134,971,077 Reasons So Far This Year For #ALpolitics To #LegalizeIt & #Tax #Cannabis

If one were to look at Colorado as an example of reasons to legalize cannabis, there would be at least 134,971,077 reasons this year so far to FULLY legalize it not only in Alabama, but nationwide.

You see, $134,971,077 is the “Total All Marijuana Taxes, Licenses, Calendar Year-to-Date” Colorado has collected.

ref: State of Colorado Marijuana Taxes, Licenses, and Fees Transfers and Distribution Tax Revenue from July 2017
https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/revenue/colorado-marijuana-tax-data

But if one were to completely ignore the increased voluntary revenue, there are other topics raised.

And of course, opponents of cannabis legalization make assertions like DUI rates will increase. But, there’s nothing like the truth to dispel such specious claims. Remember: Specious means “superficially plausible, but actually wrong.”

So here are some facts on that very matter from Oregon, which has also legalized cannabis for recreational purposes.

“Five to ten times more drivers who were involved in fatal accidents in Oregon between 2004 and 2014 had alcohol in their system than THC. As with THC intoxication, the overall trend of alcohol intoxication in fatal accidents has been an increase since 2010, although alcohol-related fatalities spiked significantly in 2015 while THC-related fatalities decreased slightly.”

ref: 2015 House Bill 3400 DUII Legislative Report
http://www.oregon.gov/olcc/marijuana/Documents/HB3400_2015_DUIILegislativeReport.pdf

“Overall traffic fatalities increased substantially in all three states [CO, OR, WA] between 2014 and 2015 and cannot be explained by THC-related fatalities. This data illustrates that traffic fatalities overall remain a significant problem, independent of THC-related crashes.”

Logically, and rationally, legalizing Cannabis is common sense, for the following two simple reasons:
1.) It reduces governmental costs, and;
2.) It increases revenue.

Here’s how it reduces governmental costs.

1.) It reduces Law Enforcement costs, and allows LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) to focus their time and attention upon significant crime.
2.) It reduces Judicial costs by having fewer court cases, and decreases Judicial case backlogs.
3.) It reduces Prosecution and Public Defense costs.
4.) It reduces Incarceration costs.
5.) It reduces Probation costs.

Here’s how it increases governmental revenue.

1.) It increases Retail Sales Taxes at State & Local levels.
2.) It increases Licensing Fees at State & Local levels.
3.) It increases Entrepreneurial Opportunities for Producers & Retailers.
4.) It increases Employment.

Cannabis legalization also benefits the general public and economy because eliminating arrests and convictions for possession, consumption, and/or distribution also in many cases makes one ineligible for participating in certain federal, state, or local programs, such as Federally Guaranteed Housing Loans (FmHA, VA, etc.), Education Grants and Loans, and Small Business Administration assistance.

Following is a sampling of comments from individuals (whom do not consume cannabis) on the matter of legalizing cannabis in Alabama.

A: “Time to stop wasting lives and resources on interdiction, as we know interdiction has never worked in human history. It does not work even in the most austere police states (which we are fast becoming). Look at the massive toehold provided to organized crime by prohibition. You might think we would learn from our mistakes, and yet we keep electing asshats like Trump and Sessions.”

B: “Opponents of cannabis legalization make specious claims about impaired driving, so it’s ALWAYS good to whoop out JUST THE FACTS, ma’am. Moreover, intellectual laziness & sorriness will NEVER be any kind excuse for anything. And THAT is precisely why many GOPpers dislike education & strive to keep their base “largely poor, uneducated, and easy to command.””

A: “Never smoked weed. Never would if it was legalized. Just tired of all the lives and resources wasted by the war on drugs. Enough.”

C: “Something tells me that there are a lot of folks in this state who, like you, don’t smoke weed, and wouldn’t if it was, but hate the waste too.”

A: “Indeed! If our Congress applied the same standards to cannabis as they did to the discrepancy between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, it’d be legal nationwide, because it is well-documented that anti-cannabis laws were motivated by racism – a hatred of Hispanics and Negroes – who were thought to be the almost exclusive consumers of cannabis.

“We know, however – again, those pesky facts – that cannabis consumption rates are distributed equally throughout the ethnic spectrum. It’s just that enforcement is selective among the racial minority communities, instead of among Caucasians.”