Marijuana habits and legalization

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Actually, taxing marijuana WILL create billions of dollars essentially out of mid-air. There will be a brand new revenue stream that didn't exist before. There will be costs but most of those costs exist today as far as the government is concerned. The profits going into the government's coffers will be huge, I bet they can't wait.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Zethrynn

honest question why do they have to wait? isn't morphine and codeine based of an illegal drug?

They're opiates. The medicinal benefits are very apparent. They do what they're supposed to do, often too well.

Medical marijuana is grown for medicinal users - it's meant to help cancer patients eat. It's not used to treat cancer itself - even if cannabis has anti cancerous properties (which I don't know that it does) I doubt one would access them in brownie or Bong form.

And not to heap more blame upon our former dear leader, but Stephen Harper calling it 'infinitely worse than tobacco' didn't help matters.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

When you start by commenting on how terrible a post is, you may want to refrain from saying ridiculous things like 6 billion will go straight to health care, like its some net benefit.

When you tax something new, you don't just create billions out of thin air. That's is 6 billion that has to disappear from something else. It's a zero sum game.

Yes... the $6 billion projected in year 1 alone will have to disappear from somewhere. Like the completely untaxed black market.

[4X4]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Yes... the $6 billion projected in year 1 alone will have to disappear from somewhere. Like the completely untaxed black market.

I'm sure my buddy the pot dealer claims all his earnings on his tax return. That's where it's coming out of, duh.

[GGG]

Direct healthcare costs of tobacco are 4.4 billion per year. Pot will be less

[AcGold]

I honestly don't see how it's going to cost the healthcare system.

Potentially save money on:
-glaucoma
-epilepsy
-anxiety
-pain relief
-ptsd
-asthma

These are all ailments cannabis has been proven to help treat. I'm not saying it's a benign miracle drug I honestly don't see how it's going to have a net negative impact on the health of the population when the research for the medicinal benefits vastly out weigh the research showing negative consequences.

Bronchitis and schizophrenia might show a small uptick but I just don't see this healthcare cost you guys are talking about. In my life I've never known someone that had to use healthcare benefits and taxpayer money because of pot. Please share the reasoning behind it.

[flamesfever]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

Yes... the $6 billion projected in year 1 alone will have to disappear from somewhere. Like the completely untaxed black market.

Some questions to consider:

1. Will we be charging the same price for pot as the present underworld?

2. If pot substitutes for alcohol, which many proponents of change are suggesting, will the money made on pot be offset by reduced alcohol sales?

3. Wouldn't the vast majority of pot users grow their own, and if so how would this affect the economics?

4. Where did the $6. billion dollar figure come from?

5. If the underworld loses the sale of pot to adults, would they focus more on kids, or much harder drugs, to maintain their income?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by AcGold

I honestly don't see how it's going to cost the healthcare system.

Potentially save money on:
-glaucoma
-epilepsy
-anxiety
-pain relief
-ptsd
-asthma

These are all ailments cannabis has been proven to help treat. I'm not saying it's a benign miracle drug I honestly don't see how it's going to have a net negative impact on the health of the population when the research for the medicinal benefits vastly out weigh the research showing negative consequences.

Bronchitis and schizophrenia might show a small uptick but I just don't see this healthcare cost you guys are talking about. In my life I've never known someone that had to use healthcare benefits and taxpayer money because of pot. Please share the reasoning behind it.

Uh no.

[GGG]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

Some questions to consider:

1. Will we be charging the same price for pot as the present underworld? We tax at an appropriate rate to curtail black market sales while covering regulatory and health costs.

2. If pot substitutes for alcohol, which many proponents of change are suggesting, will the money made on pot be offset by reduced alcohol sales? Maybe, the associated health costs of alcohol would also go down if consumption went down

3. Wouldn't the vast majority of pot users grow their own, and if so how would this affect the economics? Does home brewing affect the beer market.

4. Where did the $6. billion dollar figure come from? I don't know

5. If the underworld loses the sale of pot to adults, would they focus more on kids, or much harder drugs, to maintain their income? Is that pots problem. If pot use amount kids goes down maybe legalizing all substances would make sense.

