The Audacity of Dope
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The Audacity of Dope
Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?
By Jeff Segal
Posted Wednesday, February 11, 2009 - 10:36am
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps has made marijuana a popular topic. He was photographed smoking from a bong, lost corporate sponsorships, and was suspended from the sport as a result. But celebrities aren't the only ones thinking about dope.
Some legislators in California have pot on their minds, too. That's because the government of the biggest economy in the United States is facing a massive budget deficit whose pain would be alleviated by decriminalizing marijuana.
California's current deficit stands at a whopping $15 billion and is expected to reach $42 billion next year. And the state run by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has virtually run out of cash. It recently delayed $3.5 billion of payments to taxpayers and counties.
While nearly all U.S. states currently face budget shortfalls, California's deficit is more than one-third of its general fund. That's largely due to its dependence on income taxes, which slide during a recession. And the state can't easily borrow due to the government bond-market freeze. Moody's even warned it may downgrade the state's rating.
There's no easy fix to the problem, as any solution likely requires cutting benefits and social services—tough political choices for Schwarzenegger. But the state does have an abundant natural resource it may be able to draw on for help.
Marijuana is California's largest cash crop. It's valued at $14 billion annually, or nearly twice the value of the state's grape and vegetable crops combined, according to government statistics. Indeed, a recent report pegged marijuana as two-thirds of the economy of Mendocino County, a ganja hotbed north of San Francisco. That's not surprising—it costs $400 to grow a pound of pot that can sell for $6,000 on the street.
But the state doesn't receive any revenue from its cash cow. Instead, it spends billions of dollars enforcing laws pegged at shutting down the industry and inhibiting marijuana's adherents. Of course, there's a reason for that. Marijuana's social costs may include addiction and rehabilitation treatment and lost productivity. Yet these are minute compared with the extensive social costs of alcohol or tobacco.
Of course, just legalizing pot wouldn't automatically harvest revenues for the state. An organized system of regulating sales and collecting taxes would need implementing. And it's possible that general drug use could rise, though the debate that pot is a gateway drug to harder substances is inconclusive.
There's also the question of whether or not taxing marijuana would simply create a black market that would again skimp the state on taxes. The best corollaries here are cigarettes and alcohol. Rises in "sin taxes" on them have decreased consumption—a positive—but don't seem to have destabilized the legal market. Decriminalization could lead to some job losses in law enforcement, though the countervailing argument would see these forces put to work stopping harder crime.
So what are the numbers? A national legalization effort would save nearly $13 billion annually in enforcement costs and bring in $7 billion in yearly tax revenues, according to a study by Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron. Since California represents 13 percent of the U.S. economy, those numbers suggest the state could save $1.7 billion in enforcement costs and nab up to $1 billion in revenues. That doesn't include any indirect revenues as, for example, rural farming communities grow or marijuana tourism, which has been lucrative for the Netherlands, takes off.
Put it all together, and California could potentially wipe some $3 billion off its budget deficit by letting its people puff and pay. That still leaves it with a gaping $39 billion hole to fill, so the state's problems go far beyond what a new cash crop can fix. But anything to help soothe the state's chronic fiscal pain—even if unpalatable to some—is worth considering.
Comments
lest we forget...
...Marijuana *is* legal in California, at least for the disabled/those with medical need. Whatever you may think of this personally, it is the fact. Another fact, and I constantly wonder why more isn't made of this, MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS (in CA) PAY SALES TAX FOR THEIR MEDICATION.
[Interestingly, also, I read that people swept up in DEA raids are not legally allowed to point out (in federal courts) that they (the defendants) are engaged in providing medical marijuana. The words "medical" and "marijuana" are not allowed to be spoken together in federal court--even though MM is (hello!) legal in California.]
But I digress. Somebody: please make more of the fact that sick people are paying sales tax on their marijuana. I was so hoping this would be the article to do it, and alas, I am disappointed.
KreepyGrrl, believer in Natural Medicine that never OD'd anybody.
MPP.org End Marijuana Prohibition
I do NOT smoke pot, sure I've tried it, not my thing. I have a drink, maybe once or twice a year. I'm an addict, my drug of choice - crack cocaine. I've been clean for over 2 years.
During my years of addiction, the only violence I saw associated with marijuana is alcoholics or drug addicts robbing marijuana dealers. I never saw a marijuana "addict" going after the cocaine, heroine and speed dealers to steal their money or drugs.
I know several hard working people who smoke marijuana and lead very productive lives.
I've known hard drug users that had steady jobs, which were interrupted by incarcerations. More often than not, we were hustlers in one way or another.
If someone had told me 10 minutes before my first hit of crack that I'd even do it once, let alone thousands of times, I wouldn't have believed it.
I've known of people overdosing and dying from everything from heroine to whip cream poppers - but never have I heard of anyone dying from a pot overdose.
addiction
As someone said it, I am addicted to the social aspect of it. At the end of the night when I am ready to wind down, I love nothing more than to take a bong rip with my husband. It is the end of my hard day's work and I can honestly say it is the act of doing it that I am addicted to. No chemical reaction happens in my body if I don't smoke it, I don't withdrawal...nothing happens. And while smoking it may cause short term memory, it has been proven to reduce alzheimers as an elderly!!!
I think it is soooo crazy that this natural weed from the earth is banned and so controversial.
pot in calif.
