slimvictor
Bluelight Crew
If the polls are accurate, Washington is set to become the first state to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for people over 21.
The University of Washington found 55 percent of likely voters were in favor of I-502. Their poll, conducted about one week before the election, found just 38 percent opposed the initiative.
The Washington Secretary of State's Office describes the measure this way:
This measure would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for persons over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues.
Economics of Legalizing Marijuana
The financial issues might be even more complicated than either side realizes.
The first, obvious economic impact of I-502 is the taxes it would place on marijuana once pot is legalized. To figure out just how much money that will bring in, Professor Jonathan Caulkins at Carnegie Melon University says we first have to know the price of pot. He says that will change once it is legal.
"Marijuana is essentially an agricultural crop [...] there's no reason why it should be nearly as expensive as it is except for the prohibition," Caulkins says.
Caulkins compares the production of legal pot to the growing of crops like apples or tea. There are estimates the price could drop by as much as 50 percent.
The Washington initiative sets up a three-tiered tax system where it would be taxed at 25 percent at the production level, at the distribution level, and at the point of sale.
"The price decline would greatly reduce the revenues relative to what you would naively project if you imagined that it was still going to be $10 or $12 a gram," says Caulkins.
There is also a financial risk that comes along with legalizing marijuana. It could set up a battle with the federal government, which still considers the drug illegal.
While there might not be any large savings to the state by not enforcing the prohibition of pot, Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron says there would likely be secondary effects on our economy. For example, Washington's 8.5 percent unemployment rate might drop.
"The number of people employed wouldn't necessarily change very much. It would just be that someone who had been employed as an illegal marijuana grower would now be a legal marijuana grower," Miron says.
There likely would be a positive economic impact from the legalization of marijuana. Unfortunately, there are too many variables for anyone to guess just how much.
Miron and Caulkins agree the financial argument should not be the main consideration for people deciding whether or not to support legalizing marijuana.
Driving Under the Influence of Drugs
Legalizing marijuana could affect more than just where users buy their drug of choice. It could seriously impact how those users are prosecuted for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs.
Initiative 502 sets up a limit of five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. Any more than that and drivers could be prosecuted. While they would face the same penalties currently in place, some say the threshold set by the new rules would be unfair.
"I'm a medical marijuana user. I wake up at 3 to 4 times the legal limits when I wake up in the morning, and I guarantee you I'm not impaired," says Steve Sarich, spokesman for the No on 502 campaign.
Sarich worries the initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use in Washington state would result in the prosecution of medicinal users. While some users may be impaired at five nanograms, Sarich says he has built up a tolerance. He claims it takes a lot more of the drug to make him too affected to drive.
"At 50 nanograms I'm definitely not impaired," says Sarich, "It is such an individual thing."
While Sarich says studies are mixed on the effects of marijuana on driving ability, Forensic Toxicologist Dave Michaelson says it is clear to him. THC affects the hippocampus more than any other area of the body. Michaelson explains, that's the computer portion of the brain that controls reactions to outside stimulus.
"What happens is it starts affecting how fasts you can respond if a child jumps out into the road you ability to quickly slam on the brakes is going to be affected. It's going to take longer," says Michaelson.
With DUI laws applying to liquor on the books for decades, many drivers have become used to being able to measure their intoxication level and wait the appropriate time before getting behind the wheel.
One problem with marijuana, according to Michaelson, is that the math is not so easy.
Not only does THC add up in a person at different rates based on how frequently they've used the drug in the past, it also can dissipate at different rates. That's because alcohol is a water-soluble substance while THC is fat-soluble.
"If you spilled alcohol on your hands and washed them in the sink, that alcohol would be off in a matter of moments," Michaelson explains. "But if you spilled oil on your hands and you then put your hand under a water faucet, it's takes a lot of time if you're not using soap to get that oil off your hands."
For daily users of marijuana whose fat cells are already saturated with THC, Michaelson says it can take weeks or even months for the drug to get below the five nanogram limit set under I-502. Even though the user may not currently feel high, he says the THC is still affecting their ability to drive safely.
"Even though the driver won't necessarily feel high," Michaelson says, "the actual effect of that THC will continue on them to a lesser degree."
cont at
http://mynorthwest.com/11/2121310/V...for-marijuana-issue?google_editors_picks=true
The University of Washington found 55 percent of likely voters were in favor of I-502. Their poll, conducted about one week before the election, found just 38 percent opposed the initiative.
