Ok, so here goes. My first diary attempt, which hopefully doesn't fail.
Prohibition of alcohol in the early 20th century was an abysmal failure- the record on that is pretty clear (although, boot-legging led, eventually, to John Kennedy, but I digress). Despite this, the United States continues to outlaw marijuana, and enforces stiff penalties on offenders. Why? By rethinking this stance, could we stave off economic ruin?
Join me below the break, and let's pass some ideas around (to the left, of course)
Prohibition was a little experiment tried in this country at the turn of the 20th century, although the Temperance movement has it's roots in the Great Awakening of the 19th century. Outlawing the sauce did nothing to stop the consumption of said spirits, and merely sent the entire industry under ground. People, as it turns out, really like to have a good time.
In spite of this, little old marijuana has been illegal for nearly a century. I'll spare you the history, as I'm fairly certain those concerned enough to read my thoughts here are familiar enough with it- but a plant which was described during the Great Depression as a potential billion dollar industry (popular mechanics, fyi- I don't know the dates, etc) remains under ground.
Crises, like the economic one we face right now, should be a time for innovative thinking. That being said, could we avert economic ruin by not just decriminalizing, but by going all the way and legalizing marijuana?
**disclaimer** the next section is pure conjecture on my part, unfounded in any kind of actual statistical study. If there is a study out there on this, please, put a link in the comments.
These are tough times. Belt-tightening times. Money, apparently, is short. I submit that by legalizing and regulating marijuana, we could save America.
There are two angles to look at this from. First, let's tackle money saved. Right off the bat, incarceration costs big money. Stop jailing and imprisoning non-violent marijuana offenders, and how many cells open up; and therfore how much money do we save? Next, there are court costs to account for. Trials take time, and lots of money. Lawyers and judges are well paid- not to mention stenographers, balifs, court staff, etc. Stop prosecuting non-violent marijuana offenders, and there's more money (and more importantly, time) for the courts saved. Enforcing marijuana laws takes time and resources away from law enforcement- time and resources which could go towards stopping that next big terror attack- which, incidentally, will never be hatched by stoners. Just not enough focus to get that kind of plan off the ground.
So, right away, we're saving money all over the place. However, these savings could all be accomplished by mere decriminalization. The real financial pay off comes from full on legalization, and regulation.
First, someone is going to need to grow the stuff. That means they have to own the land- boom, property taxes for the local coffers. They're going to need people to farm, and harvest it: bingo! jobs created, income taxes collected for the state and federal governments. Someone is going to need to process the stuff. That requires factories (more property tax revenue, jobs). It's got to be packaged, shipped, advertised. In short, an entire corporate structure would be established- and there are corporate taxes to be paid there. If any of these corporate entities grow large enough to be publicly trades, lots of people could be paying capital gains taxes, etc.
This creates a diverse range of jobs, from seasonal harvester to corporate exec- all of whom will have to pay taxes. Finally, a tax akin to the tobacco or alcohol tax could be added to consumption, adding yet more money to government coffers. This business model already exists: tobacco. I'm willing to bet phillip-morris has a plan in a drawer somewhere set this up, when the time comes.
As consumers, we also stand to benefit. Rather than paying black market prices to cartels who can control the costs, the beauty of free markets would invariably drive the cost down by encouraging companies to sell me the best quality grass possible for the lowest possible price.
So, we can create jobs, add much needed tax revenue to the system, and pay less for tree all at the same time. This is a plant which can be grown domestically, and has many uses besides smoking. I wonder, what could the net economic effect be? How many jobs, and how much tax revenue could we spread across the system? I don't know, but I suspect it would be a lot.
Anywhoo, that's my spiel. I hope it was a thoughtful read. Suggestions? Comments? Please, I welcome them.