*How* Cannabis Can Save The Economy!

[EvIL bLuE YoShI]

A governmental cannabis program would earn the U.S. and in turn Canadian(They are only waiting for the U.S. to legalize first) to earn tens-of-billions of dollars in new revenue. It can also be easily controlled, by using the same methods the Canadian government uses to control it's alcohol distribution.

Canada prohibits the sale of liquor and beer in super-markets, convenience stores and many of the other places you can usually find them in the U.S. You can only pretty much only buy beer from "The Beer Store" and Liquor from "LCBO" both under the strict regulation by the Canadian government. This method could easily be used to control the distribution of Cannabis to consumers who would much rather have the easy access to it, keeping street sales illegal, just as it is Illegal to sell alcohol on the street.

Banning the sale of seeds(though I believe they should be sold to medical-patients), and growing only female plants(No seeds) would keep underground operations from even being able to produce illegally grown cannabis driving up the prices, making them unable to compete with the cheaper prices of the legal, therefore detering consumers even more from illegal purchases.

Not to mention the jobs created to run the government owned crop fields as growing the plant takes much care to grow a crop, and other jobs involved in the regulation, packaging, delivering and distributing and selling. It can be done. Science has already shown the harmlessness of marijuana on the body and mind. There are also stats from Denmark showing that the percentage of children smoking marijuana is MUCH lower than in the U.S.


It's not only a start, it's a jumpstart. The profit from this NEW revenue can help build on what we want to do, including the whole "Green Revolution" and help fund the other programs that they want to start to create other jobs which in turn cause them to bring in it's NEW income...a chain reaction, this program would be the easiest and cheapest to start and fund the harder and more expensive programs.

[DaBudhaStank]

Preachin to the choir, brother. hahahaha.

Bailouts? International Debt? Gone. The sheer billions of dollars that would be made is really astounding when you think about. I would GLADLY pay the government for weed if it was good quality at a not-too-high price. The sheer volume of people that would do the same would be amazing, because, pot heads hate spending money, but we LOVE spending money on weed.

[EvIL bLuE YoShI]

Ya, I know. I'm going around to forums posting this. Took me a little bit to write. We just need more intellectual, plans where we have to give a little to make it sound logical. It'd be hard for someone against legalization to argue these points, I believe.

[nwodreciffo]

if only our dreams would come true. You could buy weed just as easy as cigarettes

[EvIL bLuE YoShI]

If anyone has any websites I should post this on, let me know. I've only posted this on 3 others.

[issachar]

banning the sale of seeds wouldn't stop people from growing, just sayin'

also, imagine the selection that could be available if you could buy cannabis at a store

[EvIL bLuE YoShI]

Or please copy/paste my Original Post anywhere you feel you'll get the word across...other forums, myspace blog or pass it along through e-mail.

[AbrandnewL]

The way your describing it seems too good to be true. Imagine what the big corporations would do to the plant to make it more addicting and harmful.. I have never smoked tobacco but I can imagine it was much healthier hundreds of years ago when the native americans used to grow it. But now that it is a big industry it is loaded with chemicals. They put freakin' fiberglass in dipping tobacco for god sakes! All im saying is, legalization would be very bittersweet.:cool:

[eltone]

It sounds great but I do not think government workers would be as passionate about growing good bud as individuals. Also liquor stores buy different kinds of liquor from different producers, so I am all for a federal/state run Cannabis Store but NOT a federal/state run Cannabis farm. Just look at the crappy weed the last 5 surviving patients get from the U.S. government IND program. Google Irv Rosenfeld who's been getting 11 ounces of government weed a month for 22 years now. This makes him the oldest survivng cannabis patient and he is in great shape thanks to marijuana. I wonder why McCaffrey doesn't think this sends the "wrong message" to the youth, good lord I am tired of that old worn out argument. But you are so right Cannabis could save our economy. All we have to do is rid the political scene of people like Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Rep Mark Souder (R-Ind) who are still in the "Reefer Madness" mode. :thumbsup::stoned:

[JohnnyZ]

They put freakin' fiberglass in dipping tobacco for god sakes!

They put fiberglass into chew for a reason. It creates microscopic cuts on your gum line so the nicotine can be absorbed faster into your bloodstream. I'm not justifying the shit the put in cigarettes though, it's a crime against humanity.

[bonsaiguy]

The Government has hosed up every program they have ever created. If it's legalized keep it private but tax it like cigs and liquor..generate billions in revenue but then you have to be worried about what they would do with the money. I think the best option would be to legalize for personal consumption and personal production. This would greatly reduce the smuggling (and violence, corruption, etc. that goes with it) and leave the control in the hands of the user/growers. It would, however, require the same regulation as alcohol with regards to DUI, selling to minors, etc.
If the private market gets involved they would need to be watched like a hawk so they don't pull the same "what can we add that will make it more addictive" crap they have pulled with tobacco products.

[thcbongman]

I don't quite understand how cannabis would save the economy when it's already apart of the economy, already a profittable black market industry. The only different is the government would be collecting revenue and while the tax revenue would be nice, I don't think it would be enough to save the economy. It would also have social benefits, decriminalizing what shouldn't have been criminal in the first place and create healthier, more beneficial jobs than the current system creates.

The current system allows you to grow some plants at a fairly low-operating cost, and sell the buds for a ridiculous amount of money with the justification that it is illegal. Huge profit potential that wouldn't be there if it weren't for the fact it's illegal. Then you have all the law enforcement agencies whos mission is to stop it. All these courts systems, lawyers, law enforcement created from marijuana would be gone. More jobs would be lost. It's a vicious cycle of greed, the legalization movement is up against greed and that's the hardest element to defeat.

[EvIL bLuE YoShI]

I don't quite understand how cannabis would save the economy when it's already apart of the economy, already a profittable black market industry. The only different is the government would be collecting revenue and while the tax revenue would be nice, I don't think it would be enough to save the economy. It would also have social benefits, decriminalizing what shouldn't have been criminal in the first place and create healthier, more beneficial jobs than the current system creates.

The current system allows you to grow some plants at a fairly low-operating cost, and sell the buds for a ridiculous amount of money with the justification that it is illegal. Huge profit potential that wouldn't be there if it weren't for the fact it's illegal. Then you have all the law enforcement agencies whos mission is to stop it. All these courts systems, lawyers, law enforcement created from marijuana would be gone. More jobs would be lost. It's a vicious cycle of greed, the legalization movement is up against greed and that's the hardest element to defeat.

That's too simplistic. Black Market, means it's not part of the real market. The Economy is only affected by money spent in the real market. All the people who sell weed now, can integrate into the government program, unless they perpetrators of violent crimes. Also, the court systems, lawyers, and law enforcement can move on to real drugs, Crack, Meth etc. which IS and ALWAYS will be a problem. They are not going to run out of problems with those drugs. Like the OP said, it's a jumpstart. People can earn nice salaries/wages as employees of the program, because of the cost of production is so low and the demand will still be high. If we paid $5-10/g, the consumer would be happy and it's a huge profit for the program.

Also, as far as quality and branching companies. This is only a starting structure. Once it is set, and demand rises to or past supply, the program will need to branch out. This can be people already part of the company, and it makes the government comfortable, because they can keep an eye on and regulate(like alcohol companies) the new developed company, which can grow the bud they best way they think possible, and have their own name so consumers know which batch is which.

[GreenDestiny]

Sale of seeds shouldn't be regulated at all.

In comparison, yeast and sugar can be sold together with no limits.

With the seeds, one can make oil or food. But the act of using the seed for cultivation should be regulated.

Actually, should be no regulation for the cultivation at all, except the sale/distribution of the cannabis flowers / extracts.

Eh, whatever, cannabis is still like the #1 cash crop if it's illegal or not, and making it legal in certain aspects WILL save and stabilize the "economy".

