Legalizing Marijuana Would Raise $1.4 Billion Says CA Tax Board

McClatchy:

California could see a nearly $1.4 billion per year increase in state revenues were it to legalize marijuana, the state Board of Equalization says in an analysis of pending legislation to to do that.

Read the whole story: McClatchy

Comments

[fumes]

12:54 PM on 07/16/2009

~ fun site alert ~

http://www.world-mysteries.com/marijuana1.htm

[Cimms]

12:53 PM on 07/16/2009

I would buy a nickle bag a week to help California's budget deficit. I would also buy more munchies thus helping out the whole economy as well. Legalize it already.

[fumes]

12:48 PM on 07/16/2009

re-legalize canvas..

yes we CANvas!!

[BluFoxx]

01:07 PM on 07/16/2009

LOL,LMAO!!!!!!!

[fumes]

02:55 PM on 07/16/2009

ah.. mister van der blufoxx..

you got that

[HLL]

12:02 PM on 07/16/2009

Not only should we legalize marijuana, but all drugs should be legalized - and taxed. Imagine the billions of dollars in taxes the government would get if all the import/export of drugs was tapped? Trillions.

With those trillions, we could infuse money into education, health care, the environment, housing. . .

Alcohol is legal and it can kill you. Cigarettes are legal and they can kill you. If someone wants to do drugs, that's their business. Legalize it all and free up all the billions of dollars spent needlessly and fruitlessly on the "drug war." What a joke that is.

[SaltySaltillo]

11:42 AM on 07/16/2009

Before all the weed smokers get all excited, I am wondering - how much money could be raised if Californians simply repealled that catastrophically bad Proposition 13?

[worldlyhick]

11:05 AM on 07/16/2009

Even if some people can in theory grow cannabis, many people do not have the time or ability to do so. It would be simply more convenient to buy it and pay taxes. Why not pay taxes on it like any other commercially supplied product? If folks have the talent to grow it, they should be able to do so. Maybe they can sell some of their product commercially.

I often buy herbal products to use as remedies for conditions I have managed to control using a variety of herbals. I have tried to grow some of the herbs, but I just don't have the talent, inclination, time or resources to grow quality herbals of any sort. I think it takes real talent to grow quality cannabis plants. Some of the pictures of plants on the internet are beautiful!

Paying taxes are much, much preferable to having people arrested and criminalized for using a plant that has, after all, been used for thousands of years for a variety of purposes. In spite of what the prohibitionists try to sell you, the current legal status of cannabis is very dangerous for cannabis consumers.

[DXM]

10:53 AM on 07/16/2009

I wonder how much California would also save in their law enforcement efforts by not having to prosecute adults for legal marijuana use? And how much would the illegal drug trade be hurt by legalize marijuana? Even with a steep tax, legal marijuana would be cheaper than the illegal type. Sounds like a win-win-win situation to me. Legalizing marijuana is LOOONG overdue.

[harriscrl3]

10:42 AM on 07/16/2009

Of course cause they wont be any downside to legalizing pot its going to be all happy good things that will happen cause in the past legalzing controlled substance always made the problems from the substance much better I mean just look at alcohol.

[TheFobster]

10:55 AM on 07/16/2009

I detect a hint of sarcasm. During alcohol prohibtion people still died from alcoholism and alcohol poisoning. There were also added deaths in the illegal manufacturing and trade. By making marijuana legal we eliminate the black market trade (responsible for many deaths) and limit drug cartels funding.

[FightingTheRight]

10:58 AM on 07/16/2009

I see your argument overlooks the negative things that outlawing alcohol caused.

[Allwx]

10:39 AM on 07/16/2009

Legalization, fine. Weed should have never been made illegal. But the tax idea is crazy. We can smoke all we want to now, without paying any taxes. The current legalization idea is nothing more than a plan to harvest billions of $ from weed smokers. It will turn weed smokers into tax evaders.

[Peter007]

10:32 AM on 07/16/2009

Pot was technically legal until about 1975. Pot was taxed until then. The trouble was , that you needed a tax stamp to get Pot and they didn't issue any tax stamps . They got the idea from the law against machine guns in the 20's.
Why tax pot? Its a weed. Leave it alone. Smoke um if ya got um.

[Shilliam]

10:28 AM on 07/16/2009

How many people lose their jobs, wreck their cars, alienate their friends and family, destroy their major organ systems because they cannot control their herb smoking?

It is ridiculous that the government subsidizes the alcohol industry while the solution to our recession is right in front of our nose.

I don't know anyone who called in sick to work after a night of partaking.

[Grunty1]

10:32 AM on 07/16/2009

[How many people lose their jobs, wreck their cars, alienate their friends and family, destroy their major organ systems because they cannot control their herb smoking?]

People are far more likely to do those things with ALCOHOL, which is legal.

[Grunty1]

10:32 AM on 07/16/2009

Which, of course, was your POINT. Sorry.

[Stefan Williams]

11:37 AM on 07/16/2009

Many of us make the point that you would drive SAFER when your lit to avoid any extra attention....

I cant think of any cases where Ive heard of "weed poisoning" from excessive use, the result is just a trip to the fridge and a cat nap.

You cant be "angry" when under the influence either...

How can we not just petition this, and draw some attention to our perspective??

We, here in Cali are ALL for it, if it were to go to a vote, i KNOW it would pass.

[Shawn Richardson]

07:44 PM on 07/22/2009

Actually, we just had a proposition in November ,Prop 5. if I remember correctly, that would have reduced the possession of less than an ounce of marijuana from a misdemeanor to an infraction. You wouldn't have had to go to court. You would have just had to mail a check to pay the fine. It went down in flames. Opponents demonized it as a "drug dealer's bill of rights". A painfully false characterization which would have been apparent if anyone had actually bothered to read the proposition.

[Progress08]

10:10 AM on 07/16/2009

It kills me that the legalization of Marijuana is purely about perception. The republican lawmakers are afraid of the jesus freaks. The people who preach temperance are anything but temperate. Legalize it and I know where my next vacation spot is.

[DSOTM]

10:09 AM on 07/16/2009

Think about all the extra sales tax they will collect from fast-food restaurants, Dominos Pizza and 24 hour mini-marts.

[ProperGanda]

09:54 AM on 07/16/2009

Just do it already

[argent1]

09:48 AM on 07/16/2009

If you can't smoke it, make brownies.
Legalizing murder might yield even more profit to the state. California could allow the murder of tax evaders, with a 50% tax on the murdered beings estate. If the murderers got just 2% of the murdereds net worth it would solve a lot of unemployment problems as well. Who says we can't produce anything in this country anymore?