The prohibition against alcohol in the United States ended in 1933. While it didn’t immediately end the Great Depression, it sure took the edge off and put a lot of gansters out of business. Suddenly an entirely new (sort of) industry developed with jobs, taxes and all that good stuff. Wouldn’t it be a nice idea to pick up a $100 billion in new taxes given how we’re throwing cash at every banker with a tin cup, which would be all of them? The marijuana crop market value is hard to pin down, but the DEA finds $100 billion to be a good guess. Regulate it, tax it, sell it, voila! We lose a lot of nasty gang and mafia activity, help out the agricultural sector, and save a bloody fortune chasing down nonviolent people and incarcerating them.
I’ve seen in estimated that 80% of the US prison population are in for nonviolent drug offences. The annual cost seems to be around $48 billion. Honestly, when will we just wake up and legalize and tax the stuff? It’s not like it’s off our streets. It’s freaking everywhere!
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