California slapping high taxes on marijuana

[a425couple]

California slapping high taxes on marijuana, causing sticker shock for some

(This appears to me to be a ridiculously bad idea.
One of the main advantages of making marijuana & THC edibles
a regulated legal business, is to eliminate the profit for
illegal drug dealers. Making the legal and above ground regulated
product expensive, goes back to just continue the criminal
element's involvement and profit.
If the voters chose & voted to make it legal, quit trying
prohibition by way of unreasonable taxation.)

The taxes could influence where the marijuana is grown and how edibles
are produced.(Nov. 6, 2017)
Associated Press
California’s legal marijuana marketplace is coming with a kaleidoscope
of new taxes and fees that could influence where it’s grown, how pot
cookies and other munchies are produced and the price tag on just about
everything.

Be ready for sticker shock.

RELATED: Will high taxes allow black market in pot to thrive?

On a retail level, it costs about $35 to buy a small bag of good quality
medical marijuana in Los Angeles, enough to roll five or six joints.

Brennan Linsley / Associated Press
But in 2018, when recreational sales take hold and additional taxes kick
in, the cost of that same purchase in the new market is expected to
increase at the retail counter to $50 or $60.

At the high end, that’s about a 70% jump.

RELATED: Veteran pot growers see the end of a way of life

Medical pot purchases are expected to rise in cost too, but not as
steeply, industry experts say.

Or consider cannabis leaves, a sort of bottom-shelf product that comes
from trimming prized plant buds. The loose, snipped leaves are typically
gathered up and processed for use in cannabis-laced foods, ointments,
concentrates and candies.

Growers sell a trash bag stuffed with clippings to manufacturers for
about $50. But come January, the state will tax those leaves at $44 a pound.

That means the tax payment on a bag holding 7 or 8 pounds would exceed
the current market price by five or six times, forcing a huge price hike
or, more likely, rendering it essentially valueless.

“All it would become is compost,” predicted Ryan Jennemann of THC Design
in Los Angeles, whose company has used the leaves to manufacture
concentrated oils.

Governments struggling to keep up with the cost of everything from
worker pensions to paving streets are eager for the cascade of new tax
money from commercial pot sales that could eventually top $1 billion
statewide.

But higher taxes for businesses and consumers give the state’s thriving
illicit market a built-in advantage. Operators in the legal market have
been urging regulators to be aggressive about shutting down rogue operators.

Donnie Anderson, a Los Angeles medical cultivator and retailer,
predicted the higher level of state taxation next year is “just going to
help the illicit market thrive.” He said more needs to be done to cut
the cost, especially for medical users, many of whom won’t be able to
absorb a price jump.

The increased tax rates are just one part of California’s sprawling plan
to transform its long-standing medical and illegal markets into a
multibillion-dollar regulated economy, the nation’s largest legal pot
shop. The reshaping of such an expansive illegal economy into a legal
one hasn’t been witnessed since the end of Prohibition in 1933.

The change has come haltingly. Many cities are unlikely to be ready by
Jan. 1 to issue business licenses, which are needed to operate in the
new market, while big gaps remain in the system intended to move
cannabis from the field to distribution centers, then to testing labs
and eventually retail shops.

The path to legalization began last year when voters approved
Proposition 64, which opened the way for recreational pot sales to
adults. Medical marijuana has been legal in California for about two
decades.

Come January, state taxes will include a 15% levy on purchases of all
cannabis and cannabis products, including medical pot.

Local governments are free to slap on taxes on sales and growing too,
and that has created a confusing patchwork of rates that vary city to
city, county to county.

In the agricultural hub of Salinas, southeast of San Francisco, voters
approved a tax that will eventually rise to $25 a square foot for space
used to cultivate the leafy plants, a rate that’s equivalent to about $1
million an acre.

But farther north, in the pot-growing mecca of Humboldt County, rates
will be a comparative bargain, ranging from $1 to $3 for a square foot
for cultivation space.

By some estimates Humboldt County has up to 15,000 unregulated pot
grows, and Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said he was eager to fashion a tax
scheme that would encourage cultivators to come into the legal system
and adhere to environmental regulations.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-pot-tax-20171105-story.html

[Siri Cruise]

Post by a425couple
California slapping high taxes on marijuana, causing sticker shock for some

Just like cigarettes and alcohol.

