Legalize marijuana and then ‘sin’-tax it
Wednesday, May 2, 2012 - 8:19am
Submitted by Letters to the ...
Submitted by Letters to the ...
It’s time to decriminalize marijuana.
Let me be clear: I’m not advocating the use of marijuana, just the decriminalization of it.
A rising chorus of voices across the political spectrum is joining a reform movement that has long argued for an economically saner way to deal with personal use of marijuana.
After all, what folks do in the privacy of their own homes is rightly not a concern of a smaller, less intrusive government that we all want.
Here in Georgia the issue of prison reform screams for attention. As aptly pointed out in this paper recently, over a billion dollars a year of Georgia tax dollars goes into the prison system which in many cases incarcerates nonviolent drug offenders. This is simply not sustainable.
The prison reformists point to drug courts and drug rehab as a means to divert nonviolent offenders.
Certainly diversion is cheaper than incarceration but still a waste of tax dollars on someone who simply wants to smoke a joint.
As to the argument that marijuana is a gateway drug, show me the hard facts to support that assertion. I’ll show you lots of normal people that drink alcohol and aren’t alcoholics and lots of people that enjoy marijuana and don’t turn into crackheads.
So the push for prison reform should include marijuana law reform.
The economic argument goes even deeper. Legalized marijuana could be lumped in with the other sin taxes.
Farmers could grow marijuana and attach a tax stamp just like alcohol and tobacco. Individuals obviously could grow their own marijuana, just like I can brew my own beer, but the taxman must be paid for any retail transaction.
I see this as a win-win for Georgia taxpayers: Less money going into the bloated prison system for drug offenders and a new marijuana tax coming into the state for other worthy projects.
Added to the list of economic benefits is the boon to Georgia farmers who could legally grow hemp.
Hemp is a wonder fiber, widely used in a myriad of products. Look at the stylish clothing on sale at fashionable retailers now made from hemp fibers, much of it grown in Canada.
Although hemp is genetically related to marijuana, you couldn’t get high from inhaling the smoke of an entire bale of burning hemp. This genetic relationship is what makes the cultivation of hemp illegal, alas another economic loss to the state.
As for the “War on Drugs,” can anyone say this fight has been successful and a valuable use of our tax dollars? I would argue the war on drugs has simply created the drug wars and fueled the growth of the organized drug cartels.
Lastly state Rep Matt Ramsey crowed about the accomplishments of the recently completed legislative session. One of those accomplishments is Chase’s Law, named sadly for a local high school student.
Mr. Ramsey has added another law to the criminal code to throw more nonviolent drug offenders in jail, counter to the prison reform efforts ongoing even as Chase’s Law was being written. Chase was using a legal product, unfortunately a legal product that caused his death.
I suspect the illicit drug of choice for most high school students is marijuana; something everyone knows can get you a criminal record for mere possession.
If I were the grieving parents of someone like Chase, I would want a marijuana law reform so kids wouldn’t be using currently legal means to get high such as sniffing glue or paint or smoking the next spice the illicit herbal purveyors invent.
In the real world you aren’t allowed to get drunk and drive. Likewise you aren’t allowed to get high and drive. I know of no company that won’t fire you for showing up at work drunk or high so don’t do that.
But if you truly believe our tax dollars could be better spent by a smaller, less intrusive government, then the time is now to decriminalize marijuana for personal enjoyment in the sanctity of our private homes.
Larry Dove
Fayetteville, Ga.
Fri, 05/04/2012 - 12:52pm
#2
I agree but...
Sin taxes are WRONG. It is not a legitimate function of government to control behavior through taxation. If a product is so destructive that is should be banned, make a straight up case for that*. If you cannot make the case that it should be banned, then it should be taxed at the same rate as a cheeseburger, golf club, or sofa.
* - But please remember the farce that was Prohibition. I find it quite ironic that we teach about the utter failure of prohibition while actively engaging in the war on drugs....
Sat, 05/05/2012 - 1:51pm
#3
whsdad
you said.
"If a product is so destructive that is (it) should be banned, make a straight up case for that"
Consider Darwin. Before the government started protecting people from themselves the less competent didn't live very long and had fewer offspring.
