Pubdate: Fri, 21 Aug 2015
Source: Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ)
Copyright: 2015 The Arizona Republic
Contact: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html
Website: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/24

$40 MILLION FROM POT FOR SCHOOLS? UM, NO WAY

How not to launch a campaign: with a lie. Yet that's what one set of 
advocates for legalized marijuana did this week. They staged an 
elaborate event on the state Capitol lawn to claim that taxing 
marijuana sales would pump $40 million into education. They even had 
a massive check made out to "Arizona Schools" for that amount. 
(Here's hoping no one was puffing enough to try to deposit that thing.)

The campaign's chairman, J.P. Holyoak, asserted that legalizing 
marijuana would be "for the benefit of education and public-health 
care." What bunk. That $40 million figure is pulled out of thin air. 
It is belied by the experience of states that jumped into this 
ill-begotten experiment. The Colorado initiative that legalized pot, 
for instance, promises the first $40 million each year will help pay 
for school construction. The tax generated $13.3 million last year, 
and might - might - reach $20 million this year.

That won't build one high school. It might buy a few roof 
replacements, a few boilers. But it's a pittance.

There's an honest debate to be had about the benefits and dangers of 
legalizing recreational marijuana. We believe the dangers of making 
pot more available to children outweigh the benefits of taking the 
market away from cartels, but others may disagree. That's the honest debate.

Maybe the advocates don't think they can win that one. So they claim 
they're doing this for education, and trot out an outlandish figure.

Saying a pot tax will help schools may be smart politics. Voters want 
to support the schools, so tug at the heart strings.

But saying it doesn't make it real. It's not smart campaigning to 
come out of the starting gate with fake numbers so easily dismantled.

Legalized marijuana will do no more for education than pulling a few 
coins out of the sofa cushions. It's a lie to suggest anything else.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom