Pot A Tax Windfall?

[unokitty]

From the ABC News Article:

... three states — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — ... could become the first to legalize marijuana this fall.

"We're like Star Trek. We're heading into a new world," said Art Way of the Drug Policy Alliance, answering tax questions recently posed by law students gathered at the University of Denver to learn about Colorado's initiative.

Anyone from Colorado, Oregon, or Washington able to comment on the likelihood of any of these initiatives succeeding?

Any other comments?

Three states voting on measures in the November election - seems political to me. Moved from OT.
admin allisolm

Uno

 

[Craig234]

Just that it would be a big financial benefit, between the savings on law enforcement and tax revenue. I think it's a bad idea to use it, but legalization has big benefits.

 

[Platypus]

You mean by legalizing something you should be free to do in your own home and not impact anyone else, ie the very definition of personal liberty, you can make a lot of much needed cash and at the same time take a huge swing at the black market and violence that crept up around it? Sounds like someone might have finally figured it out... but I wont hold my breath.

 

[TwiceOver]

I've always wondered, how will they define DUI? What is the legal limit? Etc...

 

[rivan]

They'll legalize it, but restrict growing to commercial producers

 

[drebo]

I've always wondered, how will they define DUI? What is the legal limit? Etc...

DWI is already there for situations other than alcohol.

 

[drebo]

Disclaimer: I've never smoked pot, nor do I have any desire to.

There's no good reason for pot to be illegal. In fact, what people do in the privacy of their own home is no business of the government.

Seriously, if it's not negatively affecting anyone else, why do we waste so many hundreds of billions of dollars trying to stop it?

 

[Ns1]

Seriously, if it's not negatively affecting anyone else, why do we waste so many hundreds of billions of dollars trying to stop it?

Because it's bad.


Why is it bad? because it's illegal.

 

[Platypus]

Seriously, if it's not negatively affecting anyone else, why do we waste so many hundreds of billions of dollars trying to stop it?

Because people never learn from history and because of all the jobs fighting a war on your own citizens yields.

 

[rivan]

Disclaimer: I've never smoked pot, nor do I have any desire to.

There's no good reason for pot to be illegal. In fact, what people do in the privacy of their own home is no business of the government.

Seriously, if it's not negatively affecting anyone else, why do we waste so many hundreds of billions of dollars trying to stop it?

This, almost exactly.

Except I've been stoned a handful of times, decades ago. In my opinion, it's absolutely absurd that marijuana is illegal.

 

[TwiceOver]

DWI is already there for situations other than alcohol.

And...? So cops will just "randomly" pull over stoner looking people and say "You are DWI" take a blood test that proves they smoked in the last 30-90 days and fill up the local jails.
!

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

From the ABC News Article:

... three states — Colorado, Oregon and Washington — ... could become the first to legalize marijuana this fall.

"We're like Star Trek. We're heading into a new world," said Art Way of the Drug Policy Alliance, answering tax questions recently posed by law students gathered at the University of Denver to learn about Colorado's initiative.

Anyone from Colorado, Oregon, or Washington able to comment on the likelihood of any of these initiatives succeeding?

Any other comments?

Uno

Apparently shitforbrains wasn't aware that marijuana used to be legal and taxed.

 

[MixMasterTang]

And...? So cops will just "randomly" pull over stoner looking people and say "You are DWI" take a blood test that proves they smoked in the last 30-90 days and fill up the local jails.
!

They don't "randomly" pull over drunk drivers (except in cases of check points), they pull over suspicious drivers who are swerving, etc. You can be connected of a DUI even without any sort of blood or breathe tests based on you failing the field sobriety tests.

 

[Ns1]

They don't "randomly" pull over drunk drivers (except in cases of check points), they pull over suspicious drivers who are swerving, etc.