Post by a425couple
(This appears to me to be a ridiculously bad idea.
One of the main advantages of making marijuana & THC edibles
a regulated legal business, is to eliminate the profit for
illegal drug dealers. Making the legal and above ground regulated

There's not much of black market in cigarettes and alcohol, at least in
California. The taxes are high, but it's still cheap enough to discourage the
hassle of evading the taxes. Legal competition drives down pre-tax prices. And
the product is subject to inspection and safety rules so you don't have to fret
over paraquoit.

[Ik@r]

Post by Siri Cruise

Post by a425couple
California slapping high taxes on marijuana, causing sticker shock for some

Just like cigarettes and alcohol.

Post by a425couple
(This appears to me to be a ridiculously bad idea.
One of the main advantages of making marijuana & THC edibles
a regulated legal business, is to eliminate the profit for
illegal drug dealers. Making the legal and above ground regulated

There's not much of black market in cigarettes and alcohol, at least in
California.

Lying meth whore!


http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/tobacco/articles/cigarette-taxes-fuel-black-market-sales

Cigarette Taxes Fuel Black Market Sales
NACS' Beckwith outlines how tax increases negatively affect tobacco
control efforts

While 2012 was a relatively mild year in terms of cigarette and tobacco
tax increases, 2013 is shaping up to be significantly more treacherous:
President Obama has proposed a 94-cent-per-pack increase to the federal
excise tax; a variety of states--including Vermont, Minnesota and
California--are following suit with proposals to raise state taxes on
cigarettes by anything from 80-cents-per-pack (Vermont) to $2-per-pack
(California). The argument for such increases typically comes down to
two points: funding both federal and state budgets and lowering smoking
rates.

Yet, data suggests that drastic increases to cigarette excise taxes can
actually damage both the budgets and smoking rates they intend to aid.
Lyle Beckwith, NACS' senior vice president of government relations, made
an argument about the link between higher cigarette taxes and black
market sales in an op-ed for USA Today.

"There is a direct correlation between increased excise taxes and black
market sales," said Beckwith, citing a 2010 report by the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "Tax hikes have caused a
nationwide black market for cheap illicit cigarettes. That has led to
contraband cigarettes robbing state and federal governments of more than
$5 billion in taxes--about 16% of total federal and state cigarette
excise taxes collected annually."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/california-approves-tax-increase-cigarettes-063635443--finance.html

(Reuters) - California voters on Tuesday approved significant tax
increases on cigarettes and vaping devices, but similar measures fell
short in Colorado, North Dakota and Missouri.

California's Proposition 56 will increase taxes on a pack of cigarettes
from 87 cents to $2.87, bringing it more in line with other states. The
measure also sets a tax on electronic cigarettes.

https://www.redstate.com/diary/cringinghere/2013/10/25/all-california-will-get-with-higher-cigarette-taxes-is-more-crime/

Rumors are once again rumbling in the cash-starved, big spenders in
California’s legislature to raise tobacco taxes. But does this work?
History says that not only does the tax hike rarely bring in more money
to the state the hike also causes more crime as criminals move in with
black market good s at cheaper prices.

Once again the denizens of Sacramento are looking to a huge hike in
taxes. Earlier this year Senator Kevin de Leon floated a scheme to raise
taxes by two dollars a pack for cigarettes.

Democrats claim that this will bring in millions of dollars in new taxes
a year but other states have tried this and found that instead of
bringing in what legislators thought would come in all they got was more
black market crimes and cigarette smuggling.

In 2012, for instance, the State of New York raised cigarette taxes yet
still had a $130 million shortfall. The new taxes did not bring in what
Empire State legislators projected.

But this is the least of the problems that large hikes in tobacco taxes
bring to a state. The biggest problem is that it also brings a hike in
crime.


TRENDING
How Bad Is 2017? Bourbon Has Become a Political Casualty!
Brad Slager

Recently the Los Angeles Times posted the news that a new report shows
that at $5.84 per pack, one in five packs of cigarettes sold in
California were smuggled into the state and sold without the legally
assessed taxes.

Worse, the report says that, “Raising the price to nearly $8 would
almost double the smuggling rate to 39%, about 440 million cigarettes a
year, the study says.”

The report was conducted by Andrew Chang & Company and titled, “The
State and Local Impact of Tobacco Prices on Smuggling and Black Market
Tobacco Sales.”

The report paints a very dangerous picture illustrating a hike in crime
and other problems.

One finding says that, “By failing to account for smuggling, proponents
overestimate tax revenue from tobacco products by $500 million annually
due to smuggling caused by the tax increase.”

It also points out that a tax increase will likely have the “unintended
consequence of increasing organized crime in California.”

The report also says that while crime will increase throughout the
state, “the burden of increased crime would fall on Los Angeles County
and the Bay Area.”

Then there are the other economic consequences.

[Al Czervik]

Post by Siri Cruise

Post by a425couple
California slapping high taxes on marijuana, causing sticker shock for some

Just like cigarettes and alcohol.

Post by a425couple
(This appears to me to be a ridiculously bad idea.
One of the main advantages of making marijuana & THC edibles
a regulated legal business, is to eliminate the profit for
illegal drug dealers. Making the legal and above ground regulated

There's not much of black market in cigarettes and alcohol, at least in
California. The taxes are high

Not for Alcohol - not as long as Moon Beam is governor. The tax on a
bottle Don Julio 1942 at Total Wine in Sacramento is $9.57 (total price
$133). In Seattle the tax is $29.72 (total price $175).

I bought that bottle at Costco in Cabo for $62.

The tax on pot in Washington is high enough not to kill the black market.

The difference between pot and tobacco is pot can be grown anywhere and
tobacco cannot.


---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

[a425couple]

Post by Al Czervik

Post by Siri Cruise

Post by a425couple
California slapping high taxes on marijuana, causing sticker shock for some

Just like cigarettes and alcohol.

Post by a425couple
(This appears to me to be a ridiculously bad idea.
One of the main advantages of making marijuana & THC edibles
a regulated legal business, is to eliminate the profit for
illegal drug dealers. Making the legal and above ground regulated

There's not much of black market in cigarettes and alcohol, at least in
California. The taxes are high

Not for Alcohol - not as long as Moon Beam is governor. The tax on a
bottle Don Julio 1942 at Total Wine in Sacramento is $9.57 (total price
$133). In Seattle the tax is $29.72 (total price $175).
I bought that bottle at Costco in Cabo for $62.
The tax on pot in Washington is high enough not to kill the black market.

That is correct.
The Washington tax on pot & THC is IMHO too high.
It still allows the 'black market' or illegal pot trade
to make enough of a profit to be worth doing.

However, it is not too far from reasonable.

To explain a bit:
The Washington defined single dose of edible THC is 10 mg.
The local shops quite commonly sell a package of 10 doses
of 10 mg THC, for $30.
For many, the advantages of clean, sanitary, above board,
& legal, make the cost at legal shops acceptable.

[Al Czervik]

Post by a425couple

Post by Al Czervik

Post by Siri Cruise

Post by a425couple
California slapping high taxes on marijuana, causing sticker shock for some

Just like cigarettes and alcohol.

Post by a425couple
(This appears to me to be a ridiculously bad idea.
One of the main advantages of making marijuana & THC edibles
a regulated legal business, is to eliminate the profit for
illegal drug dealers. Making the legal and above ground regulated

There's not much of black market in cigarettes and alcohol, at least in
California. The taxes are high

Not for Alcohol - not as long as Moon Beam is governor. The tax on a
bottle Don Julio 1942 at Total Wine in Sacramento is $9.57 (total
price $133). In Seattle the tax is $29.72 (total price $175).
I bought that bottle at Costco in Cabo for $62.
The tax on pot in Washington is high enough not to kill the black market.

That is correct.
The Washington tax on pot & THC is IMHO too high.
It still allows the 'black market' or illegal pot trade
to make enough of a profit to be worth doing.
However, it is not too far from reasonable.
The Washington defined single dose of edible THC is 10 mg.
The local shops quite commonly sell a package of 10 doses
of 10 mg THC, for $30.
For many, the advantages of clean, sanitary, above board,
& legal, make the cost at legal shops acceptable.

Yea... There are at least 10 pot shops within two miles of my house
including one on a quiet road with no traffic and one that typically has
a dozen cars out front all day long.



---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

[a425couple]

Post by a425couple
California slapping high taxes on marijuana, causing sticker shock for some
(This appears to me to be a ridiculously bad idea.
One of the main advantages of making marijuana & THC edibles
a regulated legal business, is to eliminate the profit for
illegal drug dealers. Making the legal and above ground regulated
product expensive, goes back to just continue the criminal
element's involvement and profit.
If the voters chose & voted to make it legal, quit trying
prohibition by way of unreasonable taxation.)
The taxes could influence where the marijuana is grown and how edibles
are produced.(Nov. 6, 2017)
Associated Press
California’s legal marijuana marketplace is coming with a kaleidoscope
of new taxes and fees that could influence where it’s grown, how pot
cookies and other munchies are produced and the price tag on just about
everything.
Be ready for sticker shock.
RELATED: Will high taxes allow black market in pot to thrive?
On a retail level, it costs about $35 to buy a small bag of good quality
medical marijuana in Los Angeles, enough to roll five or six joints.
Brennan Linsley / Associated Press
But in 2018, when recreational sales take hold and additional taxes kick
in, the cost of that same purchase in the new market is expected to
increase at the retail counter to $50 or $60.
At the high end, that’s about a 70% jump.
RELATED: Veteran pot growers see the end of a way of life
Medical pot purchases are expected to rise in cost too, but not as
steeply, industry experts say.
Or consider cannabis leaves, a sort of bottom-shelf product that comes
from trimming prized plant buds. The loose, snipped leaves are typically
gathered up and processed for use in cannabis-laced foods, ointments,
concentrates and candies.
Growers sell a trash bag stuffed with clippings to manufacturers for
about $50. But come January, the state will tax those leaves at $44 a pound.
That means the tax payment on a bag holding 7 or 8 pounds would exceed
the current market price by five or six times, forcing a huge price hike
or, more likely, rendering it essentially valueless.
“All it would become is compost,” predicted Ryan Jennemann of THC Design
in Los Angeles, whose company has used the leaves to manufacture
concentrated oils.
Governments struggling to keep up with the cost of everything from
worker pensions to paving streets are eager for the cascade of new tax
money from commercial pot sales that could eventually top $1 billion
statewide.
But higher taxes for businesses and consumers give the state’s thriving
illicit market a built-in advantage. Operators in the legal market have
been urging regulators to be aggressive about shutting down rogue operators.
Donnie Anderson, a Los Angeles medical cultivator and retailer,
predicted the higher level of state taxation next year is “just going to
help the illicit market thrive.” He said more needs to be done to cut
the cost, especially for medical users, many of whom won’t be able to
absorb a price jump.
The increased tax rates are just one part of California’s sprawling plan
to transform its long-standing medical and illegal markets into a
multibillion-dollar regulated economy, the nation’s largest legal pot
shop. The reshaping of such an expansive illegal economy into a legal
one hasn’t been witnessed since the end of Prohibition in 1933.
The change has come haltingly. Many cities are unlikely to be ready by
Jan. 1 to issue business licenses, which are needed to operate in the
new market, while big gaps remain in the system intended to move
cannabis from the field to distribution centers, then to testing labs
and eventually retail shops.
The path to legalization began last year when voters approved
Proposition 64, which opened the way for recreational pot sales to
adults. Medical marijuana has been legal in California for about two
decades.
Come January, state taxes will include a 15% levy on purchases of all
cannabis and cannabis products, including medical pot.
Local governments are free to slap on taxes on sales and growing too,
and that has created a confusing patchwork of rates that vary city to
city, county to county.
In the agricultural hub of Salinas, southeast of San Francisco, voters
approved a tax that will eventually rise to $25 a square foot for space
used to cultivate the leafy plants, a rate that’s equivalent to about $1
million an acre.
But farther north, in the pot-growing mecca of Humboldt County, rates
will be a comparative bargain, ranging from $1 to $3 for a square foot
for cultivation space.
By some estimates Humboldt County has up to 15,000 unregulated pot
grows, and Supervisor Ryan Sundberg said he was eager to fashion a tax
scheme that would encourage cultivators to come into the legal system
and adhere to environmental regulations.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-pot-tax-20171105-story.html

Some comments are quite reasonable:

