legalizing and taxing marijuana is already partially in place in california.
Physician's recommendations can be had for anything from a headache to insomnia. With a physician's recommendation, one can purchase marijuana from any of literally thousands of dispensaries that have sprung up from one end of the state to the other. And one can grow 12 plants, only 6 of which can be in the flowering stage at any given time.
If a person grows more than they "need", they can sell it at a dispensary.. which are organized as "collectives" so that people can legally sell their wares.
The price at the collectives has become a bit competitive, since there are so many of them, and the result is that the price is much less than the street price, and that is including the tax that the dispensaries pay to the local government. (there are several articles about voluntary taxation in Oakland)
A result is that the illegal trade is declining. So far, it is largely baby boomers wishing to be legal that pay for a recommendation, but younger folks wishing to grow a little side crop are cashing in after getting their recommendation.
Illegal dealers often deal in more than marijuana, so when their marijuana business declines, fewer people come in contact with them, reducing the "gateway" effect that the anti-drug folks have been harping on for years. The dispensaries wouldn't touch the other drugs with a ten-foot pole, as it would threaten their legitimate business.
California is a net exporter of marijuana, as the climate is conducive to happy plants. So far, the taxation hasn't been excessive, and the dispensaries are universal in their support of it. The basic rules are: no smoking and driving, and no one under 21 is given access.
I do not smoke pot, but i did during college days, many decades ago. My physician's assistant asked me if i wanted a recommendation for it to ameliorate the neuropathic side effects of a strong prescription drug that i have to take for a life threatening condition. I took the recommendation as sort of a funny joke that now it is legal for me to do something that, if i didn't have it, i could have lost my job over, and the irony is that i am not interested in recreational use of it.
Anyway, i used the legality to plant a dozen plants in the back of my garden. The seeds came from the collective, who even sell seedlings, just like tomato starts from Home Depot. Anyway, long story short, i got about $2000 per plant after i harvested it, and it resulted in about 10 percent of the money going to the state as it passed through the collective to people with medicinal recommendations for its use.
This halfway measure from illegal to legal seems to be working so far in california, and this twilight between prohibition and the total lifting of the prohibition is creating some interesting situations.
I have no idea if the number of users would change if prohibition was totally lifted, but i do know that removing the gang distribution system and illegal dealers from the equation is a positive move, and millions of dollars are being saved since the state no longer prosecutes people that stay within the liberalized laws...
AI
Market Data 
Markets 
