Drug laws have such long reaching ripple effects, we often forget what draconian laws mean in real terms. According to the ACLU, enforcing cannabis possession laws cost the US economy $3.6 billion. What else could be done with that money? Additionally, it creates ineffective policing and chasing the low hanging fruit of arresting the docile cannabis user while losing sight of actual crime like rape and murder.
Pew research published a study showing how many crimes end up never reaching resolution. Is this the fault of enforcing benign possession of cannabis? Hard to prove but it can’t help (Pew Research). So while rapists, murders, and car thieves have a decent chance of getting away with it, we’re doing a bang up job of snarling up courts, jails and squad cars with cannabis users.
Another angle many people may not consider is a topic that nobody likes. Taxes. About as popular as impacted wisdom tooth extraction or your 8 year old getting lice from a little league batting helmet; taxes are a topic we like to avoid but it’s important when considering cannabis policy. Cannabis possession laws further criminal activity. When cannabis is criminalized, it means drug dealers have a recession proof, wealth amassing, industry…tax free. Nice work if you can get it. It also opens up a bunch of other cans of worms, like regulating the sale and consistent delivery of product VS. “who knows what it really is”. Think of it like this: drug dealers don’t ask for ID and they don’t pay taxes, dispensaries do. It seems as though even the most conservative of governors are clueing in to the net cost of criminalizing cannabis. Takes tax payer dollars to arrest and process offenders on possession charges, the state gets zero from distribution or the original point of sale and police leave murder and rape charges flapping in the wind. So let’s think about priorities: rape, murderer, and weed smoker cases on the desk of a deceive, currently, we want an arrest because it makes us feel good for the moment so the priority is the weed smoker. Well done America, like a giant dysfunctional family, we can’t identify the real issue. Look closer, huge bill for futility or taking a slice of the pie for the greater good of the community? Doesn’t seem like much of a choice for the sane and responsible.
So just how much can states add to the coffers? Turns out, plenty. Here’s a a story showing just how much states are generating. It seems that money overrides moralistic posturing. It would be great if compassion and logic were the drivers but the net result is the same.