Gator, I appreciate what you have contributed on this message board over the last few months, but you are way off base on this subject.
I have researched the cannabis / hemp industry on and off for over 20 years and your claims are wildly false.
I have read numerous articles from the most reputable sources that exist and they all say basically the opposite of what you have stated.
1) The only huge mistake the Governor made was not legalizing cannabis sooner. He only called it "reckless" due to his ignorance on the subject. Most people have no clue of what benefits cannabis / hemp can provide. Ever hear of CBD Oil and the cannabinoids that it has in it??? It has no THC in it (which is what makes you high) and has a long list of ailments / cures that it provides. It is proven to help greatly with Seizure Disorders, MS, Parkinson's Disease, Anxiety, PTSD, Debilitating Headaches and a host of other issues. Even our own Surgeon General recently stated that cannabis has medicinal properties. Much more on this topic will surface over the years. You will see if you follow the MJ sector...
2) Traffic (DUI) deaths and crime is down according to several sources. Driving under the influence of alcohol has been proven to be much worse than driving under the influence of cannabis.
Taking petty drug dealers who sell pot off the streets can only lead to two things - crime reduction and increased tax revenue. Thugs will no longer be shooting each other over a couple hundred bucks (or less) worth of weed and there will be more money deposited into the tax coffers.
A regulated market with lab testing will ensure that people are not ingesting some garbage, tainted commercial weed from Mexico or wherever. These types of weed are unsafe as they are never handled properly and have mold, bugs, pesticides, herbicides and can be over fertilized.
3) Absenteeism, not sure on this one... I would say (and have experienced) that absenteeism related to alcohol is much higher.
4) More brain dead idiots - I have to agree with you on this one... LOL. It's definitely not helping our situation here. Although, I have read (at least a few times) that cannabis actually restores brain cells... How true this is I do not know for sure... Short-term memory it is definitely not helping. I've seen this first-hand many times. I know many people who are very successful and extremely smart who use cannabis (somewhat regularly) and it seems to have little to no effect on them. It effects people differently (just like alcohol). The hundreds of strains of cannabis that are available today have varying levels of "highs" or psychotropic effects that differ widely. Sativa strains give you an uplifting high that makes you want to get things done. Indica strains have a calming effect which tends to make you lazy and want to sit on the couch and play video games all day long. Some people even report that they are more focused when learning while being high...
5) MJ as a "gateway drug" is relative I suppose. Alcohol is just as much of a "gateway drug" (if not more so) and is a much bigger problem and easier to access. Some people just have an addictive personality and if they want to get high, they will find a way.
The money that is at stake is extremely important to our economy. Colorado alone brought in $763 Mil from cannabis sales. Of which, about $15 or $20 Mil went to taxes. This does not even include the edibles market and they estimate that market at 30% - 40% of the dry herb market. So, we are at $1 billion in recreational / medical cannabis and edibles combined. So I would think that it's safe to say they actually brought in $25 or $30 million in taxes? These numbers will be confirmed soon enough and we are only talking about one state.
Additionally, hemp which has tens of thousands of uses is a whole other beast of a market. Yes, you read that right - Tens of Thousands of uses. You can't get high from hemp no matter how hard you try. It is impossible as there is very little to no THC in it. For hemp to be illegal and classified as a schedule 1 "drug" is absolutely absurd. IMO this market could be 10 times bigger than cannabis and together could greatly help pull us out of this recession. Why do we import hemp from China, Australia or several other places to currently support a $500 Mil (annual) industry in our own country? Makes no sense to me...
Cannabis has proven time and time again to be much safer than alcohol. If alcohol is legal, cannabis should be too.
I could post links to the most reputable and reliable sources on this topic that exist all day long, but I will leave it up to you to do your own DD on the subject.
I hope that my rant (which turned out to be much longer than expected) has shed some light on the subject and encourage anyone reading this to do their own due diligence.
Thanks for reading!
