Legalizing marijuana at this point in time comes with the added benefit of increased tourism in addition to tax revenue and the inclusion of black market funds into the legitimate economy. The economic sanctions would be like trying to stop a flood with a single sand bag.
True, which is why I never figured out why the hell it wasn't made legal to begin with.
Then again, once it became legal, I'd be growing my own to save money.... screw the taxes... I pay enough on smokes and beer as it is.
^ And there in lies the problem.... weed is too too easy to grow. If you can water a plant and stick it in the sun from time to time, you got weed. Of course if you want the high quality stuff that plants you on your arse for a couple of hours, then you need to get into the lighting and setup of some equipment.... but even that isn't that hard.
^ And a bounce back from that, not everybody will want to grow their own stuff, be that they suck at it, don't have time for it, or don't have the space, etc.... and will end up paying for someone else to grow it for them. Then you get a devide of those who are willing to pay taxes for a product that is regulated and they know what is in it, or deal some shaddy characters on the street for less, but more risk and unknowns. (Or a friend, which is always better)
^ But see, with that aspect, even though the government wouldn't get 100% of the taxes from legalizing it because of the above..... they'd still be getting money from people who do buy from them, like people do buying at the liqour store or smoke shop. Some is better then none. And if you legalize it, all those tax dollars which goes into enforcing these laws and throwing people in jail could go into other things.
It's a win win in my books no matter how you look at it.
