TIME: Drugs Might Save California’s Economy
March 15, 2009 by Allison Boyer
Filed under Business
According to a TIME article, marijuana could be the answer to California’s economic problems. Democratic state assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced legislation that legalizes the drug, saying that it could mean billions in revenue for the state every year.
Tom Ammiano, Image: Newscom
Actually, even without being legal, weed is the biggest cash crop in California, accounting for $14 billion every year. The largest legal agricultural product – dairy – only brings in about $7.3 billion a year. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced recently that states may soon be able to set their own laws on marijuana. California could open the floodgates for other states to also legalize and tax the drug.
Not everyone is happy with the prospect that marijuana could be on the market legally soon. Says California Peace Officers’ Association lobbyist John Lovell, “The last thing we need is yet another mind-altering substance to be legalized. We have enough problems with alcohol and abuse of pharmaceutical products. Do we really need to add yet another mind-altering substance to the array?” Others say that the drug is already extremely accessible, and legalizing it would only take the glamor away, benefiting the state budget and cutting down on violent crimes.
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Check out what others are saying about this post...[...] Co-owner Tom Tsoumas says that many of the of people he met at the fair were desperate for work. With Rhode Island’s unemployment rate rising to 10.3% in January, some people can’t afford to pass up job opportunities that they once would have never considered, like working at a strip club. It isn’t surprising that the drug industry has seen a boost as well, so much so that some states are considering legalization. [...]