If we continue to try and ban things that allow people to take themselves out we get an ever expanding population of nitwits.
Sun, 05/13/2012 - 9:42pm
#4
Perfectly said
By banning marijuana and allowing alcohol, we end up with aggressive nitwits that want to go to war in Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lybia, etc.
Some people could argue that we need to go to war and kill insurgents to protect the American way of life. In that case Nixon was right to declare war on the peace-loving hippies. The country needs an alcohol-crazed population to drain our blood and national treasury.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 2:36pm
#5
Not gonna happen until the Me generation is out of the way
Those of us who grew up in the 70s know that pot is less harmful than the war on drugs. My generation is too self centered and lazy to take on big issues. All we want is to preserve a way of life our mommies and daddies told us about and/or drive a BMW/nice new truck. No room in there for doing the right thing.
Sun, 05/13/2012 - 9:52pm
#6
Speak for yourself
I am part of that generation and I am presenting a draft of a constitutional amendment for Georgia.
While there are a few die hard atheists in Georgia, I think there would be a lot of born again Christians if marijuana could be used as it was during the time of Jesus.
And the blind could see ... marijuana/glaucoma ?
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 2:22pm
#7
Legalize it for sure...
Tax it like cigs get taxed...that sounds fair to me.
Alabama Hi-Test...got me in a big mess.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 2:43pm
#8
Spyglass & Mary Jane
Check out what happened in Montana when the Legislature authorized growing, selling & using Medical Marijuana---it wasn't pretty! Methinks Larry has a few acres not being used for veggies that he could plant a true money crop on!
Sun, 05/13/2012 - 9:57pm
#9
Forget medical marijuana
Start thinking "religious marijuana." Other states have spent $millions on medical marijuana and now the Federal Government is shutting them down.
Georgia would be the number one religious state in the USA if religious marijuana became legal.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 3:34pm
#10
Cig butts aren't pretty either...
BUTT they are everywhere.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 6:10pm
#11
Spyglass & cig butts
Pretty sure you knew I wasn't talking about cosmetics but let me make it clearer for you:
..in order to use medical mj, you had to have a certificate from a Doctor.
..Doctors were advertising where they would be and when to issue certificates (no exam)--and of course not for free.
..Authorized growers & sellers broke laws to increase profit, bringing the Feds into action.
..Short answer: It didn't work! Not to say that better planning and control by State agencies wouldn't have mattered--perhaps it would have but it will always be difficult to control greed when financial gain is possible, legal or not.
Sun, 05/13/2012 - 10:20pm
#12
Forget medical marijuana
The Federal Government is shutting down medical marijuana. In ancient times, the church used holy oil with cannabis as a main ingredient. It was cheap and plentiful and was burned to fill the whole church up with smoke. At today's artificial prices, it would probably cost $10,000 to do one church service in a small church.
When you see drug busts of $500,000 of marijuana, in the ancient days it might be worth about $10 after inflation.
We managed to end the Viet Nam War, now it's time to end Nixon's war on marijuana.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 8:14pm
#13
How do they control booze?
I will hang up and listen.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 10:31am
#14
unemployement
Do you realize how many government employees would be put out of work. Not to mention the huge loss of revenue to law enforcement doing without seized drug money and assets. Say goodbye to Hawk1
Sun, 05/13/2012 - 10:04pm
#15
Hemp could be the next bio fuel
Instead of those government employees being part of the $1.5 billion yearly deficit, they could be participating in the biggest bio fuel program in the country.
Do you know how easy it is to grow weeds in Georgia?
Everytime I look out my window I think that I am living in the movie "Jumanji."
Georgia is missing out on the energy boom that other states are getting with fracking. Georgia could easily become a leader in the bio fuel industry if we were allowed to grow marijuana.
I say let the churches assume control over cannabis (religious marijuana) and tell the Federal Government where they can go.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 1:26pm
#16
Seriously
Government employees...the same ones that use these tax dollars to buy $44 breakfast and $40k in Napa wine tasting? I'm not that worried, are you?
