Pubdate: Thu, 20 Sep 2012 Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ) Copyright: 2012 Associated Press Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/ Author: Kristen Wyatt MARIJUANA DEBATE CENTERS ON TAXES DENVER - A catchy pro-marijuana jingle for Colorado voters considering legalizing the drug goes like this: "Jobs for our people. Money for schools. Who could ask for more?" It's a bit more complicated than that in the three states - Colorado, Oregon and Washington - that could be the first to legalize marijuana. The debate over how much tax revenue that recreational marijuana laws could produce is playing an outsize role in the campaigns for and against legalization - and both sides concede they're not really sure what would happen. At one extreme, pro pot campaigners say it could prove a windfall for states with new taxes on pot and reduced criminal justice costs. At the other, state government skeptics warn legalization would lead to costly legal battles and expensive new bureaucracies to regulate marijuana. In all three states asking voters to decide whether residents can smoke pot, the proponents promise rewards, though estimates of tax revenue vary widely. "We all know there's a market for marijuana, but right now the profits are all going to drug cartels or underground," said Brian Vicente, a lawyer working for Colorado's Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. But there are questions about the projections, and since no state has legalized marijuana for anything but medical purposes, the actual result is anyone's guess. Among the problems: No one knows for certain how many people are buying black-market weed. No one knows how demand would change if marijuana were legal. No one knows how much prices would drop, or even what black-market pot smokers are paying now, though economists generally use a national estimate of $225 an ounce based on self-reported prices compiled online. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom