Quote:
Originally Posted by romansh  The way I see it, there are several ways illegal grass impacts taxes at the moment.
1) enforcing the law and the policing the criminal activity that results fom MJ.
2) loss of people's motivation and increasing the resultant social costs.
3) health costs
There are likely more...
Legalizing MJ will minimize the first one and likely increase the second.
Regarding the third this will bring forward costs as people get sick earlier and die earlier. (The first and last years of our life tend to be the most expensive).
But on average may be a cost savings ...... who knows? Just curious are people who smoke grass more likely to smoke tobacco products.... if so then won't be big deal.
Does anyone have any actual data.
I just can't help rationalizing that decriminalizing marijuanna is the very last thing the criminal element wants.
Is that a tomato plant I see growing in your window? |
What Specifically do you mean as far as point number 2? Is it that people who get high are too unmotivated to work and therefore will go on welfare? From what I heard, welfare has been reformed. Besides, all of the people I know who "party" are hard working individuals that enjoy it on their own free time. As far as the unmotivated slacker stoner stereotype portrayed in the media, I knew of some of them back in high school but they werent representative of the general "partying" population. And BTW that stereotype mostly represents the adolescent aged stoner. Even many of those guys change significantly when the reality of having to work for a living kicks them in the ass. The best way to prevent adolescents from smoking pot is to make it legal for 21 year olds and up. Its black market unregulated illegal status makes it much easier for adolescents to score weed than it is to buy alcohol.
I have the same question for point number 3. What health costs? How does marijuana intoxication make one ill? I agree that inhaling smoke is not good for you, however, most people inhale 2 or 3 puffs of weed max at a time whereas a cigarette smoker will inhale 20 puffs of smoke from one cigarette. This makes any lung damage from weed negligible to non exixtent. What are the health costs besides this negligible lung damage (which by the way can be avoided altogether by using vaporizer devices and by eating it)?
GX