Can Marijuana Rescue California's Economy?

Tech · Mar 13, 2009

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1884956,00.html?cnn=yes

Could marijuana be the answer to the economic misery facing California? Democratic State Assembly member Tom Ammiano thinks so. Ammiano introduced legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale — a move that could mean billions for the cash-strapped state. Pot is, after all, California's biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion in annual sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity — milk and cream — which brings in $7.3 billion annually, according to the most recent USDA statistics. The state's tax collectors estimate the bill would bring in about $1.3 billion in much-needed revenue a year, offsetting some of the billions in service cuts and spending reductions outlined in the recently approved state budget.

Line · Mar 13, 2009

*packs bags*

Tech · Mar 13, 2009

Line said:
*packs bags*

yep.

if drugs ever become legalized, I feel like thats the only reason it would happen. states will see other states making billions in tax revenue, then they'll be forced to do the same or they'll miss out on the money.

ideally, thats the wrong reason to legalize drugs, but whatever gets the job done works for me.

Big04pimpin · Mar 13, 2009

Tech said:
yep.

if drugs ever become legalized, I feel like thats the only reason it would happen. states will see other states making billions in tax revenue, then they'll be forced to do the same or they'll miss out on the money.

ideally, thats the wrong reason to legalize drugs, but whatever gets the job done works for me.

Why is the wrong reason? That is how our country works. The need for money and the greed for more money. I am just glad that our economy is tanking and hopefully a lot of changes will come from it.

Line · Mar 13, 2009

Big04pimpin said:
Why is the wrong reason? That is how our country works. The need for money and the greed for more money. I am just glad that our economy is tanking and hopefully a lot of changes will come from it.

Because they're doing it as a last resort to fix fiscal problems, not because they're coming to terms with the fact that it should be legalized anyway. Like Tech, I'm not really complaining either way though.

pegasus · Mar 13, 2009

Line said:
Because they're doing it as a last resort to fix fiscal problems, not because they're coming to terms with the fact that it should be legalized anyway. Like Tech, I'm not really complaining either way though.

I wonder if the mexican drug cartels are lobbying to stop this thing from going through lol

Tech · Mar 13, 2009

Line said:
Because they're doing it as a last resort to fix fiscal problems, not because they're coming to terms with the fact that it should be legalized anyway. Like Tech, I'm not really complaining either way though.

this.

I recently heard an interview with Ron Paul and he's in favor of legalizing pot and not even taxing it (I think he was talking about no federal tax). To be honest, I'd happily pay a state tax for drugs if it meant I could buy and use what I wanted without fear of being arrested.

Tech · Mar 13, 2009

pegasus said:
I wonder if the mexican drug cartels are lobbying to stop this thing from going through lol

I think drug legalization would help the cartels in the short term since they are currently the biggest suppliers of good product.

but later on, once the market gets opened up to new legal competition, I could easily see the cartels getting pissed, but eventually they'd start losing money and there wouldn't be much they could do.

pegasus · Mar 13, 2009

Tech said:
I think drug legalization would help the cartels in the short term since they are currently the biggest suppliers of good product.

but later on, once the market gets opened up to new legal competition, I could easily see the cartels getting pissed, but eventually they'd start losing money and there wouldn't be much they could do.

I think the price of drugs are so high because of the risk associated with handling it, and not because the lack of supply. Once the risk of trafficing the weed is removed there business would be pretty much the same as a tobacco farmer, but on a smaller scale, due to the fact that the market for weed is a lot smaller.

If that happens those involved with trafficing weed will move onto cocaine and herroin etc and that will cause supply to go up and the price of that stuff will also go down.

either way they know this is not good for there business.

Big04pimpin · Mar 13, 2009

pegasus said:
I think the price of drugs are so high because of the risk associated with handling it, and not because the lack of supply. Once the risk of trafficing the weed is removed there business would be pretty much the same as a tobacco farmer, but on a smaller scale, due to the fact that the market for weed is a lot smaller.

If that happens those involved with trafficing weed will move onto cocaine and herroin etc and that will cause supply to go up and the price of that stuff will also go down.

either way they know this is not good for there business.

You make it legal, and the market will grow. Trust me on that. If all I need to do is stop by Walgreens and pick up an ounce. Hell, I would start smoking again in a heart beat.

MuscleMecca Crew

Line · Mar 13, 2009

Big04pimpin said:
You make it legal, and the market will grow. Trust me on that. If all I need to do is stop by Walgreens and pick up an ounce. Hell, I would start smoking again in a heart beat.

Not having to deal with dealers would be a plus, those who have interacted with them know what difficulties that can present. I wonder how prices would be though in comparison and how government regulation would affect quality.

Ryeland · Mar 13, 2009

Line said:
Not having to deal with dealers would be a plus, those who have interacted with them know what difficulties that can present. I wonder how prices would be though in comparison and how government regulation would affect quality.

There would be a great many bonuses to the legalization and regulation of sale of marijuana.

Government regulation and corporate branding would provide the user with some level of assurance of what they are getting. This is big in terms of safety. I grew up in a town just north of Toronto, and at one point there were a few dealers selling pot laced with some crazy stuff, a few of the kids I went to high school with ended up dead.

Secondarily the economics of this could make the drug trade obsolete (at least for weed). If the government or corporations were mass producing, automating, the whole nine yards this could mean their costs would be way down. Making selling it illegally economically impossible. Or the government could be retarded and price it too high.

One worries about the quality of the product. But here in Canada sale of alcohol is highly regulated and the product is still good, but it would be interesting to see how the government handles potency issues and strains and what not.

Eliminating having to deal with dealers as Line said would be a major plus. There can be some serious sketchy situations in working with a dealer.

However there are some drawbacks, things that need to be thought out before this legislation goes through. For instance how much can you smoke before you are unable to drive? How do you test for that? Where is it legal to smoke? Who is licensed to produce and sell? What effect does smoking in a house with children have on the children? Making something like this legal is quite an undertaking.

Economically it certainly could help California. There is just a lot to consider, thoughts?

Tech · Mar 13, 2009

Ron Paul on "Larry King" tonight

Dr. Paul will be appearing on "Larry King Live" tonight at 9:45 pm eastern on CNN. Joy Behar will be guest hosting, and the topic will be the legalization of marijuana.

:gaysign:

pegasus · Mar 13, 2009

Tech said:
Ron Paul on "Larry King" tonight

Dr. Paul will be appearing on "Larry King Live" tonight at 9:45 pm eastern on CNN. Joy Behar will be guest hosting, and the topic will be the legalization of marijuana.

:gaysign:

thanks for the heads up :thumbsup2:

Ron Paul FTW

lifterdead · Mar 13, 2009

Hey, this is great news!

Now when will they legalize coke?

Tech · Mar 13, 2009

lifterdead said:
Now when will they legalize coke?

that may take a little longer.

Robcardu · Mar 13, 2009

thats great, if that happens ill start to export colombian weed to Cali, yeah!!

pegasus · Mar 13, 2009

man when is ron paul coming on? I'm getting a headache listening to this bullshit.

skindnef · Mar 13, 2009

the market for weed is a lot smaller

Really?

pegasus · Mar 13, 2009

skindnef said:
Really?

compared to tobacco, yes(IMO).

Can Marijuana Rescue California's Economy?

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Line

Chaos reigns.

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Big04pimpin

Mecca V.I.P.

Line

Chaos reigns.

pegasus

Mecca V.I.P.

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

pegasus

Mecca V.I.P.

Big04pimpin

Mecca V.I.P.

MuscleMecca Crew

Mecca Staff

Line

Chaos reigns.

Ryeland

Mecca V.I.P.

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

pegasus

Mecca V.I.P.

lifterdead

Mecca V.I.P.

Tech

Ron Paul FTW

Robcardu

Mecca V.I.P.

pegasus

Mecca V.I.P.

skindnef

Mecca V.I.P.

pegasus

Mecca V.I.P.