1
Guest.
140 points
Hopefully once their coveted whale of a revenue stream doesn't
materialize, our state officials will realize that their approach to
this situation is incredibly misguided. When possessing, using, growing,
and sharing the substance is legal and a thriving black already exists,
the populous isn't going to flock to stores to buy the same…





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote




7 replies +
#2
webcav1
79 points
There's an old expression I live by: pigs get fat , hogs get
slaughtered. California will wake up next year and ask them selves "how
did we not make money"?? The answer is absolute stupidity by those
lawmakers. In business you do NOT raise prices or levy taxes idiots!!
Thanks for allowing the black market not only to survive and grow…





6 ▲
1 ▼
Reply
Promote




10 replies +
#3
Plain Truth
55 points
It is absolutely clear that cannabis is far safer than alcoholic
beverages and tobacco products. Cannabis should never be taxed at a
higher rate or restricted more stringently and alcoholic beverages or
tobacco…





15 ▲
5 ▼
Reply
Promote



+ See 1 more promoted comment


















Sort by newest


Subscribe

All Comments
Help





dsrtblly

5 hour(s) ago
regulators make the black market more viable





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









ParkerGreen

1 day(s) ago
That's the great thing about legalization! Allow people to do as they
wish, then make money off of their wasteful spending habits on
unnecessary and potentially harmful products.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to ParkerGreen fThat's the great thing about l...more »
1 day(s) ago

Can we please give up on trying to cast "harms" onto marijuana? -
Mankind has been consuming marijuana for at least 10,000 years, with no
problems. - It is the most studied plant on earth.

The rabidly prohibitionist agency NIDA has been desperately funding
research for decades, looking for some significant harm of marijuana to
prop up the fraudulent prohibition. In all that time, they have not
found even ONE. If they had, they, the DEA, the ONDCP, etc. would be
shouting it from the roof tops and it would be on everyone's tongue. -
Instead:

[Crickets chirping]

So, ironically, even NIDA has given marijuana a clean bill of health!

As the DEA's own administrative law judge, Francis Young, concluded
after an exhaustive review of the evidence:

"Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically
active substances known to man."

As for "wasteful, unnecessary spending habits," most informed people
disagree with you.

Marijuana is the MUCH safer alternative to alcohol and has many
benefits. -- Carl Sagan was a world-renowned astronomer, cosmologist,
astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, and science educator. He had a
brilliant career. He smoked marijuana recreationally every day. He said:

"The devastating insights achieved when high are real insights... I can
remember one occasion... in which I had an idea on the origins and
invalidities of racism in terms of Gaussian distribution curves. It was
a point obvious in a way, but rarely talked about. I drew the curves in
soap on the shower wall, and went to write the idea down. One idea led
to another, and at the end of about an hour of extremely hard work I
found I had written eleven short essays on a wide range of social,
political, philosophical, and human biological topics... From all
external signs, such as public reactions and expert commentary, they
seem to contain valid insights. I have used them in university
commencement addresses, public lectures, and in my books."
See more...






0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









gaylesrivers

1 day(s) ago
The level of incompetence running through the Cali legislature has
reached epic proportions. Smoking too much meth and not enough cheese!





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









jfusco316

1 day(s) ago
I guess with this high tax state the illegal market will still be a
better place to buy or just go to Nevada and/or Oregon.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to jfusco316 fI guess with this high tax sta...more »
1 day(s) ago

It won't last long. - California is too huge a market. -- Adjustments
will be made quickly. - Average price for marijuana will end up being
$50 an ounce, or less, with $20 to $30 in taxes. -- It's just a plant.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









jackglenn

1 day(s) ago
While this is truly a worrying news for marijuana users throughout Cali,
we must not forget that there is still a sliver of hope in the legal
jargon and technicalities described above. It is for certain that
medical cannabis would be taxed at a much lower rate than recreational
cannabis, right?

It makes sense, then, that opting the legal measure is still the far
better and cheaper option than just being a recreational user. For all
my brothers & sisters out there in CA, I have one question for you. Is
it finally time for us to buy a medical card?





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to jackglenn fWhile this is truly a worrying...more »
1 day(s) ago

That will always be a good idea until they end the fraudulent, federal
prohibition.

