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379 Comments
- stoned420247, on 11/03/2009, -9/+347Good! They should also do State by State as to what we pay to keep it illegal.
Legalize, regulate and tax it... Thank you! - heliumflash, on 11/03/2009, -3/+274They don't even include money saved relating to the court system and prisons
- phil27519, on 11/03/2009, -3/+251I hope these numbers take into account tax revenue generated on Doritos and Pop-tarts.
- Dero, on 11/03/2009, -4/+156For a Grand Total of 794.2 Million dollars it would be stupid not to legalize it.
- ilikeathemicah, on 11/03/2009, -8/+127Get involved in the movement for sensible drug policies! http://www.SchoolsNotPrisons.com
- Tddupre, on 11/03/2009, -1/+104I don't think this number factored in industrial hemp, because if marijunua was legalized there would be no doubt hemp would be legal to.
- Awwzm, on 11/03/2009, -2/+89California...knows how to party
- Mujokan, on 11/03/2009, -1/+79Everyone should be higher.
- manbeef, on 11/03/2009, -10/+83Wyoming's clearly the most uncool state.
Also, what kind of a tax rate is this based on? These numbers seem a little slim. - SubEl, on 11/03/2009, -4/+76The report from which this list is derived can be found here: http://www.prohibitioncosts.org
- biotch, on 11/03/2009, -1/+59+ the savings in not enforcing laws against, prosecuting, and jailing "criminals" who use and sell it.
- inactive, on 11/03/2009, -1/+59I guess it's official: mainstream media wants legal buds!
- TheStonerArmy, on 11/03/2009, -3/+48Medical Marijuana in Florida
http://www.PUFMM.org - iancgi, on 11/03/2009, -5/+47They do not want what is best for the people which is why in face of all the positive evidence for legalizing marijuana they STILL wont do it. These politicians are criminals and have been bought our by even bigger criminal corporations like big pharma and textile industries. The hemp plant will put a large majority of these mongocorps out of business because of how versatile and useful it is. The trick is to stop electing democrats or republicans.
- TheTaoOfBill, on 11/03/2009, -2/+42Actually Wyoming simply takes in less money because it has a very small population. it's all based on population. So compared to California's population of 36 million you get a per capita revenue of about 35 cents per person. But with Wyoming's 500,000 population you get about 44 cents per person.
So if you think about it that way either Wyoming is paying more for their weed or there are a lot more per capita weed smokers in Wyoming than there are in Cali. Which makes sense because there is nothing better to do in Wyoming. - TheTaoOfBill, on 11/03/2009, -2/+42Actually I realized I'm retarded and flipped my fractions.
So Cali actually makes $2.92 per capita and WY makes $2.44 per capita.
So WY is back to uncool. Sorry Wyoming. - BoneheadFarker, on 11/03/2009, -3/+41Factor in savings from not prosecuting pot related offenses, and you come out ahead by millions...
- reuscel, on 11/03/2009, -1/+36Seriously. These marijuana smokers have no future. None of them will ever be presiden... wait, never mind. Well, none of them will ever be world-famous astrophysi... really, Sagan did? Oh. Well, they certainly won't ever make any great music or films, that's for sure.
- GraceMolloy, on 11/03/2009, -2/+35Kentucky should be higher, we grow a LOT of it.
- jshhmr, on 11/03/2009, -0/+33I would definitely buy shares in the snack food industry if it ever happened!
- generalalcazar, on 11/03/2009, -2/+35To be fair, were it to be made legal, there would still be costs for regulating it, such as ensuring that it meets certain standards. Though, I would guess that this would be less than the cost of arresting and incarcerating drug dealers and users.
- tgjerusalem, on 11/03/2009, -0/+31Why would legalization lead to long-term higher healthcare costs or lost productivity?
