Pubdate: Sat, 10 Nov 2012 Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB) Copyright: 2012 The Edmonton Journal Contact: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134 Author: Gary Lamphier TAX REVENUES GOING UP IN SMOKE B.C. Should Legalize Bud EDMONTON - Like the voters in two U.S. states, I'm in favour of legalizing marijuana. As a business columnist, you may wonder why I'm even writing about this topic. Well, consider this: In British Columbia, marijuana sales are believed to exceed $6 billion a year - more than twice the size of the province's top forest products company, and eight times larger than B.C.'s largest high-tech company. Simply put, selling weed is a big industry - one that happens to be illegal. But before I delve into the economics, let me explain where I'm coming from. I'm hardly a regular toker. I'm a fiscally conservative grandad who would rather quaff a brew than fire up a joint. My idea of a big night out is dinner and a movie - not smoking a bong with a bunch of potheads. Like most people, I believe heavy use of weed is a bad thing. Comics like Cheech and Chong played the role of chronic pot users for laughs, but there's little to admire about mega-tokers in real life. They're conspicuously dull, unmotivated, unreliable and unfocused. Nonetheless, for most people, based on all the evidence I've seen, recreational marijuana use is no more toxic than enjoying a beer or a glass of wine - activities that our society actively encourages and profits from. Moreover, the economic arguments for legalizing weed have become too compelling to ignore. With governments everywhere facing crushing deficits, we can no longer afford to waste precious public funds in a misguided effort to turn recreational pot users into criminals. Like alcohol prohibition in the 1920s, our ban on marijuana has only led to death and destruction. It has fuelled a multi-billion-dollar cash industry run by violent drug gangs, and created a perverse pop subculture - one celebrated in endless music videos - that glorifies the supposedly glam lifestyle of big-time dealers. For me, the tipping point in this decades-long debate came Tuesday. Although medical marijuana has long been available in many U.S. states, voters in Washington and Colorado backed the recreational use of pot, making them the first states to do so. Washington will allow those aged 21 and older to buy up to an ounce (or 28.3 grams) of marijuana from a state-licensed retailer. Additionally, Colorado's measure permits a user to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal consumption. Don't expect weed to be freely available in these states anytime soon, however. Since it remains illegal under federal law - specifically, the Controlled Substances Act - watch for the U.S. Justice Department to fight the pro-legalization push in the months ahead. Still, popular opinion is clearly turning in favour of legalizing pot - - not only in the U.S., but in B.C., where illegal grow ops number in the tens of thousands, and drug-related gang shootings have become commonplace, not only in Vancouver but in the distant suburbs. In fact, the B.C. Bud industry is so big, and organized criminal networks have become so entrenched in the West Coast's social fabric, that Vancouver has become a key hub in the global drug trade. Yet not a single dollar of those illicit profits is taxed, and there is virtually no economic research available on what kind of impact all those illegal profits have had on such things as Vancouver's sky-high real estate prices, or sales of the kind of high-end luxury vehicles favoured by dealers. On an anecdotal basis, at least, it's pretty clear that a lot of drug money has indeed flowed into B.C.'s regular economy. Which may help explain why reported income levels in Vancouver are well below those in Edmonton, even though average house prices are double those of Alberta's capital city. By legalizing, regulating and taxing pot, the B.C. government - like those of Colorado and Washington - would not only threaten the drug gangs' key source of revenue, but open up a major new source of tax revenues. Surely, that's one of the reasons why voters in Washington state chose to support the legalization of marijuana on Tuesday. According to Bloomberg News, Washington's Office of Financial Management estimates that the state could generate as much as $1.9 billion US in new revenues over the next five fiscal years. West Coasters love to slam "dirty" oil. Perhaps it's time for them to capitalize on all the dirty money in their own backyard. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom