Pennsylvania’s medical-marijuana program rolled out this February, but some state politicians are already looking to the next step: recreational marijuana. Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale and Braddock Mayor John Fetterman believe the state should legalize recreational marijuana as a way to create jobs, increase tax revenue, and save police resources that are spent on marijuana-related arrests.
“We have a budget deficit right now, and we have this substance that we can legalize,” said Fetterman in an interview with City Paper in September 2017. “We can make it safe, take it out of the shadows, we could tax it. We could put those dollars toward whatever we as a Commonwealth decide to do.”
According to a September 2017 Franklin & Marshall College poll, 59 percent of Pennsylvanians say that recreational marijuana should be made legal, with only 31 percent saying it shouldn’t. Eight U.S. states and Washington, D.C., have already legalized recreational use.
Because of Pennsylvania’s relatively large population, the auditor general’s office estimates the state could eventually bring in about $325 million in tax revenue yearly, if recreational marijuana is legalized, regulated and taxed.
Below CP offers figures to show how a Pennsylvania recreational-marijuana tax could stack up compared to other states and other Pennsylvania “sin” taxes.
This article appears in Apr 11-17, 2018.
It’s pennsylvania’s call. Either legalize for tax purposes OR cut spending. Which one do we want to do?
Money will also be saved from far fewer arrests, prosecutions and incarcerations for sales/possession. While difficult or impossible to convert into monetary terms, our core beliefs in liberty and freedom are also too often left out of the discussion.
Those who believe in limited government, personal responsibility, free markets, and individual liberty should embrace the ending of this irrational, un-American cannabis prohibition. It should be the cornerstone of current GOP policy.
About half of the U.S. population has tried cannabis, at least 15% use it regularly, over 80% of high school seniors have reported cannabis “easy to get” for decades. Those who really want to use cannabis heavily already are. Prohibition does little or nothing to prevent problematic use. In many cases prohibition makes cannabis usage problematic where it would not have been otherwise, be it light, moderate, or heavy usage. For the most part, cannabis prohibition only successfully prohibits effective regulation.
A few issues created by prohibition: there are no quality controls to reduce contaminants (harmful pesticides, molds, fungus, other drugs), there is no practical way to prevent regular underage sales, billions in tax revenue are lost which can be used for all substance abuse treatment, underground markets for all drugs are empowered as a far more popular substance is placed within them expanding their reach and increasing their profits, criminal records make pursuing many decent careers difficult, police and court resources are unnecessarily tied up by pursuing and prosecuting victimless ‘crimes’, public mistrust and disrespect for our legal system, police, and government is increased, which can be devastating to our country.
Prohibition is also very expensive, though, a cash cow for a number of powerful groups such as those related to law enforcement and the prison industry. These organizations have powerful lobbies and influence that perpetuate a failed drug policy through ignorance, fear, disinformation and misinformation. This ensures an endless supply of lucrative contracts and grants from the government and its taxpayers to support their salaries, tools of the trade, and other expenses. Cash, property and other assets from civil forfeiture laws also significantly fatten their coffers while often violating civil rights.
America was built on the principles of freedom and liberty. In some cases there are extreme circumstances that warrant intervention with criminal law. In the case of mind-altering drugs we have already set this precedent with alcohol. Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol to the consumer and especially to others. If we are to have justice, then the penalties for using, possessing and selling cannabis should be no worse than those of alcohol.
Why just more money for the shit heads to steal.like the 39cent gas tax that was supposed to fix the roads.anyone notice a difference……
The money never goes where the mob tells you
The casino’s were suppose to lower property taxes and never did. The gas tax was for roads and we all know we have terrible roads. Legalizing weed will not lower any of our expenses, that’s for sure.