The Washington Secretary of State's Office describes the measure this way:
This measure would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for persons over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and earmark marijuana-related revenues.
Economics of Legalizing Marijuana
The financial issues might be even more complicated than either side realizes.
The first, obvious economic impact of I-502 is the taxes it would place on marijuana once pot is legalized. To figure out just how much money that will bring in, Professor Jonathan Caulkins at Carnegie Melon University says we first have to know the price of pot. He says that will change once it is legal.
"Marijuana is essentially an agricultural crop [...] there's no reason why it should be nearly as expensive as it is except for the prohibition," Caulkins says.
Caulkins compares the production of legal pot to the growing of crops like apples or tea. There are estimates the price could drop by as much as 50 percent.
The Washington initiative sets up a three-tiered tax system where it would be taxed at 25 percent at the production level, at the distribution level, and at the point of sale.
"The price decline would greatly reduce the revenues relative to what you would naively project if you imagined that it was still going to be $10 or $12 a gram," says Caulkins.
There is also a financial risk that comes along with legalizing marijuana. It could set up a battle with the federal government, which still considers the drug illegal.
While there might not be any large savings to the state by not enforcing the prohibition of pot, Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron says there would likely be secondary effects on our economy. For example, Washington's 8.5 percent unemployment rate might drop.
"The number of people employed wouldn't necessarily change very much. It would just be that someone who had been employed as an illegal marijuana grower would now be a legal marijuana grower," Miron says.
There likely would be a positive economic impact from the legalization of marijuana. Unfortunately, there are too many variables for anyone to guess just how much.
Miron and Caulkins agree the financial argument should not be the main consideration for people deciding whether or not to support legalizing marijuana.
Driving Under the Influence of Drugs
Legalizing marijuana could affect more than just where users buy their drug of choice. It could seriously impact how those users are prosecuted for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs.
Initiative 502 sets up a limit of five nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood. Any more than that and drivers could be prosecuted. While they would face the same penalties currently in place, some say the threshold set by the new rules would be unfair.
"I'm a medical marijuana user. I wake up at 3 to 4 times the legal limits when I wake up in the morning, and I guarantee you I'm not impaired," says Steve Sarich, spokesman for the No on 502 campaign.
Sarich worries the initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use in Washington state would result in the prosecution of medicinal users. While some users may be impaired at five nanograms, Sarich says he has built up a tolerance. He claims it takes a lot more of the drug to make him too affected to drive.
"At 50 nanograms I'm definitely not impaired," says Sarich, "It is such an individual thing."
While Sarich says studies are mixed on the effects of marijuana on driving ability, Forensic Toxicologist Dave Michaelson says it is clear to him. THC affects the hippocampus more than any other area of the body. Michaelson explains, that's the computer portion of the brain that controls reactions to outside stimulus.
"What happens is it starts affecting how fasts you can respond if a child jumps out into the road you ability to quickly slam on the brakes is going to be affected. It's going to take longer," says Michaelson.
With DUI laws applying to liquor on the books for decades, many drivers have become used to being able to measure their intoxication level and wait the appropriate time before getting behind the wheel.
One problem with marijuana, according to Michaelson, is that the math is not so easy.
Not only does THC add up in a person at different rates based on how frequently they've used the drug in the past, it also can dissipate at different rates. That's because alcohol is a water-soluble substance while THC is fat-soluble.
"If you spilled alcohol on your hands and washed them in the sink, that alcohol would be off in a matter of moments," Michaelson explains. "But if you spilled oil on your hands and you then put your hand under a water faucet, it's takes a lot of time if you're not using soap to get that oil off your hands."
For daily users of marijuana whose fat cells are already saturated with THC, Michaelson says it can take weeks or even months for the drug to get below the five nanogram limit set under I-502. Even though the user may not currently feel high, he says the THC is still affecting their ability to drive safely.
"Even though the driver won't necessarily feel high," Michaelson says, "the actual effect of that THC will continue on them to a lesser degree."
cont at
http://mynorthwest.com/11/2121310/V...for-marijuana-issue?google_editors_picks=true