[Stoner Shadow Wolf]

Liquor store style bud outlets, complete with breed classification and potency registers, so that the casual toker who only seeks one huge buzz a week can find something with a high concentration of THC, as opposed to someone who smokes socially, but doesnt care much for the high (who the fuck are YOU?! O_o lol just kidding :P), can buy something with a lower percentage of THC.

Cannabis foods becoming more common, hunger would be as though unheard of.

Except munchies... :D

[Stoner Shadow Wolf]

The Economy is only affected by money spent in the real market.


:wtf:








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:beatdeadhorse:





the economy is only affected by money that is spent on the economy...


that isnt to say that paying for decent bud from a local grower who sells it illegally isnt going to turn around and spend that on pizza or snacks!


it would only be harmful to the economy to buy from other countries, or hoarders, who sell lots only to build cash.........

[EvIL bLuE YoShI]

Yes, but how much of the profit that drug dealer's make, go into their wallet and how much goes into the next re-up? The majority of the money goes back into re-uping which keeps the money flowing in the black-market economy and keeps it out of the real-world economy. Get it?

[weedmaster]

one of the main reasons i wouldn't want this to happen in the U.K is the government are so greedy we would probally have to pay twice as much lol

[thcbongman]

That's too simplistic. Black Market, means it's not part of the real market. The Economy is only affected by money spent in the real market. All the people who sell weed now, can integrate into the government program, unless they perpetrators of violent crimes. Also, the court systems, lawyers, and law enforcement can move on to real drugs, Crack, Meth etc. which IS and ALWAYS will be a problem. They are not going to run out of problems with those drugs. Like the OP said, it's a jumpstart. People can earn nice salaries/wages as employees of the program, because of the cost of production is so low and the demand will still be high. If we paid $5-10/g, the consumer would be happy and it's a huge profit for the program.

Also, as far as quality and branching companies. This is only a starting structure. Once it is set, and demand rises to or past supply, the program will need to branch out. This can be people already part of the company, and it makes the government comfortable, because they can keep an eye on and regulate(like alcohol companies) the new developed company, which can grow the bud they best way they think possible, and have their own name so consumers know which batch is which.

The fundamental flaw of what you stated is people who make money in the economy spend the money on drugs in the black market. The people who make money off drugs in turn spend money on the economy. It's not the money goes away, it's spent somewhere. It is very much apart of the economy. There's so much profitiablity in drugs being illegal it literally helps economies. Miami was once a small little town where it was just retirees and no night life turn into the place it is today, with the matter of 20 years? Drug prohibition. All those smugglers make huge sums of money demanded luxuries goods and services? Illegal drugs made what Miami what it is today.

To drug dealers that make a lot of money, it's a hard sell to tell them hey were legalizing folks, yeah you no longer have justification to sell high, get used to it. They aren't going to give up their profits without a fight, certainly they'll have someone legitimate fighting to keep drugs illegal, they don't want to lose their profitiablity. Some lawyers aren't going to give up their revenue, their case load that is clogged with BS marijuana cases. They make money off that. You can't be like "hey, please give up your job for a good cause."

You don't realize what a shitload of money the black market creates for the legitimate economy.

[EvIL bLuE YoShI]

[quote=thcbongman] Illegal drugs made what Miami what it is today.
QUOTE]

I lived in Florida for 8 years. Miami is the worst city in the U.S. that I've ever been to.

[thcbongman]

It's not the ideal way to build the economy, which is why most of the successful companies have strong ethic values. However it's apparant the economy has some dependence to the dark side...

Of course Miami is quite a crime-riddened city but none the less in the 70s while the rest of the economy suffered, Miami was recession-proof. I'm simply trying to highlight what the biggest enemy against legalization getting passed and that's is greed and self-interest.

[tokingfool]

To get out of the great depression, the U.S. government legalized liquor, ended prohobition, to create the extra revenue it needed to help the failing economy!!!!

Right now the USA is again in a depression, not a resession, a DEPRESSION!!!!

Weed could be regulated and taxed to create extra revenue :thumbsup: