How Will Legalizing Marijuana Actually Make The Government Money?
Feb.06, 2010 in
How to Make Money
If we legalize pot won’t people just grow it themselves or buy it from the local dealers they are already buying it from but now cheaper since there isn’t any risk. I don’t see how the government could tax people or make any money from this. How would legalizing pot cancel our nations debt as people are saying it would do?
February 6th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
They wouldn’t make it completely legal so just anyone could grow it. Only licensed persons with state cards could and they sell to the co -ops who then tax it when selling to licensed registered users or do it like alcohol and they can sell to those over 21. The mexicans are getting all the profits right now and that money could benefit the state debt. People are not going to quit smoking pot might as well make it legal to buy. But not just anyone can grow. Just like you can buy alcohol only where they have a license to sell it and only from those licensed to sell to them.
February 6th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
There are countless dollars to be made from the legalization and taxation of cannabis. Although the production of cannabis is a fairly simple process, many users would rather purchase from a reputable source of experienced professionals. Think tobacco.
Money will be made, and money will be saved. Starting the day of legalization, our tax dollars will no longer be wasted on detaining non-violent marijuana offenders, our tax dollars will no longer be wasted on a ridiculous effort to eliminate marijuana from our society. Production of hemp will be made legal, as well. The uses for hemp are countless, and since marijuana can fully mature in three months or less, it is far more effective in paper production than deforestation. Clothes will be made from hemp; medicines, plastics, all from hemp! We will no longer be the only industrialized nation NOT benefiting from hemp.
Many dealers will find it very difficult, if not pointless, in trying to compete with a government regulated market. Following legalization, marijuana will become an even more massively produced crop. Justified by its intense demand. Mass production, along with the associated competition among vendors will lead to a dramatic decrease in prices.This is why most marijuana dealers are against legalization.
Marijuana prohibition has done many things to our economy. Unfortunately, none of it is good. The government has spent billions of dollars trying to convince the people that they do not want marijuana, when statistics prove otherwise. The market for marijuana is one of the largest in recorded history. You cannot ignore or eradicated such a high demand for a certain crop.
We need to stop this madness. We can’t afford it.
February 7th, 2010 at 1:03 am
because if the government grew it and sold it they would tax it and that would generate some revenue and then they would save A LOT of money not having to lock up, and keep in jail, all of those people for possession charges and people would not go to the illegal dealers like they do now because you have a wider selection in the legal shops and more information about what your buying instead of just buying whatever your dealer has at the time. But the money they say we would get from legalizing marijuana is money that we would save, not necessarily money that we would get directly from the tax, and this. by no means, would cancel our debt. It would just be money we could make ourselves instead of borrowing it, like we usually do. I think the people from NORML ( The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) said that we would generate an average of 14.2 billion dollars a year if we were to legalize it.
February 7th, 2010 at 2:08 am
How many people grow tobacco ? No one I know. Marijuana is America’s most valuable agricultural product, more than Corn. It’d be a big earner and if you take out the drug war to that could be a good 80 billion in our pocket.
I meant individuals who grow it in their home for personal consumption not farmers who grow it to sell.
Pot is nowhere near as bad for your health as ciggarettes or Alcohol. Both are addictive whereas Cannabis has been proven to be less addictive than coffee. Smokers do alot more ciggarettes that Potheads do joints and ciggarettes have alot more tar and poisonous chemicals that cause brain damage than joints. It wouldn’t completely solve the debt but 80 billion is alot of money we could spend on any number of things like veterans affairs. Marijuana is worth more as a crop in America NOW without any cornfields cleared and if Marijuana is more competitive than corn its capitalism at work. Besides Ethanol uses more gas to grow than it saves.
Way to spit the idiotic consensus dribble of the masses rather than an intelligent argument.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Well there would obviously have to be some sort of limit on the amount that could be grown legal by a private grower or there is no way it would work.
Of course anything manufactured could be taxed. The other side of it is the money that could be saved (in theory) by not needing to have officers enforcing the law and tracking down pot growers.
I have no idea what the numbers are or the odds of it working but that’s the theory.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:26 am
Are you just stupid? the poster above me who said no one has tobacco farms?? have you ever been down south or southeast? there are tobacco farms EVERYWHERE out here. Pot is bad for your health makes you dumb as hell, do you honestly know anyone who smokes pot who is smart? i sure dont… they are stupid as a sack of rocks. And they cant remember things to save their lives. It wont cancel the nations debt either it is useless, how would growing a harmful drug benefit us? we would have to shut down corn farms to make space for pot farms. which would leave us without ethanol…. your a complete idiot.
