Top advocates for the legalization of marijuana in the state of California say that tax revenues from selling the drug wouldn’t solely fix the financial troubles. This isn’t recent news, but what is more interesting is while there would be some relief from legalizing pot, it is clear that a larger source of reprieve would come from cutting law enforcement officers and positions that would no longer be needed. It is estimated that there would be $960 million in savings from axing the unnecessary enforcement personnel plus $352 million in tax revenue in the state of California. This all stems from the legalization of marijuana known as Proposition 19, which would not legalize pot statewide. It would give local governments the option of legalizing the drug or not, which would affect the estimated amount of revenue from taxes. Adding to the complexity is the fact that the local governments who do legalize the drug would be able to impose their own tax rates. It is also important to consider that while there would be benefits from tax revenues, there would also be threats of federal lawsuits considering marijuana would still be illegal under federal law. Either way, if Prop 19 were to pass, it would take many years to take effect and for the state to see the benefits.
I'm surprise they haven't take in to the account the amount of jobs that would be created from legalize weed. There will be more jobs created for weed retailers and weed growers now that it is legal.
ReplyDeleteAnd sure, there will be job loss for enforcement personnel in the state of California, but it may actually increase amount of job for this group in other states around it, as people from other states may be tempted to go down to California for weed. This, in turn, would created more jobs in California in the service section. It's kind of like California would get a lot more "tourists", the kind who go there not for the scene but for the pot.