California lobbyists this afternoon: legalizing pot would end our economic crisis

[Fiyero]

eom

[Jarid in Cedar]

Buy stock in Frito-Lay and Hostess!!

[Fiyero]

According to Wolf Blitzer, Schwarzenegger dismissed the proposal months ago but last week took a second look at it.

[All-American]

It MAY end THIS economic crisis, but it won't solve our economics problem.

Our problem is that we haven't learned not to spend more than we have. Give government another revenue source, and it will find ways to spend it. So long as government lacks the discipline to refrain from spending money it does not have, no amount of additional revenue sources will cure us.

Marijuana may give government a short-term high and make it feel all better, for a little while. But it will only stimulate its hunger for spending.

[Solon]

It MAY end THIS economic crisis, but it won't solve our economics problem.

Our problem is that we haven't learned not to spend more than we have. Give government another revenue source, and it will find ways to spend it. So long as government lacks the discipline to refrain from spending money it does not have, no amount of additional revenue sources will cure us.

Marijuana may give government a short-term high and make it feel all better, for a little while. But it will only stimulate its hunger for spending.

I read several op-eds on this while I was in California earlier this month. Some lawmakers are suggesting that the distribution centers would charge $50/oz., and then, tacking on sales tax, the final tally would be something like $54. I don't know how much an ounce of weed sells for on the street (and I know quality has a lot to do with it), but this price seems really high to me. This was the number being used for revenue projections.

The government should realize that were it to legalize pot in CA, it would still have to set prices at a reasonably competitive level, or keep all its cops on the street to stamp out the undercutting black market.

But, of course, none of these politicians (that I read about anyway) had thought of that. They just assumed that everyone would start buying legal pot from legal distributors, regardless of how high they jacked up the price.

(unless I'm wrong and $54/oz. is a decent price for medicinal-quality marijuana)

[RobinFinderson]

I read several op-eds on this while I was in California earlier this month. Some lawmakers are suggesting that the distribution centers would charge $50/oz., and then, tacking on sales tax, the final tally would be something like $54. I don't know how much an ounce of weed sells for on the street (and I know quality has a lot to do with it), but this price seems really high to me. This was the number being used for revenue projections.

The government should realize that were it to legalize pot in CA, it would still have to set prices at a reasonably competitive level, or keep all its cops on the street to stamp out the undercutting black market.

But, of course, none of these politicians (that I read about anyway) had thought of that. They just assumed that everyone would start buying legal pot from legal distributors, regardless of how high they jacked up the price.

(unless I'm wrong and $54/oz. is a decent price for medicinal-quality marijuana)

Your numbers are way off.

Here is some information that I know:

Marijuana is sold by the gram, by fractions of an ounce, and by the ounce. Anything more than an ounce can be pretty difficult to come by on the street, and will cost a bundle in a dispensary.

An eighth of an ounce of marijuana is a very common quantity of the substance, and is just about the amount that can easily fit into a typical Rx bottle. For this reason eighths are probably the most common quantity sold by dispensaries, while grams are more common on the street. Quality of products differ greatly, and prices reflect quality, reputation of the vendor, etc.

An eighth of medical grade MJ will run anywhere from $40-100 dollars, with high quality product typically falling in the $60-80 range. Street prices tend to be lower, but buyers get whatever the vendor has, and vendors have lots of incentive to rip people off, unless a person is a regular customer with an established relationship. So for you average Californian, the dispensary is a fantastic option.

The other typical quantities are quarters and the full ounce, with increasing discounts for volume purchase at each level. A quality ounce of medical grade will cost a person about $400. It is a substantial amount of weed, and would last even the stoniest among my friends and acquaintances several months of regular use. Some people use more than others. I have one friend who could probably use up an ounce in one month. He is a heavy user with heavy problems for which he basically remains permanently stoned. Poor guy.

Anyhow, FYI, these numbers more closely reflect the current pricing for medical MJ:

$10-20/gram
$40-80/eighth
$80-150/quarter
$300-500/oz.

Street prices can be substantially less.

[TheAzzuri]

I may be way off on this, but wasn't there some sort of SCOTUS ruling about this a few years ago striking down legalization in CA? If I recall correctly, (whatever the ruling was) was handed down around the time of the eminent domain (sp?), and so it didn't get much play. Did that just have to do with its medicinal use?

Mind you, I have no opinion on the matter. I'm just curious how that might effect such a law.

Did I pull that out of nowhere?

[Solon]

Your numbers are way off.

Here is some information that I know:

Marijuana is sold by the gram, by fractions of an ounce, and by the ounce. Anything more than an ounce can be pretty difficult to come by on the street, and will cost a bundle in a dispensary.

An eighth of an ounce of marijuana is a very common quantity of the substance, and is just about the amount that can easily fit into a typical Rx bottle. For this reason eighths are probably the most common quantity sold by dispensaries, while grams are more common on the street. Quality of products differ greatly, and prices reflect quality, reputation of the vendor, etc.

An eighth of medical grade MJ will run anywhere from $40-100 dollars, with high quality product typically falling in the $60-80 range. Street prices tend to be lower, but buyers get whatever the vendor has, and vendors have lots of incentive to rip people off, unless a person is a regular customer with an established relationship. So for you average Californian, the dispensary is a fantastic option.

The other typical quantities are quarters and the full ounce, with increasing discounts for volume purchase at each level. A quality ounce of medical grade will cost a person about $400. It is a substantial amount of weed, and would last even the stoniest among my friends and acquaintances several months of regular use. Some people use more than others. I have one friend who could probably use up an ounce in one month. He is a heavy user with heavy problems for which he basically remains permanently stoned. Poor guy.

Anyhow, FYI, these numbers more closely reflect the current pricing for medical MJ:

$10-20/gram
$40-80/eighth
$80-150/quarter
$300-500/oz.

Street prices can be substantially less.

Thanks for the info. Whoever wrote the story with the specifics must have had his head up his ass since there's no way I could've read that so poorly (could I?).

[Fiyero]

Turns out CA is also looking into taxing strip clubs for additional revenue. Damn that government needs to keep its nose out of our fun.

[Hallelujah]

eom

That would be offset by the additional social services needed to deal with even more crack head 'disease'.