Law enforcement doesn't need the money either. Do you know how many cops sit in the parking lot across the street from my home on a small, no traffic, 25 mph road hidden and not even watching road? And when I look at them they are on their laptops or texting...do they really need to get paid for this? They finally quit when I started very obviously snapping pics of them on my cell phone.
This would bring in more jobs and help the economy, open your eyes. Or lets make us both happy and do a switch, decriminalize marajuana and criminalize opiate dependance and prescription drug abuse. One baby every hour is born with NAS-addicted to pain pills-that is SICK!
Fri, 05/04/2012 - 8:11pm
#17
I am not opposed to
I am not opposed to legalization under certain circumstances; however, your anti-law enforcement tone is unnecessary. Allow me to educate you via this purely hypothetical scenario:
Let's say your local patrol officer has just arrested you for misdemeanor marijuana possession. Again, this is purely hypothetical! The officer then must write a report documenting your arrest so that the case can be successfully prosecuted. So, he finds a quiet spot to park his cruiser while he completes the report on his laptop.
OR, it could be that these cops were conducting surveillance of a "known drug area." I think most law-abiding people would be glad if the police were routinely parking near their homes. Hmmm...
Sun, 05/13/2012 - 10:07pm
#18
What special circumstances are you referring?
If it was legal there would not be a need to sneak around and smoke it away from where others will smell it and get all bent out of shape.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 3:48pm
#19
butterfly
the opiate thing is a good idea. right now the government is considering outlawing some opiate pain medications because a set of people make bad life decisions. Therefore in order to protect the incompetent from themselves we'll just totally outlaw opiate pain medication. Then we can take all the cancer and other patients on palliative care behind the barn and shoot em. Or maybe we can just let them die in agony watching an endless loop of "Reefer Madness"
Sun, 05/13/2012 - 10:11pm
#20
Opiates are for end of life
Doctors usually will not admit it but any prolonged used of opiates is designed to hasten an end to life.
Also note that "Reefer Madness" came out just before World War II because there was a fear that Americans would be pacifists smoking marijuana.
Wed, 05/02/2012 - 12:48pm
#21
I agree.....
with you 100% Mr. Dove and there are many others in the community who do as well.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 1:30pm
#22
Watch these
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqidkzI3ZlE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yovnUFq9EB0
how many babies are in pain from marajuana? ...none.
Neonatal abstinence syndrome
Share on facebookShare on twitter
Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a group of problems that occur in a newborn who was exposed to addictive illegal or prescription drugs while in the mother’s womb. Babies of mothers who drink during pregnancy may have a similar condition.
Causes
Neonatal abstinence syndrome occurs because a pregnant woman takes addictive illicit or prescription drugs such as:
•Amphetamines
•Barbiturates
•Benzodiazepines (diazepam, clonazepam)
•Cocaine
•Marijuana
•Opiates/Narcotics (heroin, methadone, codeine)
These and other substances pass through the placenta to the baby during pregnancy. The placenta is the organ that connects the baby to its mother in the womb. The baby becomes addicted along with the mother.
At birth, the baby is still dependent on the drug. Because the baby is no longer getting the drug after birth, symptoms of withdrawal may occur.
Alcohol use during pregnancy can also cause problems in the baby. See: Fetal alcohol syndrome
Symptoms
The symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome depend on:
•The type of drug the mother used
•How the mother's body breaksdown the drug
•How much of the drug she was taking
•How long she used the drug
•Whether the baby was born full-term or early (premature)
Symptoms depend on the drug involved. They can begin within 1 - 3 days after birth, or they may take 5 - 10 days to appear. They may include:
•Blotchy skin coloring (mottling)
•Diarrhea
•Excessive crying or high-pitched crying
•Excessive sucking
•Fever
•Hyperactive reflexes
•Increased muscle tone
•Irritability
•Poor feeding
•Rapid breathing
•Seizures
•Sleep problems
•Slow weight gain
•Stuffy nose, sneezing
•Sweating
•Trembling (tremors)
•Vomiting
Exams and Tests
It is important to have your baby checked out by a pediatrician. Many other conditions can produce the same symptoms as neonatal abstinence syndrome.