February 7th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
It essentially wont – and that is 99.9% of the reason why it isn’t legalized.
Unlike alcohol and tobacco, which can be taxed to hell, pot is simply too cheap and too easy to grow and produce on your own. No money for the government, no legislation.
February 7th, 2010 at 4:53 pm
They would tax it heavily. And the government would make it illegal to grow it yourself. It would increase revenue because people could just go there anytime and buy pot.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
I don’t think it will create money because will have to pay more tax to support healthcare and unemployment benefits.
February 8th, 2010 at 3:27 am
It would still be illegal to grow your own. The government would grow it and tax even the ones who don’t use it.
February 8th, 2010 at 7:52 am
If you equate saving money to making money…suspending the war on drugs would save fortunes
February 8th, 2010 at 11:28 am
i don’t know how the government could control people growing or buying off the streets but what i do know is that the government has the scientist capable of making the best hybrids of marijuana possible so good that no one or very little people would even want to settle for regular “street” weed. Also we came up with the declaration for gods sake I’m sure one of the dumb asses in office can think of a way to control tax on weed. Legalizing and taxing marijuana alone in California would generate $1.4 Billion. And for all the people saying it shouldn’t be legal because it kills braincells and is highly addictive here are all the marijuana myths and facts that people usually don’t know.
Myth:
Marijuana Can Cause Permanent Mental Illness.
*Fact:
There is no convincing scientific evidence that marijuana causes psychological damage or mental illness in either teenagers or adults. Some marijuana users experience psychological distress following marijuana ingestion, which may include feelings of panic, anxiety, and paranoia. Such experiences can be frightening, but the effects are temporary. With very large doses, marijuana can cause temporary toxic psychosis. This occurs rarely, and almost always when marijuana is eaten rather than smoked. Marijuana does not cause profound changes in people’s behavior.
Myth:
Marijuana is Highly Addictive.
*Fact:
Most people who smoke marijuana smoke it only occasionally. A small minority of Americans – less than 1 percent – smoke marijuana on a daily basis. An even smaller minority develop a dependence on marijuana. Some people who smoke marijuana heavily and frequently stop without difficulty.
Myth:
Marijuana is More Damaging to the Lungs Than Tobacco.
*Fact:
Moderate smoking of marijuana appears to pose minimal danger to the lungs. Like tobacco smoke, marijuana smoke contains a number of irritants and carcinogens. But marijuana users typically smoke much less often than tobacco smokers, and over time, inhale much less smoke. As a result, the risk of serious lung damage should be lower in marijuana smokers. There have been no reports of lung cancer related solely to marijuana.
Myth:
Marijuana Has No Medicinal Value.
*Fact: Marijuana has been shown to be effective in reducing the nausea induced by cancer chemotherapy, stimulating appetite in AIDS patients, and reducing intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma. There is also appreciable evidence that marijuana reduces muscle spasticity in patients with neurological disorders.
Myth:
Marijuana is a Gateway Drug.
*Fact:
Marijuana does not cause people to use hard drugs. What the gateway theory presents as a causal explanation is a statistic association between common and uncommon drugs, an association that changes over time as different drugs increase and decrease in prevalence. Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug in the United States today. Therefore, people who have used less popular drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and LSD, are likely to have also used marijuana. Most marijuana users never use any other illegal drug. Indeed, for the large majority of people, marijuana is a terminus rather than a gateway drug.
Myth:
Marijuana Kills Brain Cells.
*Fact:
None of the medical tests currently used to detect brain damage in humans have found harm from marijuana, even from long term high-dose use. An early study reported brain damage in rhesus monkeys after six months exposure to high concentrations of marijuana smoke. In a recent, more carefully conducted study, researchers found no evidence of brain abnormality in monkeys that were forced to inhale the equivalent of four to five marijuana cigarettes every day for a year. The claim that marijuana kills brain cells is based on a speculative report dating back a quarter of a century that has never been supported by any scientific study.
Myth:
Marijuana Use During Pregnancy Damages the Fetus.
*Fact:
Studies of newborns, infants, and children show no consistent physical, developmental, or cognitive deficits related to prenatal marijuana exposure. Marijuana had no reliable impact on birth size, length of gestation, neurological development, or the occurrence of physical abnormalities.