After an initial celebratory spike overall marijuana use probably isn't going to change much after legalization; everyone can already get it, it's just expensive and of dubious quality. High quality product from a regulated industry is less likely to have harmful contaminants. Moreover, legal industry means it's easier to market products that avoid the only real health concern with marijuana (the smoke), through alcohol tinctures or edibles or vaporizers or etc.
And alcohol has a hell of a lot more impact on productivity than weed. Most people are not going to be getting either drunk or high before work, but hangovers can leave an employee effectively useless. If we encourage people to smoke instead of drinking, their evening recreation will have much less impact on the morning's productivity. - homer524, on 11/03/2009, -1/+32I think this is often overlooked, and would be interested if anyone has figures with this projected information as well. Also the amount of REAL crime that could be prevented if our police/lawyers/judges weren't bogged down with so many harmless violations.
And anyone who says legalizing pot will lead to a. less productive citizens, b. crime sprees, or c. more traffic accidents... don't have a clue as to the effects of pot. Alcohol 2.0 it is not. - Veni_Vidi_Vici, on 11/03/2009, -0/+30+ the taxable income of all those "criminals" getting jobs and entering the workforce
- tduffy31, on 11/03/2009, -1/+29they cant stop you from growing a plant. you could grow tobacco if you really wanted to. Legalizing it lets you grow it in your garden instead of your attic.
- gsm54321, on 11/03/2009, -1/+26I think the cost of "ensuring quality" would be negligible. I know people at the cannabis clubs that do this for free already, and they seem like they are addicted to the work.
- homer524, on 11/03/2009, -0/+23lost productivity? This is really just propaganda B.S. There will be no productivity loss, unless you intend to allow people to go to work stoned... (although I know many programmers who would swear this increases productivity greatly). Just like people go to work drunk lose productivity right?
extra healthcare costs? Marijuana causes less health problems than alcohol. And the few health problems are generally caused only if smoked. Legalization will allow industries to create many other forms of intake, i.e. vaporization, food, tinctures, etc...
Where do you get your information from? I would say the best argument for the money lost because of legalization will be associated with regulating and enforcing age restrictions. Also a breathalyzer-type system will have to be rolled out to prevent stoned drivers (although imho these drivers are not very dangerous) - deltron0, on 11/03/2009, -0/+22Incorporate the amount saved from prisons and police and it will be a much higher number.
- phogasmic, on 11/03/2009, -4/+25They should add the costs that will be saved by not prosecuting people for pot use and distribution. They should be significant as well.
- iskin, on 11/03/2009, -1/+21They were the major contributer to making marijuana illegal.
- stoned420247, on 11/03/2009, -0/+20"I'll grow my own weed."
Good for you. I plan on having a few projects in and around my house as well.
"I am not going to pay for, and get taxed for something that is so easily produced in my own home for free."
You will be taxed regardless if you buy from a cafe or grow your own.
Fertilizers, nutrients, grow lights, soil, hydroponic kit, seeds etc.
But you really have to be realistic. You will never buy weed? You will make your own bomb hash and your own kief?
You will never go to a cafe and order some nugs while waiting for your food?
Come on man, be realistic. - iancgi, on 11/03/2009, -1/+20tduffy31 has no idea what the word textile means.
- bruin8uclap, on 11/04/2009, -0/+18You're missing a lot of parts actually. In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say that this is probably one of the most ignorant posts I've ever seen on Digg.
- Wargala, on 11/03/2009, -1/+19And super nice to the homeless!
- slifty, on 11/03/2009, -2/+20(lots of things are regulated; that doesn't mean you can't produce it for private use.)
- gaqua, on 11/03/2009, -1/+18Hemp isn't going to put textile companies out of business. The minute it's legal they'll invest into it. Re-legalizing alcohol didn't put soft drink companies out of business.
- wlmafia, on 11/03/2009, -0/+16They should have included tax revenue that will be generated from Funion and Slurpee sales.
