Hello again everyone. Just thought I'd bring up a point that has been rattling around in my brain since I heard it was a possibility on Fox News. It seems the state of Calif. is considering legalizing pot and taxing the hell out of it. (I guess with the hell gone it won't be harmful.) I am not a user of that wonder weed, nor do I fully understand the reasons it's illegal. It seems to me that users become very laid back and easy going. While alcohol is the cause of fights, accidents and deaths, it is legal. (We tried to make it illegal once and it didn't work.) I would venture to say that if the state of Calif. does, in fact, make it legal and does, in fact, tax the hell out of it, how long do you think it will be before other states with similar problems grab this idea and run with it??? It is my considered opinion that it will be done in a blink of an eye.
The cigarette companies will package it and it can be sold in a liquor store after proof of age, etc... What an idea! If something is illegal it is desirable. But, where does it stop? If selling pot legally brings in enough in taxes to get us out of trouble financially, how long will it take to legalize cocaine or meth? Think of the revenues legalizing all these currently illegal drugs will contribute to the coffers of the good ol' USofA... Imagine the empty jails that are stuffed presently with some poor bastard that sold an ounce to a buddy.
BUT!!! If this can be limited to pot and if handled properly, this could be a boon to our financial dilemma. I can see non users becoming upset with slow drivers... :) Let's see how it goes.
Love you all, JC
Thursday, May 28, 2009
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Strip away the usual moral objections to marijuana, or other drugs, and you end up with the oft-proved fact that you cannot legislate morality.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am bitterly opposed to the drug spawned violence on our border, I'm not sure that taxing, alone, is reason enough to legalize drugs.
Legality, meaning permitted (or at least, not forbidden) by law, should be as suggested by Ayn Rand: You have a right to do anything that does
not infringe upon the rights of your fellow citizens. Legalize all drugs and let competetive entrepreneurs determine the price. Violence gone!
If someone who makes, sells, buys or uses the drug infringes on someone else's rights, throw the book at them. (As we occasionally do with drunk drivers.)
But, if we eliminate "sin taxes", where do we get the money to run the government? Again I look to Ayn Rand, who suggested voluntary taxes. Pay for desired government services. You want court protection for a business contract? Pay a fee for that protection. Drive a car? Pay a fee for road maintenance (which we already do).
If, as Colin Powell suggests, people want more government services, let them pay for them. That should be a huge source of revenue. (And think of all the money we save when we abolish the massive "war on drugs"!)