Economic Recovery Solution: Legalize it and tax it.

[Toucano]

The legalization, taxation, and controlled distribution of marijuana is the ultimate 21st century industry to invest in.

Why not let the slackers and burn-outs pull us out of recession? They've been anticipating their opportunity to contribute to society and here it is.

Save America! Legalize it!

[truedelphi]

1. After all, are we not all looking forward to CHANGE??

The 60 Billion dollar a year drug war is only working out well for the prison guards, the prison construction industry etc.

[Toucano]

4. Cuts expenses and increases revenue at the same time.

Has there ever been such a painless, win-win solution?

[Horse with no Name]

2. The day that Big Pharm doesn't rule the roost

is the day that MJ will become legal.
Imagine people being able to self-medicate without their "little purple pills" that cost a fortune.
That's Big Pharma's worst nightmare.

[Pale Blue Dot]

7. ...

:rofl:

[Jackpine Radical]

8. I can name you half a dozen psychoactive technologies,

all of them healthier, cheaper and safer than prescription drugs, that have been suppressed by Big Pharma. Get the Pfizer monkey off our backs, I say!

[Toucano]

12. We must be careful not to trade one master for another.

Bong manufacturers are notoriously ruthless! Tax them good, I say, to make sure they don't get too powerful.

[Jackpine Radical]

15. So true!

I remember when the Bong Monopoly tried to get legislation passed outlawing toilet paper rolls, aluminum foil, and ZigZag paper. We can't tolerate that kind of anti-choice ideology.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Wow, there's the whole economic stimulus package right there.

The pizza delivery industry, head shops, sunglasses, eyedrops, tie-dye kits, peace-symbol jewelry...the whole country would come alive again--high finance would take on a whole new meaning!

[Toucano]

6. I completely forgot about the eye drop people!

We can create SOOO many jobs, dude!

[dysfunctional press]

21. if it were legal, why would you need eye drops...?

aren't they usually used to mask the fact?

[Toucano]

24. Many use the drops to mask the fact, but some want their buzz and

healthy looking white eyes, too.

Or so I'm told.

:blush:

[Pale Blue Dot]

5. Look, I'm in favor of the legalization of pot, but

to claim that this would rescue the economy shows a dramatic lack of understanding of the economic situation we're in.

Do NOT use this as an argument to legalize pot. You've got lots of other perfectly good reasons to legalize it without resorting to dangerous and ignorant hyperbole.

[Toucano]

9. Relax.

Can't we have a little fun with the idea?

And no, I will not turn the music down, mother!

[petronius]

10. That's a smokin' good idea

It would increase tax revenue, cut costs in the prison industry, reduce crime (both the real kind and the 'drug war' kind), add agricultural jobs, and boost the national happiness index...

[jmowreader]

14. Prison industry costs would remain the same

If you turned loose everyone caught with less than two bricks of weed, you'd have enough room for real criminals--burglars and Bush-administration officials alike.

[petronius]

23. Good point. When you put it that way, however, it's a cost I'm willing to bear

Heck, I'd even check off a little 'Donate $3 to the Keep-Cheney-in-a-dank-dungeon Fund' on my 1040...

[gravity]

11. Marijuana already fuels our economy

That is the source of income for drug dealers who contribute the the our GDP. The only difference is that it will now be officially included in our GDP, and that the government would get some of the money instead of it going strictly to drug dealers.

The net change is zero for the economy. More money could be spent government services than cars and TV's but the same argument could be made about increasing taxes on any other profession.

There are many valid reasons for legalizing weed, but the economy isn't one of them.

[Jackpine Radical]

13. I bet you think the Onion is full of stupid ideas too.

[FormerDittoHead]

16. Cost of lost lives / enforcing laws / imprisonment?

I can only imagine what the loss of productivity due to regular people (not 'stoners') having to hire lawyers, go to jail, lose their careers for simple possession, something that ~40% of Americans are guilty of.