Recreational and medical will end up being the same price. Just the
taxing will be different. - But they will tighten up access to medical
with legalization.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









lucydan
in reply to jackglenn fWhile this is truly a worrying...more »
1 day(s) ago

I think so, brother. Thank god I already got mine.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









wascoman

2 day(s) ago
This whole thing was about the money. I mean you guys and gals didnt
think they were doing to be nice did you?





1 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s






F
T
s









jackglenn

1 day(s) ago
While this is truly a worrying news for marijuana users throughout Cali,
we must not forget that there is still a sliver of hope in the legal
jargon and technicalities described above. It is for certain that
medical cannabis would be taxed at a much lower rate than recreational
cannabis, right?

It makes sense, then, that opting the legal measure is still the far
better and cheaper option than just being a recreational user. For all
my brothers & sisters out there in CA, I have one question for you. Is
it finally time for us to buy a medical card?





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to jackglenn fWhile this is truly a worrying...more »
1 day(s) ago

That will always be a good idea until they end the fraudulent, federal
prohibition.

Recreational and medical will end up being the same price. Just the
taxing will be different. - But they will tighten up access to medical
with legalization.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









lucydan
in reply to jackglenn fWhile this is truly a worrying...more »
1 day(s) ago

I think so, brother. Thank god I already got mine.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









wascoman

2 day(s) ago
This whole thing was about the money. I mean you guys and gals didnt
think they were doing to be nice did you?





1 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









rtamtc

2 day(s) ago
No surprise there. Many years ago, I warned that this would happen.
California's Democratic-controlled legislature is too busy with creating
new social programs without adequate permanent funding, so they tax
anything they can and almost never reduce taxes. It's easy to tax
marijuana because so few people will complain.





2 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









enjoyingsomesparemoment

2 day(s) ago
Well.... California Democrats is trying to find new ways of getting
income to prevent the State from going into bankruptcy. We have almost a
trillion in pension liability and other debts which is ballooning every
year.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jfusco316
in reply to enjoyingsomesparemoment fWell.... California
Democrats...more »
1 day(s) ago

Government unions are a ponzi scheme or pyramid either one but they are
made to fail. Look at Detroit if you keep spending and not cut somewhere
else you will eventually go broke.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









Barbaraeg

2 day(s) ago
I understand that people will be allowed to grow their own marijuana for
their use only. Perhaps people who cannot afford the high recreational
pot prices will grow their own. Personally, I don't like marijuana but I
support others' right to use it. Just don't use it and then drive, please.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to Barbaraeg fI understand that people will...more »
1 day(s) ago

Marijuana is not alcohol. The preponderance of the research shows
marijuana consumption is NOT a significant cause of auto accidents. In
2015, the Drug and Alcohol Crash Risk report, produced by the U.S.
Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, found that while drunken driving dramatically increased
the risk of getting into an accident, there was no evidence that using
marijuana heightened that risk.

In fact, after adjusting for age, gender, race and alcohol use, the
report found that drivers who had recently consumed marijuana were no
more likely to crash than drivers who were not intoxicated at all.





1 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









blindman123

2 day(s) ago
The "Legalization" of marijuana is a slow motion disaster.
When I walk my dog a 6 AM I already smell people lighting up. No way to
start the day.
When I ride my motorcycle about every sixth car has someone smoking.
It was not like this before.
The corrupt government will legalize any type of conduct if they can
make a buck irrespective of whether it is for the public good or not.





1 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to blindman123 fThe "Legalization" of marijuan...more »
1 day(s) ago

There are thousands of smells we are assaulted with every day. - That's
called urban life. -- I could make a fuss about your barbecue grill, or
the smoke coming out of your chimney, but I don't, because I want to be
neighborly.

Marijuana is not alcohol. The preponderance of the research shows
marijuana consumption is NOT a significant cause of auto accidents. In
2015, the Drug and Alcohol Crash Risk report, produced by the U.S.
Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, found that while drunken driving dramatically increased
the risk of getting into an accident, there was no evidence that using
marijuana heightened that risk.

In fact, after adjusting for age, gender, race and alcohol use, the
report found that drivers who had recently consumed marijuana were no
more likely to crash than drivers who were not intoxicated at all.

