State by state projected tax revenues from legalizing marijuana

[philnotfil]

cnn.com

Florida comes in third with 48.2 million dollars in revenue. Wyoming would get the smallest amount, but would still get 1.2 million dollars.

The numbers come from this study

[endabcs]

Is that including the federal and state taxes saved?

I'm sick of housing these dopers.

[texigator]

There is great upside to the legalization of marijuana. Not only will there be increased tax revenue, but it will severely impact the power of gangs since the illegal drug trade is their primary source of income. As implied by endabcs, we'll save alot of money not having to warehouse otherwise law abiding citizen, not to mention the added productivity available to those folks who won't have arrest records for something as ridiculous as pot use.

Tolerance works in Europe and it would work here. Of course, it will continued to be opposed by the tobacco and alcohol industries, who created the sham "Partnership For a Drug Free America", in their efforts to control the legal drug market, as well as the prison, legal and law enforcement lobbies, who make fortunes due to the outlawing of pot.

LEGALIZE IT

[endabcs]

Originally Posted by texigator

There is great upside to the legalization of marijuana. Not only will there be increased tax revenue, but it will severely impact the power of gangs since the illegal drug trade is their primary source of income. As implied by endabcs, we'll save alot of money not having to warehouse otherwise law abiding citizen, not to mention the added productivity available to those folks who won't have arrest records for something as ridiculous as pot use.

Tolerance works in Europe and it would work here. Of course, it will continued to be opposed by the tobacco and alcohol industries, who created the sham "Partnership For a Drug Free America", in their efforts to control the legal drug market, as well as the prison, legal and law enforcement lobbies, who make fortunes due to the outlawing of pot.

LEGALIZE IT

true stories:

Kid gets caught with bag of dope and gets kicked out of UVA...WTF? college kids smoke pot? say it ain't so...

An acquaintance of mine, makes low 6 figures, other than being a recreational user is a law abiding citizen gets caught with a small quantity of pot, goes through legal system and loses job (which is industrial, but doesn’t smoke at work). I don't know if he ever found work in the industry again.

This certainly sounds productive to me. /sarcasm

[gators21]

Originally Posted by endabcs

true stories:

Kid gets caught with bag of dope and gets kicked out of UVA...WTF? college kids smoke pot? say it ain't so...

An acquaintance of mine, makes low 6 figures, other than being a recreational user is a law abiding citizen gets caught with a small quantity of pot, goes through legal system and loses job (which is industrial, but doesn’t smoke at work). I don't know if he ever found work in the industry again.

This certainly sounds productive to me. /sarcasm

Seems ridiculous to me. Pot should be legalized.
If your friend had been caught DUI would his employer have taken the same stupid stand and gotten rid of him like it did when he was caught with a little bit of weed?

[endabcs]

Originally Posted by gators21

Seems ridiculous to me. Pot should be legalized.
If your friend had been caught DUI would his employer have taken the same stupid stand and gotten rid of him like it did when he was caught with a little bit of weed?

Same company, the guys' supervisor got a DUI, nothing happened. FWIW, I don't know how much he got caught with, but I'm pretty certain it wasn't like he was dealing it.

[wgbgator]

Legalizing pot could also revive the music industry. It might be possible that Lady Gaga's music is actually good when you're stoned.

[g8orbill]

The only problem I foresee is that the States instead of using the money to reduce its debt on its current budget will use it for new spendng

[endabcs]

Originally Posted by wgbgator

Legalizing pot could also revive the music industry. It might be possible that Lady Gaga's music is actually good when you're stoned.

reason # 235918658936753 to not smoke pot...


It would explain somethings though, but if that's the case there's a whole lot of dope smokers out there.

[gators21]

Originally Posted by endabcs

Same company, the guys' supervisor got a DUI, nothing happened. FWIW, I don't know how much he got caught with, but I'm pretty certain it wasn't like he was dealing it.

I'm not a lawyer but it sounds to me like he might have a discrimination law suit against his former company. One set of rules for the supervisor and another for him. It might be worth his time to call an attorney.

[ncgatr1]

Beckenridge just made it legal to have up to a oz. Anybody want to go skiing?

[gators21]

Originally Posted by ncgatr1

Beckenridge just made it legal to have up to a oz. Anybody want to go skiing?

So you can be mile high in mile high country

[endabcs]

Originally Posted by gators21

I'm not a lawyer but it sounds to me like he might have a discrimination law suit against his former company. One set of rules for the supervisor and another for him. It might be worth his time to call an attorney.

It's a zero tolerance policy for drugs, sort of like the armed services. Once he got arrested, he was required to take a test, which he failed, and was let go. Apparently, pot stays in your system much longer than alcohol.

[endabcs]

Originally Posted by ncgatr1

Beckenridge just made it legal to have up to a oz. Anybody want to go skiing?

HELL YEAH, but I don't want to smoke any pot...


Guess who just got himself a new set of skis?