The doctor will ask questions about the mother's drug use, such as what drugs she took during pregnancy, and when she last took them.
Tests that may be done to diagnose withdrawal in a newborn include:
•Neonatal abstinence syndrome scoring system, which assigns points based on each symptom and its severity. The infant’s score can help determine treatment.
•Toxicology screen of first bowel movements (meconium)
•Urine test (urinalysis)
Treatment
Treatment depends on:
•The drug involved
•The infant’s overall health
•Whether the baby was born full-term or premature
The health care team will watch the newborn carefully for signs of withdrawal, feeding problems, and weight gain. Babies who vomit or who are very dehydrated may need to get fluids through a vein (intravenously).
Infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome are often fussy and hard to calm. Tips to calm the infant down include:
•Gently rocking the child
•Reducing noise and lights
•Swaddling the baby in a blanket
Some babies with severe symptoms need medicine to treat withdrawal symptoms. Medicines may include:
•Morphine
•Methadone
The doctor may prescribe the infant a drug similar to the one the mother used during pregnancy and slowly decrease the dose over time. This helps wean the baby off the drug and relieve some withdrawal symptoms. Breastfeeding may also be helpful.
Babies with this condition often have poor feeding or slow growth. Such babies may need:
•A higher-calorie formula that provides greater nutrition
•Smaller portions given more often
Outlook (Prognosis)
Treatment helps relieve symptoms of withdrawal.
Possible Complications
Drug and alcohol use during pregnancy can lead to many health problems in the baby, including:
•Birth defects
•Low birth weight
•Premature birth
•Small head circumference
•Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)
Neonatal abstinence syndrome can last from 1 week to 6 months.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Make sure your doctor or nurse know about all the drugs you take during pregnancy.
Call your doctor or nurse if your baby has symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Prevention
Discuss all medications, alcohol and tobacco with your health care provider. If you are using drugs, including alcohol or tobacco, ask your health care provider for help with stopping as soon as possible. If you are already pregnant, talk to your health care provider about the best way to stop using and keep yourself and the baby safe.
Alternative Names
NAS
References
Wong S, Ordean A, Kahan M; Maternal Fetal Medicine Committee; Family Physicians Advisory Committee; Medico-Legal Committee; Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. Substance use in pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol Can. 2011 Apr;33(4):367-84.
Jansson LM, Velez M. Neonatal abstinence syndrome. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2012 Jan 5. [Epub ahead of print]
Bio LL, Siu A, Poon CY. Update on the pharmacologic management of neonatal abstinence syndrome. J Perinatol. 2011 Nov;31(11):692-701. .
McQueen KA, Murphy-Oikonen J, Gerlach K, Montelpare W.The impact of infant feeding method on neonatal abstinence scores of methadone-exposed infants. Adv Neonatal Care. 2011 Aug;11(4):282-90.
Cornelius MD, Day NL..Developmental consequences of prenatal tobacco exposure. Curr Opin Neurol. 2009 Apr;22(2):121-5.
Keegan J, Parva M, Finnegan M, Gerson A, Belden M.Addiction in pregnancy. J Addict Dis. 2010 Apr;29(2):175-91.
Update Date: 1/27/2012
Updated by: Kimberly G Lee, MD, MSc, IBCLC, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
Thu, 05/03/2012 - 4:03pm
#23
politically incorrect options
managed addiction clinics with required birth control and encouraged sterilization for hard core addicts. cost a lot less than the DEA with better results.
The military industrial complex relies on aggressive alcohol-induced personalities to vote for new weapon systems, operate those weapons (enlist in Army), and support police action throughout the world by voting for politicians who receive $billions in lobbying by arms manufacturers.
These multi $trillion businesses dwarf all of the other commonly cited interests against legalization such as the prison industry, law enforcement, legal profession, etc.
When Nixon saw the peace-loving hippies opposing the Viet Nam War and smoking pot, he decided to escalate the war that we're still fighting today.
The federal government is addicted to the massive military spending and associated lobbying so the only hope to fix the problem is at the state level. I drafted an amendment to the Georgia Constitution and posted it at http://churchofsmoke.org