Pubdate: Thu, 02 Feb 2012
Source: Roanoke Times (VA)
Copyright: 2012 Roanoke Times
Contact:  http://www.roanoke.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/368
Author: Robert Sharpe
Note: Sharpe is a board member of the Virginia chapter of the 
National Organization for the Reform Marijuana Laws

LEGALIZE MARIJUANA AND DRUG DEALERS LOSE

One of the most progressive marijuana resolutions in the nation was 
recently introduced in the 2012 Virginia General Assembly session. 
Sponsored by Del. David Englin, D-Alexandria, HJ 140 would establish 
a subcommittee to study the revenue impact of legalizing and selling 
marijuana through Virginia ABC stores. Virginia's state-run liquor 
stores generated $121million in profits last year. How much revenue 
would legalizing marijuana generate? Who stands to lose and who 
stands to gain? These are questions worth answering.

Crunching the numbers is easily done. Legalizing marijuana would 
generate at least $208 million in net revenue annually. That's a 
conservative estimate. It's based on 6.5 percent of Virginia adults 
admitting to past-month use in the most recent federal survey. That 
amounts to 520,000 regular users out of an 8million population. 
Assumptions include negligible start-up costs for existing ABC 
stores, no advertising, no out-of-state sales and users generating an 
average $400 in revenue. Total revenue could be much higher. 
Government surveys undercount illicit drug use; many people won't 
admit to criminal behavior.

ABC store pricing could be set based on what the market will bear, 
which is quite a lot for marijuana. Top quality marijuana costs 
upward of $350 an ounce. If legal, marijuana would be no more 
valuable than any other agricultural commodity. Imagine paying $350 
for a tomato. Mexican drug cartels and indoor domestic growers could 
not compete with Virginia farmers. ABC stores would need to price 
marijuana low enough to undercut cartels and discourage home 
cultivation, but high enough to generate revenue.

Legislators eager to maximize revenue cannot count on increased 
marijuana use. There is no correlation between criminal penalties and 
rates of use. Dutch rates of marijuana use are half U.S. rates, 
despite legal marijuana in the Netherlands. Baby boomers who put the 
marijuana pipe down years ago might pick it up again. Kids would find 
it harder to obtain. Marijuana prohibition has created a 
youth-oriented black market. Unlike Virginia ABC stores, illegal drug 
dealers don't ID for age.

Drug dealers are the big losers under legalization. Taxing and 
regulating marijuana would render the drug war obsolete. As long as 
marijuana distribution is controlled by organized crime, consumers 
will come into contact with hard drugs like meth, cocaine and heroin. 
This "gateway" is a direct result of marijuana prohibition. Taxpayers 
are the big winners. Add increased public safety to the $208million 
revenue boost.

At present, 6 percent of all Virginia arrests are for marijuana 
offenses. Police time spent arresting marijuana offenders is police 
time not spent arresting child molesters, rapists and murderers. Drug 
warriors are quick to point out that the illegal marijuana trade is 
linked to violence. Like the gateway effect, this violence is a 
result of marijuana prohibition. Almost 50,000 people have been 
killed in Mexico's drug wars over the last five years.

With alcohol prohibition repealed, liquor suppliers no longer wage 
violent turf battles. While marijuana prohibition is equally deadly, 
the plant itself is relatively harmless. Unlike alcohol, marijuana 
has never been shown to cause an overdose death. A recent study 
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found no 
evidence that marijuana harms lung function. If health outcomes 
determined drug laws instead of cultural norms, marijuana would be legal.

Decades after government anti-marijuana propaganda first piqued 
interest in an American public that had never heard of marijuana, 
much less smoked it, marijuana is officially mainstream. One-third of 
Virginia residents ages 18 to 25 used marijuana in the past year. 
Marijuana prohibition is the epitome of government failure. Virginia 
legislators need to hear from their constituents. Criminalizing 
citizens who prefer marijuana to martinis is not an appropriate role 
for government. If the people lead, politicians will follow.

By Robert Sharpe
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom