Pubdate: Wed, 8 Dec 2010
Source: Mill Creek Enterprise (WA)
Copyright: 2010 The Enterprise Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.enterprisenewspapers.com/section/ETPZoneMC
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/4972
Author: Darral Good

WE MUST LEARN LESSON FROM PROHIBITION

George Washington said: "Make the most of the Indian hemp seed and 
sow it everywhere." The current prohibition on marijuana consumption 
exactly parallels the 1920s alcohol prohibition.

Every year, a widely consumed illegal substance makes potential 
criminals of millions and actual criminals of hundreds of thousands. 
And like booze during Prohibition, this substance, marijuana, is the 
easy revenue of organized crime, contributing tens of billions of 
dollars to growers, who commit a variety of bad acts both at home and abroad.

How much money is made from this single substance? Nobody knows for 
sure. "Illegal" means hard data are difficult to come by. We do know, 
however, that according to recent figures, U.S. consumers number 
anywhere from 25 million to 60 million (depending on how likely 
survey respondents are to tell the whole truth), and at an average 
cost of $5 per cigarette (and factoring in one per day for each 
user), total spending on marijuana may add up to $45 billion to $110 
billion a year.

What about possible tax revenue? From Canada we've learned that the 
production cost of (government-sponsored) marijuana is roughly 33 
cents a gram. Currently, U.S. marijuana consumers pay at least $10 
per gram for illegal marijuana. If the cost of retailing and 
distribution is the same as for legal tobacco cigarettes, about 10 
cents a gram, then selling the (legal) product at exactly the same 
price as on the street today ($10 per gram) could raise $40 billion 
to $100 billion in new revenue. Not chump change. Government would 
simply be transferring revenue from organized crime to the public purse.

The existence of the California referendum shows support is growing 
to decriminalize marijuana. Even though the referendum failed this 
year, it serves as a signal that the United States is looking toward 
a future that doesn't repeat the mistakes of the past.

Darral Good

Shoreline 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake