"Legalize Pot - Here Are the Issues to Consider”
as admitted in my previous post regarding healthcare, i have no qualifications to make any of the assessments i am about to make excepting a degree in economics (which i got BEFORE i found it was all horsesh**). so... take this for what it's worth.
my experience has taught me that the most common affliction (among humans and animals living with humans) is anxiety. money is the primary cause of anxiety for humans and humans arguing about money the primary cause for the aforementioned animals. pot fixes that. pot fixes a lot of things (including pain), at least temporarily (which is all a maintenance drug is supposed to do, right?). after my recent diagnosis of anxiety, i found Abilify (one of the newer anxiety drugs on the market) to be far too expensive for me at this point being unemployed and uninsured ($444.00 for 30 - 10 Mg pills). pot, on the other hand, which does exactly the same thing for me costs far less than that even if i buy the best stuff i can find (maximum $300 / month- and that's during an 'anxious' month;).
at any rate, the point is that legalization would be profitable- for EVERYONE. for those that smoke, a regulated market would immediately bring lower prices because of 1) production at an industrial scale (vs. small-scale, indoor operations) and 2) the premium for the risk (which you now pay to your dealer) would be eliminated. for the government, a new market for marijuana would 1) bring in additional tax revenues, 2) moot the point that pot is a gateway drug- if it were distributed legally, it would no longer be a guaranteed introduction to other substances- and 3) reduce law-enforcement responsibilities as well as over-crowding in jails / prisons (how many 'criminals' were only charged with smoking pot last year...?). for business, it would be a new, legal market which could be used for expansion and / or diversification. for individuals who do not want to smoke or can not for whatever reason, we promise you will not be forced. the benefit to you will be in lower tax dollars paid for drug law enforcement and imprisonment.
this step would absolutely be profitable to all involved. since i can't count, my guess wouldn't count, so i won't guess exactly how profitable- i can say with certainty that it would be noticeably so. again, the idea is simply to create a market similar to that for cigarettes or alcohol so that T.H.C.-containing products could be sold over-the-counter at convenience stores, ultimately, but at dispensaries to begin with, i suppose.
i realize there are many with a view on this subject diametrically opposed to my own- these individuals seem to think all drugs are the same if illegal. the truth is that all drugs are the same- illegal or not- some are just more 'effective' than others. drugs are intended to change the chemistry of the body / mind and, in turn, how the body / mind function. i am absolutely of the view that some drugs should remain illegal but that criminals who are addicts should be treated differently from those who are just plain criminals. for those of you who don't smoke and don't think marijuana should be legalized, would you rather have a drunk person in the car beside you or a high one? i can promise you the drunk is slower to react... to anything.
either legalize pot or outlaw alcohol- the former is a lot less dangerous as it is and would be even less so (relative to alcohol) if marijuana were made legal. is there anyone else out there who's thinking what i'm thinking?
gcool06