No, they pull over any driver who they can (a busted brake light is not a suspicious driver, but they'll pull you over for the busted brake light to smell your breath)

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

They don't "randomly" pull over drunk drivers (except in cases of check points), they pull over suspicious drivers who are swerving, etc. You can be connected of a DUI even without any sort of blood or breathe tests based on you failing the field sobriety tests.

Also kills me that people think by blowing lower than a 0.08 that they aren't guilty. Nah man Imma fight it, I only blew a 0.06! See wasn't even drunk!

No shithead, it's just that 0.08 is an absolute threshold. You can get a DWI and blow a 0.01.

 

[TwiceOver]

They don't "randomly" pull over drunk drivers (except in cases of check points), they pull over suspicious drivers who are swerving, etc. You can be connected of a DUI even without any sort of blood or breathe tests based on you failing the field sobriety tests.

But I'm coming from the other way around. Someone driving perfectly getting pulled over with nothing on their side to prove their case. And if you don't think police pull people over based on profiling, you are living in some fantasy world run by leprechauns and unicorns.

 

[Vdubchaos]

With the amount of money this country WASTES on military and BS....what does it matter?

 

[Platypus]

With the amount of money this country WASTES on military and BS....what does it matter?

Yeah you're right, who cares about personal freedom?

 

[tydas]

Its the most curious issue..apparently, most polls say a majority of people favor decriminalization or even outright legalization...one can only think that other forces are at work to keep it illegal...

 

[bfdd]

It should be legal regardless, not legal so we can get tax money. That's some bogus shit right there and fuck taxes.

 

[Evadman]

In reality, it doesn't matter what states do because it is still illegal at the fed level. Instead of the state charging you, the feds show up at your door. Still just as arrested.

 

[Steeplerot]

This is exactly how they will pull it off, give phillip morris and the big tobacco the rights to exclusively grow the stuff and lower the THC to nothing.

Add in tobacco to get people addicted and tax the hell out of it. Pot problem solved. Profit!

In reality it will be even worse as the gov will crack down on the inevitable black market of real weed even worse for messing with the governmental $$$ flow.

Pot legalization is a double edged sword. As they say: Buyer beware.

 

[bfdd]

This is exactly how they will pull it off, give phillip morris and the big tobacco rights to grow the stuff lower the THC to nothing. Add tobacco to get people addicted government and get boatloads of tax money. Pot problem solved. Profit!

In reality it will be even worse as the gov will crack down on the black market of real weed even worse for messing with the governmental $$$.

Why we need the Government to get the fuck out of picking winners and losers. We've lost over 10,000 jobs in California due to the Federal Crackdown and the pressure they're putting on our State and counties. It's starting to move back underground, some of the people I trim crops for and others are now moving to pushing it on the street again through those distribution channels because the profits are bigger and there's less risk.

 

[Steeplerot]

Why we need the Government to get the fuck out of picking winners and losers.

Meh, capitalism is too self destructive to work on its own in downward cycles it creates without imploding. Sad thing is the government side of regulation and accountability is supposed to be in our hands. But then we have a utterly apathetic voting base with a Democracy bought out by the corporations. You get the Democracy you deserve. And its obvious how much we care for it. Almost none at all, which is how we got here.

It's so far gone now the corporations own the message lock stock and barrel, this is why the think tank endless propaganda from Foxnews and talk radio always endless repeats "government can never be useful -so just let US run things."

In a way they are right, we have totally dropped the ball on Democracy and SOMEONE has to fill the power vacuum once held by we the people.

Just giving up like corporate fed think tank fed right wingers message says and tossing the whole "government for the people by the people" is not the answer. For the corporations OR us. The two are not opposed to one another, but need one another to grow.

We have a serious dysfunction going on, and really, its our fault as a public to have let it happen.

 

[hal2kilo]

I've always wondered, how will they define DUI? What is the legal limit? Etc...

Unfortunately, that's where things get complicated. Have to rely on reaction/response time video game like device to determine impairment. Blood levels won't work.