by Jack
(Arrests made at illegal pot dispensary in Compton, CA)
Dreams of a Perfect Unicornia Go Awry. . . Again
Let us legalize marijuana, let us turn it into a huge taxpaying cash crop and let the State of California be flush with new found tax revenue!
Yes, dear brethren… legalizing pot will allow patients in desperate need easy access to this life saving pharmaceutical and think of all the wonderful hemp products that will become available. The people who smoke dope will be thrilled with their new freedom from police oppression. Naturally, the CA prison population will plummet by removing all those thousands of non-violent offenders jailed just for smoking weed.
Life in CA will be approaching Nirvana, so sayeth the democrats.
Now for the buzz kill. Seems the weight of state bureaucracy is so heavy and the licensing costs so great, legal pot shops can’t make it. The black market dispensaries are able to sell marijuana for about 1/8 the cost found in the legal store.
Black market dispensaries don’t pay any taxes or fees to the State. So, to protect it’s licensed pot shops from illegal competition, the State finds itself serving search warrants and making busts just like the old days before pot was legal. As Yogi Berra would say, “It’s de ja vu all over again.”
Maybe California accidentally got one right for a change. I always felt like certain human behaviors, like pot and porn, were more fun before they became socially acceptable. Tattoos too.
Some kinda important info was left outta the decision to legalize pot. What parameters are used to determine if someone is driving under the influence? Breathalyzers don’t work for drugs.
And workman’s comp is an issue. If you get injured on the job while high, whose responsibility is it? And do you want someone operating machinery with a buzz on?
And since the black market is working so well, expect those places to be targets of criminals looking for quick ca$h.
TANSTAAFL!
We’ve only just got started, fer heaven’s sake. Give it a few years to shake out the kinks. You talk like the black market for liquor and ciggies has ceased to exist … and it has not.
Good point, Libby. There are always kinks to work out when expanding freedom…but freedom is worth it.
Now do the black market for guns.