It seems that if someone suggest something in this country that we all cannot rest until it comes to fruition. It is like if we don't do it we cannot get it off our minds. We have to have relief and the only way to get it is to do what we have been contemplating. I guess that is what happened to Jeffery Dhamuer. He couldn't get it off his mind so he did it.
high life w/o getting high
I believe poster bmestep has brought up a very interesting perspective. I, too, believe that love and happiness are the most important things in life and that we need to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the world around us more often. I am in my mid-twenties and have never smoked pot and yet, I have a very similar, hippy vibe to my thinking and general outlook on life. How am I able to feel the highs of life without having to get high? I do not drink alcohol and I do not smoke tobacco products, either. Is it possible that those who smoke pot could find a way to experience life the way I do without getting high?
If marijuana was legalized in California, I worry that the already large population of the state would increase dramatically. Undoubtedly, this would create jobs because there would be a need for increased infrastructure and such. But, is there enough energy, water, and suitable land development areas to sustain an inevitable population increase? I am not an enviornmentalist, but I am concerned about environmental impact and sustainable development issues.
Legalize It!!
I totally agree! I have been on the front lines of the so called "War Against Drugs" for over twelve years. The fact is, there are plenty of adult pot smokers that are otherwise law abiding, good citizens. I have been on the street and in specialized drug units and NEVER had a problem with ANYONE under the influence of marijuana. I found them to be pleasant and cooperative, unlike drunks or those using other drugs.
Marijuana should be legalized, for quality control and state revenue. The money that would otherwise be spent on enforcement of marijuana laws could be directed towards enforcement of illegal DANGEROUS drugs and illegal guns. The nation would be safer and more prosperous.
If anyone is wondering... I consider myself conservative.
Legalizing industrial hemp farmin
Among the many virtues of industrial hemp as a farming commodity is its usage as a phytoremediation crop in cleaning contaminated soils. It continues to be used in the areas around Chernobyl to clean up nuclear contamination. Parts of the central valley in California are so contaminated with selinium that nothing will grow, and in the past birds around Kesterson Reservoir have given birth to deformed offspring. Hemp could be used to bring back ag land that is not producing anything now. Planting hemp as a crop rotation choice has proven to enhance wheat yields in Canada by up to 25%, and it absorbs 4 times the amount of CO2 that trees do. If you support legalizing industrial hemp, contact your legislators and voice your support for the following bills currently being considered. Your vocal support will help disprove that pot smokers are lazy, spaced out, and unmotivated. Activism is a gateway drug to better representation and an improved environment. HB 305 in Hawaii SB 131 in Kentucky SJ20 in Montana HB 399 in New Hampshire HF 0608 in Minnesota HB 403 & SB 377 in New Mexico HB 1549 & HCR 3026 in North Dakota
Hemp Farming
This is most likely the best way to go because before it bacame a controlled substance hardly anyone smoked it and if it is legalized it would lose a lot of it's appeal. I doubt it would generate the revenue they expect.
Legalize & Wakeup
People are inherently nuts. That's why we spend billions of dollars trying to stop mariuana sales, transport, and use. Murderers get out of prison in 4 years, and someone transporting 5 pounds of pot gets 20 years. If pot is a "gateway drug" then hard liquor is - without a doubt. It should be regulated, just like any other intoxicating substance - but when are we going to quit wasting time? Like the MSN article on Slate says - "mariuana is California's largest cash crop". But, like dummies - we don't want the revenue, we want to let all of the criminals have it. Criminals do bad things, and shouldn't have any money - they will just use it to buy guns that they shouldn't have. Come on - pot is worse than a bottle of Jack Daniels or Crown Royal? I don't think so. With a few drinks - people die. A few hits, people have fun and live. With all of this stuff - moderation and maturity is the key. Lets create more jobs throughout industry and take the revenue away from the criminals.
Ignorance is the tool of Authority
I have to strongly disagree with the gentleman before me who stated he lost a generation of his life to pot, and the others who say the cost of rehabilitating a pot-smoker is too great. Sir, you lost 20 years of your life because you were a lazy cretin. It's ok, I myself was a lazy cretin for most of my life, even without pot. You using the arguement that it was the pot that made you lazy is weak, and also MALICIOUS because your arguement is adding to the propaganda that is keeping this relatively harmless substance banned. More americans die every year from stuffing their fat faces with cake than from incidents even indirectly influenced by marijuana (Excluding marijuana-crime related incidents, which only occur because it's illegal, which of course would mostly end when it is legalized, and I say when of course, because your ignorant generations of simpletons who are ruining the future of the future generations are going to be dead and buried sooner or later). In addition, I have never seen anyone truly addicted to pot. I have had many friends who have used marijuana every day from a very young age, and quit abruptly recently because of the economic downturn. They cannot afford to smoke anymore, so they have done the responsible thing and either quit or curb their use. They have not sold their TVs. They have not committed crimes to continue their habits. They don't beg their parents for money (though recently I have had to so that I could afford to eat a 99 cent taco from jack-in-the-box once a day to keep myself alive. Yes, I have a job by the way. It pays 7.50 an hour. I work a full 40 hours a week. I pay water, electricity, and rent, and I still go hungry some days. I get sick of hearing people complain about this economy when they still have working cell phones. Back on track. In summary, Marijuana addiction occurs about as often as the newfangled "Infant Addiction", where mothers keep having children because they always want a newborn to hold. These addictions likely operate on the same level: a psychological addiction, not a physical one. As we all know there are some people who cannot control themselves. I doubt however, there will come a day when someone with newborn-addiction will cause a law to be passed preventing people to have kids. Thank you internet for listening.