Pubdate: Wed, 20 Jul 2005
Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)
Copyright: 2005 San Francisco Examiner
Contact:  http://www.examiner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/389
Author: Ronald Fraser
Note: Ronald Fraser, Ph.D., writes on public policy issues for the 
DKT Liberty Project, a Washington, D.C.-based civil liberties organization.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Cannabis - California)

TIME FOR A MARIJUANA SALES TAX

Californians spend about $981 million each year to enforce state and 
local marijuana laws. What are these taxpayers getting for their 
money? Not much, according to a recent study.

Jon B. Gettman, a senior fellow at George Mason University's School 
of Public Policy, prepared the study, titled "Crimes of Indiscretion: 
Marijuana Arrests in the United States," for the National 
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

"Marijuana arrests," says Gettman, "are instruments of a 
supply-reduction policy. But, he adds, "The doubling of marijuana 
arrests in the 1990s has produced the opposite of the intended effect 
in every major indicator. An increase in arrests should produce a 
reduction in use and the availability of marijuana. However, during 
the 1990s both use and availability of marijuana increased."

Marijuana possession arrests in the U.S. totaled 260,000 in 1990. By 
2003, that figure topped 662,000.

Even failed public policies, however, can cost a bundle.

Who pays: Californians are, in effect, paying for Washington's 
marijuana prohibition policies.

Boston University economics professor Jeffrey A. Miron estimates that 
nationally, state and local officials spend about $5 billion per year 
enforcing marijuana laws. California's share of this 
multibillion-dollar handout to Uncle Sam includes $228 million for 
police services, $682 million for judicial services and $71 million 
for correctional services.

Individual costs: The thousands of people arrested on marijuana 
possession charges in California each year -- especially teenagers -- 
pay extra. "Marijuana arrests," Gettman stresses, "make criminals out 
of otherwise law-abiding citizens. Indeed, the primary consequence of 
marijuana arrests is the introduction of hundreds of thousands of 
young people into the criminal justice system."

Once a teenager has a criminal record, a number of other penalties 
often follow. In California, for example, employers can ask job 
applicants about arrests leading to a conviction, and a criminal 
record may bar a person from public housing.

Taking a close look at marijuana arrest patterns, Gettman notes that 
young people are disproportionately targeted. "The brunt of marijuana 
law enforcement," he says, "falls on both adolescents and the 
youngest adults -- on teenagers. Nationally, almost 17 percent of all 
persons arrested for possession of marijuana were between 15 and 17 
years old. Another 26 percent were age 18-20."

Marijuana use: And what do Californians get for these financial and 
personal costs? In 2002, there were 47,988 marijuana possession 
arrests in California compared to 37,246 such arrests in 1995. But 
the number of users keeps going up. While 6.0 percent of California's 
population was estimated to be monthly users in 1999, in 2002 the 
estimate stood at 6.8 percent.

Nationally, monthly users went from 4.9 percent in 1999 to 6.2 percent in 2002.

The basic problem, says Gettman, is that "overall supply of marijuana 
in the U.S. is far too diversified to be controlled by law enforcement."

If the current marijuana policies are both costly and ineffective, 
what is the next best strategy? Because marijuana is so widely used, 
Gettman recommends treating marijuana like a pharmaceutical product 
subject to Federal Drug Administration testing and regulatory requirements.

By shifting to a policy that treats and taxes marijuana like tobacco 
and alcohol, Californians could gain the following benefits: a 
decrease in illegal activities surrounding drug sales; government 
control of marijuana quality; better control of underage access to 
marijuana; and the removal of the profit motive that attracts 
sellers, including a substantial number of teenage sellers who most 
frequently supply other teenagers.

On top of that, Miron estimates a marijuana sales tax would replace 
the $981 million a year California taxpayers are now spending to 
enforce unenforceable laws, with a new revenue pipeline bringing in 
$96 million a year.
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MAP posted-by: Beth