Legalize weed

[godoftrading]

How about it, Americans? Lets do it and tax the hell out of it.

After flooding the world with worthless derivatives, clusterbombs and crappy movies Washington could try and legalize (US) weed worldwide, demand all weed transactions globally to be settled in US dollars and have the likes of JP Morgan en Goldman Sachs changed not into banks but into giant weed farm clearhouses.

What kind of revenue would this generate and could it work?

Not trying to start an ideological discussion. Only econ.

Ok sure its crazy but seriously, why not?

[concrete]

It's illegal?

[OptionsPlease]

Lets keep it that way or else the Colombians would make a fortune......... By the way new studies just came out saying its like smoking 4 cigs from 1 joint.

[yanksrule80]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081121/ap_on_re_eu/eu_netherlands_marijuana

[aiki14]

I have posted here many times supporting the legalization of marijuana and in fact all drugs. Legalize it, Tax it, and make the penalties for abusing it (driving under the influence etc) severe.
Here's a link to my Blog post on the subject
http://www.onlinetradersforum.com/blog.php?b=72

And here's a website worth checking out on the subject.
www.leap.cc

[madcowdisease]

I have posted here many times supporting the legalization of marijuana and in fact all drugs. Legalize it, Tax it, and make the penalties for abusing it (driving under the influence etc) severe.
Here's a link to my Blog post on the subject
http://www.onlinetradersforum.com/blog.php?b=72

And here's a website worth checking out on the subject.
www.leap.cc

For most of my life I took a similar stance on legalization and regulation. In fact, for the average high school student it is easier to get a bag of pot than it is to get beer or liquer. It's painfully obvious the prohibition of marijuana does not have the desired effect -- at least the one that is publicly stated.

As with all issues if you want to get to the heart of the matter simply follow the money. Who is profiting from marijuana prohibition? Local law enforcement for one. They not only get to repossess personal property from citizens that they deem has been used to commit a drug offense (e.g. repo your house or car if used to grow, manufacture or transport drugs) but they are permitted to auction these seized properties to the highest bidder. In effect, we have law enforcement for profit.

Furthermore, local jurisdictions are given state and federal aide (e.g. monies) to "help" them combat the use, manufacture, and transportation fo illicit substances. Again, the more they go after the "bad guys" the more money they get in the form of assault weapons and armored vehicles. Have you ever seen the urban cammando gear SWAT teams use? 90% of the time this stuff is being used against non-violent drug offenders in raids rather than stopping a bank robbery or a perpetrator holding someone hostage.

But with that being said, I agree with the libertarian point of view that we, as free peoples of this great country, ought to be able to exercise freedoms and introduce into our bodies whatever we see fit so long as it doesn't harm others -- again you have to have strict DUI laws etc. However, I don't know that I endorse a 100% darwinian perspective that we ought to decriminalize everything and let natural selection take care of substance abusers.

I have nothing against marijuana, most opiates, and hallucinogens. The potential for abuse is pretty limited according to studies. In fact nicotine and caffeine have been found ot be more addictive. But the meth wave that is rushing over rural America is a serious problem. Full blown meth heads are a major problem and I am not sure I'm for making such a substance legal so that I might encounter one of these addicts in a public area. Nor do I want one working for me or with me. It is an extremely degenerative drug.

So, aiki, can there be a balance between full blown decriminalization and perhaps selecting a few subatances with limited abuse potential and intoxication?

[Wonder]

I got 10 Acres and ready to Grow. It would be nice to be a weed farmer to pay for my stocks.

[madcowdisease]

I got 10 Acres and ready to Grow. It would be nice to be a weed farmer to pay for my stocks.

I would suspect the decriminalization of cannabis would knock the price down considerably. One of the reasons all illicit substances command the inflated prices is the limiting of supply and the risk involved in the drug trade. Individuals need to be compensated for this risk and it is simply tacked on to the price. If cannabis were farmed like tobacco the price might plummet 10 fold or more. But this would still make it very profitable relative to other crops such as corn, wheat, and even tobacco.

[Wonder]

Lol, and I would have to compete with the Maui Waui and Kona Gold. I guess they would add Weed to the Liquor stores and you could buy the good stuff or the mexican if you were on a budget. :)

[aiki14]

So, aiki, can there be a balance between full blown decriminalization and perhaps selecting a few subatances with limited abuse potential and intoxication?

I think so. If a substance is so clearly dangerous that the public is in danger by it's very existence, then it would be sensible to consider prohibition. I grew out of the drug stage before the meth/crack era, so I would have to rely on the testimony of others to make a judgement.
I don't care about the level of intoxication, I was around in the days of real LSD and had friends in the design end of that business. I cannot imagine a level of intoxication that exceeds LSD, Peyote, or Psilocybin and I have first hand experience with all three. The only criteria I would employ is the potential for violence or property crime of the substance versus it's prohibition. As an example Heroin doesn't cause crime but the desire to obtain the drug at the prohibition resultant price does. If being under the influence of meth predisposes one to violence I would favor prohibition. This cannot seriously be said about Marijuana, Opiates, Hallucinogen's or Barbiturates.

I advocate a public health model versus a criminal model for the whole substance abuse matter. It would free up the enforcement people to dedicate their efforts to more logical pursuits.
The amount of money saved by switching to the public health model would be significant, and the ability of the public health system to effect meaningful results also would in my opinion be better than current methodologies.

[smartinvestor30]

I have posted here many times supporting the legalization of marijuana and in fact all drugs. Legalize it, Tax it, and make the penalties for abusing it (driving under the influence etc) severe.
Here's a link to my Blog post on the subject
http://www.onlinetradersforum.com/blog.php?b=72

And here's a website worth checking out on the subject.
www.leap.cc

Agreed. I have been for legalizing it myself for quite some time.

I feel the same way about Prostitution.

[jacobnbr1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oqmxKrd2VQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8lLdHV1Myk&feature=related