Marijuana's Windfall

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright Jan. 3, 2010
All Rights Reserved.                    

              When California voters passed Prop. 215 in 1996 authorizing sale and distribution of medical marijuana, it hinted at things to come, namely, more receptive attitudes toward eventual legalization.  Opponents have long warned about the dangers of marijuana, especially its so-called “gateway” effect, where users were bound to go on to more dangerous drugs.  While legalization opponents have their opinions, the scientific community has been unambiguous dispelling the “gateway” myth, or, for that matter, other dangers such as addiction and adverse reactions, including panic attacks and paranoia.  Researchers, too, found adverse reactions few-and-far-between, attesting, if nothing else, to the relative safety of marijuana use.  California’s Compassionate Use Act demonstrated that incidence of use or abuse also didn’t change appreciably with increased accessibility.

            Despite local challenges to Prop. 215, marijuana dispensaries have created a new line of business in an otherwise sluggish economy.  Alcohol beverage manufacturers, too, haven’t witnessed a drop in sales since 1996, suggesting that marijuana doesn’t detract from beverage sales, especially wine and beer.  With the U.S. in a protracted recession and state governments strapped for cash, the time has never been better to capitalize on the expected lucrative tax revenues from legalization.  “In terms of state legislation, this far and away the most active year that we’ve ever seen,” said Ethan Nadelmann, director of New York-based Drug Policy Alliance, a pro-legalization lobbying group.  Above all else, growing state budget deficits have forced legislatures to come up with creative ways to generate more revenue and save wasteful costs associated with short and long-term incarceration.

            Four states, including California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Washington State, have introduced legalization bills, based primarily on experience with compassionate use laws and current budget shortfalls.  “I would say that we are close to the tipping point,” said Nadelmann, referring to public awareness into the state’s benefits of legalization.  “At this point they are still seen as symbolic bills to get the conversation going, but at least the conversation can be a serious one,” skeptical that there’s any one state that has the best shot of passing legalization bills.  In Washington State, where Seattle Democrat Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson introduced a legalization bill, the state could collect up to $300 million in taxes, closing roughly 20% of the states projected $2.6 billion budget shortfall.  Dickerson expects marijuana tax revenue to eventually equal that of alcoholic beverage sales.

            Compassionate use laws dispel old ideas about marijuana use, including hyperbole about addiction and dangerous side effects.  There’s no upside to it any manner other than for those people that want to smoke pot,” said Travis Kukyendall, head of West Texas High Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area office in El Paso, demonstrating the kind of hype that incarcerates, at great expense to states, up to 60% of prison populations for non-violent drug-related offenses.  Costs to states’ tax bases, currently running in the red, from drug-related prosecutions and incarcerations are almost incalculable.  Enforcing current criminal marijuana laws, equating marijuana with heroin, have helped break many states currently begging Uncle Sam for bailouts.  “There’s nothing for society in it, there’s nothing good for the country in it, there’s nothing for the good of the economy in it,” said Kukyendall exposing his extreme bias.

            If states can find a responsible way of legalizing and taxing marijuana, just as they currently do for medical marijuana, there’s plenty of benefits to “society,” especially generating new streams of tax dollars.  There’s plenty good in saving taxpayers untold millions, maybe billions, from plugging up the courts and prisons with marijuana users.  There’s currently no credible scientific research that indicates marijuana affects reaction time like alcohol, leading to automobile accidents.  Ron Brooks, president of the National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition “fears” more highway accidents and deaths.  Well-intentioned peace officers need not “fear” anything, only read the best scientific data dispelling such fears.  Pro-legalization lobbyists, like Allen St. Pierre, director of Washington-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, support tough marijuana driving laws.

            Given today’s economic woes, responsible state governments must do more to cut wasteful spending and generate more revenue.  Most state governments waste untold sums on prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana offenders.  Supply-siders agree that most taxation hurts business activity, except certain sin taxes that give the government a needed windfall during tough economic times.  Marijuana opponents must reevaluate their old arguments, familiarize themselves with current scientific data and get beyond distorted propaganda no longer applicable in today’s society.  There’s plenty of benefits to society emptying prisons of marijuana-related offenders, preventing future incarcerations and saving taxpayers needed tax sources.  Whatever one thinks of marijuana, responsible states can’t look a gift-horse in the mouth and ignore much-needed tax revenues.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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