The Audacity of Dope. Could legal marijuana save California’s economy?
By
dragon poker
on February 17, 2009 at 06:53 pm
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.
read the rest here:
http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/02/11/audacity-dope
As was the case during the Great Depression, people will realize that prohibition is a waste of money we dont have. The upside to legalization far outweighs the downside. The feds will lift its draconian tactics that keep states and other countries in this prohibition farce. The natural result will be states deciding that legalization and taxation is smart and pragmatic. Like alcohol before it, pot will become mainstream(like its not now..ha!!) and generate billions for the states that choose sanity and the AMERICAN VALUES OF SELF DETERMINATION and PERSONAL FREEDOM over misplaced moral outrage and hypocrisy.
It sounds very nobel. It isnt. They really dont care if it is moral to throw folks in jail, disrupt lives, and ruin carreers for nothing. The truth is it will happen because it must happen. We cannot afford the drug war and pot is the biggest cash crop in the nation.
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.
read the rest here:
http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/02/11/audacity-dope
As was the case during the Great Depression, people will realize that prohibition is a waste of money we dont have. The upside to legalization far outweighs the downside. The feds will lift its draconian tactics that keep states and other countries in this prohibition farce. The natural result will be states deciding that legalization and taxation is smart and pragmatic. Like alcohol before it, pot will become mainstream(like its not now..ha!!) and generate billions for the states that choose sanity and the AMERICAN VALUES OF SELF DETERMINATION and PERSONAL FREEDOM over misplaced moral outrage and hypocrisy.
It sounds very nobel. It isnt. They really dont care if it is moral to throw folks in jail, disrupt lives, and ruin carreers for nothing. The truth is it will happen because it must happen. We cannot afford the drug war and pot is the biggest cash crop in the nation.
