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Originally Posted by Flash Walken
I implore you to read that paper in it's entirety.
Alcohol in BC is taxed at I believe 60 percent. in the Rand study, the 50 dollar excise tax can account for over that amount. On top of that, they also apply a sales tax of 3.5 percent onto the wholesale price as well.
To me, knowing the diverse cross section of society that I do, find it completely unfathomable to think that if marijuana were legalized, it would somehow be more expensive than it is, and that people wouldn't readily consume it at that price.
Of course, not everything is created equal. Some homebrew beers are worse than others, while microbreweries have really carved out their own, distinct market.
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I've read it. I've also read many university level text books on economics. The logic in the report is extremely simplistic and they ignore comparable examples such as alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals.
If government stepped out of the process, then yes the market could make it cheaper. However, I just don't see government stepping out of the process. Nor do I see them self-limiting their taxation. You obviously have some rose-coloured view of government that I do not share and you've obviously never ran your own business or worked closely with someone who is.
There are more factors here than a simplistic supply and demand model.