Consuming marijuana is FAR less of a "conduct" problem than consuming
alcohol. - Are you saying we should try prohibiting alcohol - again?
See more...






0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









Barbaraeg
in reply to blindman123 fThe "Legalization" of marijuan...more »
2 day(s) ago

Smoking while driving is not legal. There needs to be enforcement of the
law.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to Barbaraeg fSmoking while driving is not l...more »
1 day(s) ago

That "illegality" is not based on any science. -- The preponderance of
the research shows marijuana is NOT a significant cause of auto accidents.





Whitey Greens

2 day(s) ago
HOLY SMOKE POTMAN, those taxes are almost as high as ME! back to buying
from Fred down the street...

F
T
s









Kate Hutchinson

2 day(s) ago
It will take California a year or two to figure it out. Colorado also
put pretty high taxes on at first. The state had a tax. Each county had
their own tax added. Some small towns even added an additional tax. They
realized about a year in that high taxes were not helping to stop the
black market and lowered some of the taxes at least for residents of the
state ( kept the tourist pot taxes high though). Now the black market in
Colorado is being driven out because the state has the price set to make
a profit but not to gouge. Well done, Colorado. I have no idea what will
happen in California, but they should try to emulate a state that is
doing it successfully.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to Kate Hutchinson fIt will take California a year...more »
1 day(s) ago

Don't worry. We will. -- The funny thing about legalizing a product is
it makes it subject to the laws of supply and demand. - All these
black-market price and tax fantasies will fade quickly.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









lovingc

2 day(s) ago
Who got ate up with stupid? Of course over taxing cannabis will
guarantee the black market will thrive under those conditions.

Over pricing and over regulation will be the insurance that will allow
the black market to continue.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









jeweleratlarge

2 day(s) ago
Great, make it really complicated and no one will utilize the legal
market, defeating the entire process.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









Gringostar

2 day(s) ago
Brewing your own beer and distilling your own Vodka is 100x harder than
growing a marijuana plant. This tax scheme is going to backfire like
they have never seen. I can see them now, "Uh. Nobody is buying
marijuana. Everyone is growing it and trading it for xyz." Dumb
politicians think they can tax marijuana the way they do with alcohol.
Think again.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








Barbaraeg
in reply to Gringostar fBrewing your own beer and dist...more »
2 day(s) ago

Home growing is supposed to be for the grower's use only. Trading it
will be illegal, though probably not easily enforced. I felt dumb and
paranoid on pot so I stopped smoking it years ago. For me this is an
academic discussion. To each his own.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s








jontomas
in reply to Barbaraeg fHome growing is supposed to be...more »
1 day(s) ago

To each their own. -- Most feel much smarter with marijuana than with
alcohol. - That's backed by research which finds marijuana is about half
as intoxicating as alcohol.

That's not quite right about home growing. A home grower will also be
able to gift to others. - So it will be near impossible to stop bartering.

But as in most other products, most people will prefer to just go to
their neighborhood store.





0 ▲
0 ▼
Reply
Promote
Actions

F
T
s









Rick

2 day(s) ago
$100 an ounce for medical in N. Hollywood for something I paid $350 an
ounce 10 years ago. (on the black market) Anyone can get a medical card
for $30 a year. Mine expired and the store don't care. It's never been
cheaper. Prices are going down not up. Taxes won't change that.
Legalization will drive prices even lower. But don't let that get in the
way of a good time wasting rant.




OpEdailydotcom

2 day(s) ago
I'm a liberal and I don't mind paying taxes at all, as long as my tax
dollars aren't being used to kill innocent people halfway across the
world. Just throwing that out there.

In this case, however, the ridiculously high price for legal mary-jane
is going to mean the illegal drug market will continue to boom. No one
wants to pay $10 for a J. No one. They shouldn't have to.

Tax it similarly to alcohol. There's nothing in pot that means more
oversight is required. In fact, LESS oversight is required for regular
bud (not edibles - they do req regulation) than would be required for
alcohol production (given the stilling process can produce poison if not
done correctly).

Increasing the price of the product for no good reason is just going to
make it less likely for other states to legalize marijuana because the
illicit trade of maryJ is going to continue and may even become more
sought after.

Very bad decision.
See more...


unclesmrgol

2 day(s) ago
Liberals hate when they are taxed.