All of the people I know who smoke pot work, most are college educated and many are professionals.

And I will mention all of those young men in the inner city who have lost their lives over their 'turf'. To say there's no economic cost to that? Pffft.

Economically, I would argue that net dollars spent would probably be reduced, due to people being able to grow their own without having to worry about losing their houses, and that the money would be diverted to things which would be more beneficial to the economy (video games and snacks) rather than to those who it's channeled through now (guns and death).

[gravity]

18. Police officers, prison guards and lawyers need jobs too

I am just arguing this from an economic perspective, not a social one.

When you grow your own weed, it takes money away from those who sell it. There is no such thing as a free lunch

[tama]

20. No they don't eom.

[madokie]

17. I'll have a toke to that

[tama]

19. Don't

The Herb is Holy Union. Not to serve the state and greed.

Just make it obligatory, if state is supposed to legislate it in any way. Instead of draft, a pot camp of heavy duty puffing. Such a world would not be a worse place.

And as for military, for the juvenile minded who like to play soldiers, by all means, as long as they don't bother anybody else in any way and make their own toys without any taxpayer money at all.

[Festivito]

22. You'll kill the corrupt CIA/ corrupt prison industry/ corrupt cop sectors.

How dare you!

[benEzra]

25. It worked for alcohol...

and dramatically decreased violence nationwide, to boot. I haven't heard of any turf wars lately between Busch and Coors, or any drive-bys by Miller dealers.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/columnists.nsf/billmcclellan/story/643247EDB3F578C28625744C001AB995?OpenDocument

Corporations or cartels? A choice of ink over blood
By Bill McClellan
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
05/18/2008

One week after Edgar Millan Gomez was killed in Mexico City, Anheuser-Busch announced it was giving up the right to import Grolsch, a Dutch beer. "The time is right to end our importation," said David A. Peacock, vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch. Analysts said the announcement was no surprise. In February, London-based SABMiller, the parent of Miller Brewing, bought the Dutch brewery that makes Grolsch. So it made no sense for Anheuser-Busch to use its considerable muscle to import a beer that is now owned by its chief rival.

Perhaps you're wondering what that has to do with the death of Millan Gomez. He was Mexico's federal police chief, and he was gunned down outside of his home by assassins who are assumed to have been working for a drug cartel. The cartels have been targeting government officials because the government has been trying to crack down on the cartels. The government is making this effort because the violence between the cartels has gotten out of hand. Authorities estimate more than 2,500 people have been killed in the last year as the cartels have battled over the control of the cocaine traffic from South America to the U.S. In other words, importation and exportation rights.

There was a time when we had cartels fighting over the booze trade. Perhaps the most famous booze cartel leader was Al Capone. In 1929, some members of his cartel killed seven members of a cartel headed by Bugs Moran. That incident became known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. The dispute that led to the massacre had to do with importation rights from Detroit. The Capone cartel had the rights to whiskey from Detroit, but the Moran cartel had been hijacking some shipments. Largely because of incidents like that, the feds made a real effort to stamp out the booze cartels. But they couldn't. There was too much demand. People liked to drink. Call it a weakness, if you want, but as long as people wanted to buy booze, somebody was going to provide it. For a long time, it was guys like Capone and Moran. Eventually, law-abiding people got tired of the killing and the bribery. Prohibition was ended. In essence, we traded Al Capone for August Busch. So now, when there is a conflict about importation rights, we have an announcement from a vice president of marketing.

(Continued at link)

Given that cannabinoids are demonstrably less dangerous than distilled beverages, legalization and regulation would make sense, IMO. I used to be pro-drug-war years ago, but I've come to realize the utter stupidity of cannabis prohibition. It's just not dangerous enough to imprison and even kill people for, IMO. And if it were legal and taxed, you'd not only get the tax revenue, you'd be able to redirect the billions we spend on prohibition into more productive directions, such as investigating and prosecuting violent crimes.

[RadiationTherapy]

26. yes, please.