California’s wise governors have discovered another way to put teenage entrepreneurs out of work. The AP reports that according to a study by tax officials:
The State Board of Equalization report estimates marijuana retail sales [in California] would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes.
The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana.
California faces ongoing structural deficits in its state budget of over $25-billion a year, about 25% of its spending levels. So, let’s have more “sin taxes.” "We can no longer afford to keep our heads in the sand when it comes to marijuana," Ammiano said in a statement.
Nor can we afford to have more political sand thrown in our eyes. We were told that the state lottery would ensure education funding, but it hasn’t. We were told that Indian gaming would boost state revenues, but the Indians have learned since they sold Manhattan for some beads to largely avoid paying back our new Peter Stuyvesants. We were told that increased tobacco and alcohol taxes would pay for targeted treatment programs, but most has been siphoned to other uses.
The odds of winning the lottery are far worse than in any form of gambling, as the poor line up with false hope in their eyes to buy tickets. Ever walk through an Indian casino, particularly in the daytime, and see the seniors looking like tamed zombies from Night Of The Living Dead feed their retirement checks and savings into the slots. And, about all we get is some public service commercials, usually in the middle of the night, telling us not to smoke or to drink responsibly.
Just because there are many who do smoke marijuana, there is no justification that I can accept for making it easier for more to do so. The AP story says, “Marijuana use would likely increase by about 30 percent once the law took effect because legalization would lead to falling prices, the board said.” I’ll bet, taxed or untaxed, the increase in use would be higher.
Marijuana can lead to similar, and worse, unhealthy effects as tobacco. Particularly among teens, in their mentally formative and impressionable years, marijuana has been shown to impede maturing and dealing constructively with everyday life. But, don’t take my word for it. Below the fold are excerpts from the National Institutes for Health’s fact sheet, just updated this month.
California is about 12% of the US’ population. Similar proposals have been made in other states. And, federally, there may be potential for $8.25-billion in similar annual revenues for Washington, D.C. California and Washington, however, have shown no appetite for more careful governance of the many billions of tax dollars they have now, preferring more taxes to eliminating wasteful programs, disappointing their union bosses, or having to actually professionally manage.
Yes, I know many of us have smoked marijuana, and most have gone on to reasonably productive lives. But, think back and remember the many of fellow pot smokers we knew who didn’t. Think deep and honestly about your own experiences, and whether you may have made some better choices if not smoking marijuana. Think about why enlarging harmful behaviors is not justified by their smaller incidence already.
Then, think about our legislators, and I’ll take the bet that a larger proportion are still living in smoke dreams, avoiding the necessity to govern they were elected to do. Indeed, they probably hope that more of us will be so smoked.
Instead, we get such nonsense as this proposal, the “Governing? Don’t Bother Me, Man, I’m High” bill. Don’t give me any libertarian crap on this one, at least until we get legislators who stop being high on our excess taxes.
National Institutes For Health
Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off….
Research on the long-term effects of marijuana abuse indicates some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs….
Long-term marijuana abuse can lead to addiction; that is, compulsive drug seeking and abuse despite its known harmful effects upon social functioning in the context of family, school, work, and recreational activities. Long-term marijuana abusers trying to quit report irritability, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and drug craving, all of which make it difficult to quit….
A number of studies have shown an association between chronic marijuana use and increased rates of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and schizophrenia. Some of these studies have shown age at first use to be a factor, where early use is a marker of vulnerability to later problems. However, at this time, it not clear whether marijuana use causes mental problems, exacerbates them, or is used in attempt to self-medicate symptoms already in existence. Chronic marijuana use, especially in a very young person, may also be a marker of risk for mental illnesses, including addiction, stemming from genetic or environmental vulnerabilities, such as early exposure to stress or violence. At the present time, the strongest evidence links marijuana use and schizophrenia and/or related disorders.6 High doses of marijuana can produce an acute psychotic reaction; in addition, use of the drug may trigger the onset or relapse of schizophrenia in vulnerable individuals….
Marijuana increases heart rate by 20–100 percent shortly after smoking; this effect can last up to 3 hours. In one study, it was estimated that marijuana users have a 4.8-fold increase in the risk of heart attack in the first hour after smoking the drug….
Numerous studies have shown marijuana smoke to contain carcinogens and to be an irritant to the lungs. In fact, marijuana smoke contains 50–70 percent more carcinogenic hydrocarbons than does tobacco smoke….
Research clearly demonstrates that marijuana has the potential to cause problems in daily life or make a person’s existing problems worse. In one study, heavy marijuana abusers reported that the drug impaired several important measures of life achievement including physical and mental health, cognitive abilities, social life, and career status.11 Several studies associate workers’ marijuana smoking with increased absences, tardiness, accidents, workers’ compensation claims, and job turnover….
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2007, 14.4 million Americans aged 12 or older used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, which is similar to the 2006 rate. About 6,000 people a day in 2007 used marijuana for the first time—2.1 million Americans. Of these, 62.2 percent were under age 18.
