pot. It seems to me that there isn't much different as long as it's carefully used.

Alcohol is an anestetic depressant; Marijuanna is a sedative hypnotic...quite a difference actually.

The mind-altering mechanisms for marijuanna and alcohol are as different than the sun and the moon.

The addictive mechanism is nearly as black and white.

Alcohol is a refined product. Have you ever picked a beer off a tree? Have you ever come across a martini bush? Not to likely. Marijuana on the other hand is a natural product...very different.

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When is the last time somebody died from a marijuana overdose?

I'm all for regulating CONDUCT instead of CONSUMPTION. You get high/stoned/whacked or whatever, then you better behave while doing it, including not driving.

Nicely said

Why do I think legalization won't happen? Because I believe doctors would lobby strongly against it, not to mention those already opposed to legalization (quite a substantial lot of people). If you could go buy dope over the counter, then you would be able to buy other legal drugs over the counter without having to have a prescription.

UUhhh..obviously you dont live in California. I get a referral from my doc once a year to use marijane medically. The short of it is doctors, at least in the great state of California are in fact the people putting their licenses on the line to lobby for marijuanna. You can buy pot over the counter by an government authorized dispencery.

If you dont think so, have a look>

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Do you seriously think that that is good to people's health they are slowly killing themselves. Think about it...do you want to waste your life away! There's no need for it to be legal.

Marijuana is actually used in treating a conglomerate of ailments.

A weekly nice, thick, juicy steak actually brings you closer to death than a couple of puffs of weed does per week, or as needed.

I'm at a loss of how people who are receiving and taking their medicine is wasting their lives?

You may not think so. Unfortunately, the medical community thinks otherwise.

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That's why I laugh at the whole "legalize marijauna" crowd.

Right now, as it stands, most cities ignore anyone who has less than an ounce or two and isn't trying to sell. In most areas it has become so decriminalized that it might as well be legal.

Why do people want to push that further. Why push to have to pay for taxes, distribution, packaging, and endless FDA and other regulations.

In the immortal words of Archie Bunker, "When you're on the bus, you can quit running" ;~D

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The biggest problem with the 'legalize and tax' approach is that Marijuana can't be exclusively manufactured by the government.

It seems to be working well in CA. Why would it be a problem to tax any item that is not exclusively manufactured by the govt? I mean really, most products are not manufactured by the government; at least here in the USA.

Once that cat (or seed) is out of the bag, people will ignore highly taxed Marijuana cigarettes in favor of their own homegrown.

Part of maedicinal marijuana allows you to grow so many plants for your personal medicinal use. State licensed care providors also produce maijuana for the use of patients who require the substance, but can not grow it themselves.

but do we want to give police yet another reason to invade our vehicles and persons checking to see if we have legal or illegal Marijuana?

How is legalizing pot give the police any more or less rights than they already have? I simply dont see that it does.

Face it, we'll still see the same high-priced 'war on drugs' being funded and agitated by 'legalize and tax' and all incoming revenue from taxing marijuana will most probably simply boost the budgets of both local and federal authorities to crack down on - you guessed it - illegal Marijuana use.

Wonderful...yet another benifit! Its always a joy to see extra funding to keep the laws of our great nation upheld. I would never condone or advocate an unlawful act.

Don't get me wrong, Marijuana laws today are unreasonable - the punishments handed out for simple posession of an intoxicating plant drastically hurts the user more then does the use of the substance, but 'legalize and tax' won't work.

I dont see that all marijuana laws are unreasonable, but I do see in many places they are becoming very reasonable. Living in CA, I have never once been charged with possesion of marijuana, and believe me, I have had the cops take it from me several times...not to harsh a punishment?

Legalize and tax does in fact work...simply have a look at what takes place here in CA.

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Right now, as it stands, most cities ignore anyone who has less than an ounce or two and isn't trying to sell.

that's not true at all. 88% of all people in prison for marijuana are there for possession only.

if they had more than a couple ounces, distribution and the related charges would be there to.

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hey xythe,,,get me one of them cards! lol

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