If marijuana was legalized, taxed and regulated like alcohol and tobacco, couldn’t we gain revenue from it?

  • Potentially, but at what cost? As a society, if we legalized marijuana, we would have to agree that it is acceptable to profit from people’s addiction.
  • As a society, we have gradually banned the smoking of cigarettes in many places because of the health risks second-hand smoke creates. Does it really make sense to legalize marijuana and put our communities in similar jeopardy?
    Source: “Comparative Analysis Chart Marijuana & Tobacco Cigarette Smoke,” Marijuana and Health, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine Report, 1982

  • The loopholes in creating such legislation would create an entirely new regulatory process for states charged with supervising growing a crop that is illegal on the federal level – this would have major agricultural implications. Also, if marijuana is a medicine – drug paraphernalia would have to be classified as a medical device and be regulated by the FDA.

  • The legalization of marijuana creates a rift between state and federal legislation which leads to enforcement issues.
  • The cost of treatment and rehabilitation from addiction and usage associated illnesses far outweighs the cost of any revenue generated.
    Source: Centers for Disease Control's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2001/2- Smoking costs drain state, officials say By Ed Vogel, Las Vegas Review-Journal [10/09/02]