- jorgio, on 11/03/2009, -0/+15yay GO OXYCONTIN ! and other safe drugs that are legal and good. How about legalizing it because it is a nontoxic substance or because the prohibition is not only causing an overcrowding of prisons but much worse causing people who do enjoy cannabis to feel lesser by ass holes like you. Yea lets keep it illegal because if we don't our children may be smoking pot when their adults instead of drinking straight liquor or calorie filled beers. (Both good for the heart)
- newman8r, on 11/04/2009, -0/+15you don't understand the situation at all
Do you see illicit tobacco dealers and alcohol dealers flooding the streets? Legalizing cannabis would make it unprofitable for the illicit trade... in fact, it would no longer even be illicit. The simple fact that a commodity is illegal inflates its price quite a bit. Most people will end up buying from dispensaries, delivery services or grown their own just for the heck of it. - mouseshoes, on 11/03/2009, -0/+14Well done, sir.
- parisii, on 11/03/2009, -1/+15that doesn't even take into account hemp production. if farm states had hemp crops, this fiber could replace a lot of petrol-derived products and create local industries rather than ones that get outsourced.
- graminal, on 11/04/2009, -0/+13DEA's budget is closer to 2.4 Billion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Enforcement_Admi ... - Charlotte_Web, on 11/03/2009, -3/+16I think the assumptions of the report are off.
The report assumes that the retail cost of marijuana would remain unchanged, that retailing the drug would not lower cost. The high tax revenue is based on that. As I understand, one of the main arguments of legalizing marijuana is to take the cost factor out of it because marijuana is relatively cheap to produce. If the retail cost of marijuana plummets, then so does the potential tax revenue -- unless, you get a significant increase in users.
It also dismisses the idea of more people growing their own, saying that it would essentially remain unchanged and may even go down. As evidence, they look at the fact that private distilleries disappeared after the end of alcohol prohibition. However, distilling alcohol is a much more complicated (and dangerous) process, whereas horticultural skills are common in America; anyone can plant a seed in a pot, water it, fertilize it, and place it in the sun. If the retail cost of marijuana doesn't come down with legalization, then there will be strong incentive to "grow your own".
Third, there's just no way that the government would legalize marijuana and not regulate it. Alcohol and tobacco are heavily regulated. Marijuana would be too. So, the study looks at the current cost of law enforcement under prohibition, but fails to estimate law enforcement costs under legalization. It would likely be much smaller, but there still will be a cost. - twiztidsinz, on 11/03/2009, -0/+13No one is saying it's a "cure all".
All people are saying is it's idiotic to SPEND money to keep something as harmless as marijuana illegal when you could legalize it and MAKE money. - iancgi, on 11/03/2009, -5/+18obviously neither of you have smoked before.
- T8erT0T, on 11/03/2009, -1/+14You get nosebleeds on your high horse?
- lamartpm, on 11/03/2009, -1/+14Also, this doesn't include the savings that would be attributed to the decrease in costs associated with enforcing the laws and imprisoning offenders.
- PanchoVilla2010, on 11/03/2009, -2/+14Florida is the worst state in the nation with regard to marijuana legislation having state laws even stiffer than federal laws. North West Florida, Escambia county in specific, is home of one of the nation's leading federal Drug Enforcement Attorney and draconian judges like Jan Schaklefor. Jeb Bush really messed things up and Florida LOVES to put people in jail for drug crimes.
Florida is Texa's lil' bro. Don't even get me started on FELONY PRISON TIME!!! for driving on a suspended license or getting your driver license revoked for TWO YEARS on a first time misdemeanor possession of MJ charge. - rocknog, on 11/03/2009, -1/+13Alcohol is pretty heavily taxed, but plenty of people brew their own, so I don't see why it'd be different with marijuana.
- expert01, on 11/03/2009, -0/+12There would be an increase of users if it became legal, and all users would purchase more if it was less expensive (well, I know I would). That should offset any drop in price. In addition, no one really knows how many people right now consume cannabis.
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