Marijuana

Ok. People on both sides of this issue are ridiculous. People who are completely against marijuana being legalized drink alcohol, which is worse for your body than Mary Jane. People who want it to be totally legalized are even dumber, because here's an industry that could bring in billions upon billions of dollars in the national economy.

Marijuana should be legalized to the same extent tobacco products are legal. Capitalists are missing a huge opportunity. 5.5 trillion cigarettes are smoked annually. Now, how many bowls, bongs, joints, gravity bongs, etc. are smoked annually? There's no real way to know. But just under 873,000 (that's eight-hundred-seventy-three thousand) arrests were made in 2007 because of cannabis. This consisted of almost 50% of the drug-related arrests for this year.  Marijuana is considered the "gateway drug" because it opens the door for so many people to try other drugs.  But what people fail to mention is that marijuana is one of the least addictive drugs there is.

So, here is what I propose.


I propose that the government contemplate legalizing marijuana and control the growing and harvesting and tax it. The average price for a pack of cigarettes is $5.15 in the United States. If the government subsidized marijuana harvesters like they do tobacco harvesters, they could tax the sale of marijuana just like they do tobacco. This could bring in billions. Make it a crime to grow your marijuana for personal use, but not illegal to have marijuana on your person.
Technology is advancing. Invest in the creation of a device much like the Breathalyzer. Driving under the influence of marijuana, operating machinery, working, should remain scrutinized, but not personal/recreational use.