Pubdate: Mon, 16 Mar 2009
Source: Daily Collegian (PA Edu)
Copyright: 2009 Collegian Inc.
Contact:  http://www.collegian.psu.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/543
Author: Margaret Miceli
Note: Margaret Miceli is a junior majoring in English, media studies
and political science and is The Daily Collegian's Monday columnist.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA CAN HELP ECONOMY

Welcome back, Penn Staters. While you were gone, the locals crawled
out of their holes for one student-free week of revelry, the world
discovered we had a basketball team, and -- news flash -- we're still
in a recession.

As the recession continues to stick around, it seems clear that we
need some creative ways to raise revenue in failing states. One
California assemblyman should be applauded for an innovative,
forward-thinking way to raise money for the state government. The
legislator introduced a bill last month that would legalize marijuana
(only in California, sadly) and allow the state to regulate and tax
its sale. The federal government gave as close to a stamp of approval
as it ever does, with the U.S. attorney general announcing that states
should be able to make their own rules for medical marijuana, and that
federal raids on pot dispensaries in California, common under the past
administration, would stop.

There's no question that this move would raise a lot of money for the
cash-strapped state. California is one of 10 states allowing the sale
of medicinal marijuana, and marijuana is already California's biggest
cash crop, responsible for $14 billion a year in sales. The state's
tax collectors estimate the bill would bring in about $1.3 billion a
year in revenue via a $50-per-ounce levy on retail sales of marijuana
and sales taxes. One economist estimated the state would also save
about $1 billion per year by not arresting and imprisoning those
caught with small amounts of marijuana. But the proposed bill has met
with the usual objection from anti-marijuana activists, who claim the
legalization of marijuana would contribute to society's ills.

People seem to have a knee-jerk reaction against legalizing marijuana.
There's a perception that it's dangerous, that legalization will lead
to a country filled with bumbling idiots laying around on their
parents' couches watching Harold and Kumar go to White Castle. The
phrase "gateway drug" is thrown around a lot. I blame Nancy Reagan and
the "Just Say No" campaign, but a lot of the unjustified fear has to
do with the lack of substantive medical data on the dangers of
marijuana. It isn't clear, yet, how much damage smoking marijuana can
have on a person, though recent studies seem to show smoking in
moderation is much less harmful than '80s propaganda suggests.

What is clear is the state of California is in serious economic
trouble. Most recently, California's 1,000 K-12 school districts have
been instructed to absorb more than $8 billion in funding cuts over
the next year, leading to the recent issuance of layoff notices for
approximately 26,500 teachers and 15,000 bus drivers, janitors,
secretaries and administrators.

The $1.3 billion in revenue starts to sound a lot better when you
think of how many jobs it could save or how many public school
students could have teachers for another year. Gov. Ed Rendell
proposed something similar in Pennsylvania, legalizing video poker to
fund higher education tuition subsidies for needy students. I don't
think anyone thinks that legalizing marijuana and video poker are
great ideas, but when balanced against the alternative -- the decay of
public education and inability to afford higher education -- they may
become more attractive options.

Like all economic decisions, a cost-benefit analysis should be applied
to the legalization of marijuana and other vices. The possibility of
societal ills from the legalization of marijuana are minimal; the
American Medical Association has said the risk of addiction is low,
scientists can't tell if it has any adverse health risks besides the
risk of lung cancer, and it is impossible to die of THC poisoning
(though most marijuana-related deaths occur indirectly. Driving while
stoned, for instance). And since marijuana is already widely available
to Californians through both legal and illegal means, there wouldn't
necessarily be a sudden rush on stores if marijuana were legalized.

In the case of California and Pennsylvania, the benefits -- an
additional stream of revenue -- far outweigh any potential societal
ills. Without the extra money, California will suffer serious economic
troubles -- and as the country's most populous state, California's
ills affect the whole nation. Pennsylvania, like California, is also
in serious need of money. Regardless of your position on the
legalization of gambling and marijuana, the fact is that both states
need money -- and legalizing these vices are relatively low-impact
ways to get it.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin