MedicalNeed
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The economic recovery from the financial crisis has finally reached the point where the last two pieces of the recovery puzzle are ready to be addressed. The recovery now needs to create jobs and reduce the deficit. It's hard to reduce the deficit when no one wants to cut their own benefits and services, neither will they accept increases in taxes. People are perfectly happy to cut others benefits but not their own. Therefore we must come up with a new source of revenue and dedicate the monies to the deficit and only the deficit.
California's Proposition 19, to be voted on this November, will tax and regulate marijuana the same as alcohol. Adult possession, use, sale and cultivation will be regulated as would any other commodity. California's tax regulator, the Board of Equalization estimates 1.4 billion dollars in revenue generated by Prop 19 yearly.
As far as jobs go, California's medical marijuana industry, after assurances that the Federal Government will not interfere in States that have medical marijuana laws, has taken off. After checking several websites that list medical marijuana dispensaries, I was able to come up with an average number of about 600 operating pharmacies employing an average of 30 employees. That amounts to about 18,000 jobs in the medical marijuana industry alone. The economic activity resulting from these jobs is in the billions of dollars. One wonders the number of jobs that will be created when Proposition 19 passes this fall.
Currently and finally the truth about marijuana is pushing the Feds to admit their position on marijuana being dangerous is all propaganda. The current Drug Czar, along with 5 former Drug Czars published an op/ed piece in a Los Angeles newspaper to rail against the Prop 19 ballot imitative. Their argument? Allow me to paraphrase, " It's ridiculous to think the Government will realize any revenue from marijuana because if it's legal people will simply grow their own. Oh, and what about the social costs of marijuana?' We might be able to take them seriously but these arguments are almost laughable. The billions being earned by the violent drug cartels in Mexico put the lie to the first claim right away. That and the fact that few people grow their own tobacco or make their own alcohol. The 'social costs' claim is debunked by statistics out of California. Sixteen years of medical marijuana have shown no increase in traffic accidents, domestic violence, or any other increase in crime resulting from the legal use of marijuana.
Legalizing marijuana will not 'save' the economy, but it sure could go a long way towards that end. It's time the Federal Government came to it's senses and does what is necessary to tap into this lucrative source of jobs and revenue. To continue the charade of marijuana prohibition in light of what we now know about marijuana is not just a waste of lives and tax dollars but a course of action bordering on the criminal.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:State-Journal.com - Marijuana and the Economic Recovery
Contact: State-Journal.com
Copyright: Frankfort Publishing Co., LLC 1995-2010
Website:State-Journal.com - Marijuana and the Economic Recovery
California's Proposition 19, to be voted on this November, will tax and regulate marijuana the same as alcohol. Adult possession, use, sale and cultivation will be regulated as would any other commodity. California's tax regulator, the Board of Equalization estimates 1.4 billion dollars in revenue generated by Prop 19 yearly.
As far as jobs go, California's medical marijuana industry, after assurances that the Federal Government will not interfere in States that have medical marijuana laws, has taken off. After checking several websites that list medical marijuana dispensaries, I was able to come up with an average number of about 600 operating pharmacies employing an average of 30 employees. That amounts to about 18,000 jobs in the medical marijuana industry alone. The economic activity resulting from these jobs is in the billions of dollars. One wonders the number of jobs that will be created when Proposition 19 passes this fall.
Currently and finally the truth about marijuana is pushing the Feds to admit their position on marijuana being dangerous is all propaganda. The current Drug Czar, along with 5 former Drug Czars published an op/ed piece in a Los Angeles newspaper to rail against the Prop 19 ballot imitative. Their argument? Allow me to paraphrase, " It's ridiculous to think the Government will realize any revenue from marijuana because if it's legal people will simply grow their own. Oh, and what about the social costs of marijuana?' We might be able to take them seriously but these arguments are almost laughable. The billions being earned by the violent drug cartels in Mexico put the lie to the first claim right away. That and the fact that few people grow their own tobacco or make their own alcohol. The 'social costs' claim is debunked by statistics out of California. Sixteen years of medical marijuana have shown no increase in traffic accidents, domestic violence, or any other increase in crime resulting from the legal use of marijuana.
Legalizing marijuana will not 'save' the economy, but it sure could go a long way towards that end. It's time the Federal Government came to it's senses and does what is necessary to tap into this lucrative source of jobs and revenue. To continue the charade of marijuana prohibition in light of what we now know about marijuana is not just a waste of lives and tax dollars but a course of action bordering on the criminal.
NewsHawk: MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source:State-Journal.com - Marijuana and the Economic Recovery
Contact: State-Journal.com
Copyright: Frankfort Publishing Co., LLC 1995-2010
Website:State-Journal.com - Marijuana and the Economic Recovery