See bolded

[AvsJerk]

Originally Posted by flamesfever

Some questions to consider: Great questions

1. Will we be charging the same price for pot as the present underworld? In Colorado, dispensaries are higher priced than blackmarket...mostly due to the high tax rate on dispensaries. I still buy from dispensaries on occasion because of variety and to support the business model

2. If pot substitutes for alcohol, which many proponents of change are suggesting, will the money made on pot be offset by reduced alcohol sales? Don't know, but I would guess not. My alcohol consumption has dropped from about a 12 pack a week and occasionally some bourbon or wine to maybe a 12 pack a year and a couple of bottles of wine a year. Legal pot helped me lose over 70 pounds of fat!

3. Wouldn't the vast majority of pot users grow their own, and if so how would this affect the economics? I am working on growing my own. Most people won't grow their own as it is expensive and takes some research

4. Where did the $6. billion dollar figure come from?

5. If the underworld loses the sale of pot to adults, would they focus more on kids, or much harder drugs, to maintain their income?

Maybe, not sure. Unfortunately, there has been news reports of Mexican cartel growers coming to Colorado to grow illegally.

[flamesfever]

Originally Posted by AcGold

I honestly don't see how it's going to cost the healthcare system.

Please share the reasoning behind it.

My reasoning is this:

To quote the article, "Mental Illness Exacts a Heavy Toll, Beginning in Youth"

Researchers supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) have found that half of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin at 14, and that despite effective treatments, there are long delays - sometimes decades - between first onset of symptoms and when people seek and receive treatment.

The present economic burden of mental illness in Canada is estimated at $51 billion dollars, and rising.

If the more extensive acceptance and use of pot in society causes an increase in mental health problems in the youth, then we may not know the true cost for decades to come.

Having worked as a volunteer with the CMHA for years, I have witnessed the toll it is taking on families.

[Russic]

I don't drink alcohol so I'd definitely up my intake around typical drinking events like house parties, concerts, and such.

[AcGold]

Originally Posted by peter12

Uh no.

Source please

[peter12]

Originally Posted by AcGold

Source please

Hahahaha.

[peter12]

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article....icleid=2338251

There was moderate-quality evidence to support the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity. There was low-quality evidence suggesting that cannabinoids were associated with improvements in nausea and vomiting due to chemotherapy, weight gain in HIV infection, sleep disorders, and Tourette syndrome. Cannabinoids were associated with an increased risk of short-term AEs.

So obviously to the first one, but the rest...

[heep223]

This seemed odd to me, considering our government is planning on legalizing this substance in the very near future.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...click=sf_globe

[Kiran403]

I was in Seattle over the weekend and visited a few dispensaries. It was great. Lots of product, everything packaged and labelled clearly with government controls and requirement on testing/quality/safety etc.
I really hope the federal government doesn't just leave it to Licensed Producers to sell it. A regulated dispensary system would be a great way to integrate both LP products as well as craft growers (providing they follow some quality/safety regulations).

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Kiran403

I was in Seattle over the weekend and visited a few dispensaries. It was great. Lots of product, everything packaged and labelled clearly with government controls and requirement on testing/quality/safety etc.
I really hope the federal government doesn't just leave it to Licensed Producers to sell it. A regulated dispensary system would be a great way to integrate both LP products as well as craft growers (providing they follow some quality/safety regulations).

Yeah, I was really impressed with Washington's setup when I was there. Seemed a lot less Wild West than what I've heard regarding Colorado's setup.

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah, I was really impressed with Washington's setup when I was there. Seemed a lot less Wild West than what I've heard regarding Colorado's setup.

I must defend my local compatriots, the industry here is greatly regulated. The dispensaries I've been in have been very professional, same thing as above. I'm curious now what have you heard about "wild west" out here?

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by heep223

This seemed odd to me, considering our government is planning on legalizing this substance in the very near future.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...click=sf_globe

The Toronto Police couldn't have the shops essentially thumbing their noses at them after it was found that an undercover CBC reporter without a medical license was able to procure marijuana with cash and filling out a form.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toront...rter-1.3561397

Basically, this is a case of the bear responding to being poked.