<==--~this guy

[gator10010]

Originally Posted by texigator

There is great upside to the legalization of marijuana. Not only will there be increased tax revenue, but it will severely impact the power of gangs since the illegal drug trade is their primary source of income. As implied by endabcs, we'll save alot of money not having to warehouse otherwise law abiding citizen, not to mention the added productivity available to those folks who won't have arrest records for something as ridiculous as pot use.

Tolerance works in Europe and it would work here. Of course, it will continued to be opposed by the tobacco and alcohol industries, who created the sham "Partnership For a Drug Free America", in their efforts to control the legal drug market, as well as the prison, legal and law enforcement lobbies, who make fortunes due to the outlawing of pot.

LEGALIZE IT

I'm not against legalizing marijuana. I do not think that an increase in productivity is an argument that the pro-legalization camp can make.

The govt is at a disadvantage if they legalize marijuana. The market price is fairly cheap and the market is saturated with suppliers, now, with marijuana being illegal. Can you imagine how the black market would react if the drug was made legal? Every other house in the neighborhood would be growing a great product in their closet.

How could the govt tax all of these new marijuana farmers when they are selling it to their neighbors for less than you can buy it at your local drug store? If the govt can not keep a lid on marijuana when its illegal imagine the difficulty if legalized.

Gangs will not be affected too much as they will just move to another form of income (ie cocaine, prostitution, crack, etc)

Tax payers may save on jail/court costs but these expenses could be offset by healthcare costs.

There are positives and negatives to both arguments. I probably lean towards legalization of marijuana. I don't think the govt will because the govt can't control it.

[g8rman95]

^^^you assume legalization would include the growing and distribution. I would contend that it would be regulated like alcohol and anything beyond growth for personal use and any form of unregulated distribution would be illegal. Therefore the price would not be affected to the extreme.

[NJG8tor]

Originally Posted by gator10010

I'm not against legalizing marijuana. I do not think that an increase in productivity is an argument that the pro-legalization camp can make.

The govt is at a disadvantage if they legalize marijuana. The market price is fairly cheap and the market is saturated with suppliers, now, with marijuana being illegal. Can you imagine how the black market would react if the drug was made legal? Every other house in the neighborhood would be growing a great product in their closet.

How could the govt tax all of these new marijuana farmers when they are selling it to their neighbors for less than you can buy it at your local drug store? If the govt can not keep a lid on marijuana when its illegal imagine the difficulty if legalized.

Gangs will not be affected too much as they will just move to another form of income (ie cocaine, prostitution, crack, etc)

Tax payers may save on jail/court costs but these expenses could be offset by healthcare costs.

There are positives and negatives to both arguments. I probably lean towards legalization of marijuana. I don't think the govt will because the govt can't control it.

It would more likely be sold at specialty stores, like alcohol is sold in some states. Unless the price were exceptionally high, most users would probably prefer to buy from the store rather than go through the tedious process of growing their own to save a few dollars. Plus growing more potent marijuana is even more difficult and involves costly equipment, maintenance, and know-how that most users won't want to bother with. It's much easier to make coffee on your own than to grow your own marijuana, but there's still a huge market for coffee shops.

[gator10010]

Originally Posted by g8rman95

^^^you assume legalization would include the growing and distribution. I would contend that it would be regulated like alcohol and anything beyond growth for personal use and any form of unregulated distribution would be illegal. Therefore the price would not be affected to the extreme.

Ok, I grow marijuana in my backyard, I sell this product to my friends and neighbors below market price, when law enforcement finally kicks in my front door, I argue that the product that I'm growing is for my personal use.

Any lawyer worth his salt can get me off this charge and I walk.

I don't believe the govt can control the market and as Obama is proving govt is about power they can always print more money.

[AnnArborGator]

Originally Posted by gator10010

Ok, I grow marijuana in my backyard, I sell this product to my friends and neighbors below market price, when law enforcement finally kicks in my front door, I argue that the product that I'm growing is for my personal use.

Any lawyer worth his salt can get me off this charge and I walk.

I don't believe the govt can control the market and as Obama is proving govt is about power they can always print more money.

1) I'm not so sure it would be all that easy for you to grow equal quality and sell it below market price and still make it worth your while.

2) Your word vs. evidence gathered during law enforcement investigations (that would be needed if they're kicking down your door)...good luck on that one.

3) They can always print more money...but they know they're walking a fine line between maintaining the status quo and turning us into Argentina or Zimbabwe. They will need revenue without killing the economy at some point. You can't just jack income tax rates because it destroys the incentive to produce.

[endabcs]

Originally Posted by gator10010

Ok, I grow marijuana in my backyard, I sell this product to my friends and neighbors below market price, when law enforcement finally kicks in my front door, I argue that the product that I'm growing is for my personal use.

Any lawyer worth his salt can get me off this charge and I walk.

I don't believe the govt can control the market and as Obama is proving govt is about power they can always print more money.

Just like moonshine, you have to have a permit and it has to be below a certain grade in certain states, even for personal consumption.