Do US Anti-Drug Laws STIMULATE the economy?
 

By criminalizing weed and other low level drugs, this creates a need for jail guards, jail construction, administrators, cops, jail personnel, jail equipment manufacturers, and tons of overtime. This also creates a need for prosecutors, defense lawyers, judges, and support staff. We're talking BILLIONS OF DOLLARS in spending. The recipients of the drug-jail industrial complex spend this money on the economy. STIMULUS???

On the other side of the ledger, this means billions of dollars lost in tax revenue( if these low level drugs were taxed). Also, broken lives and lifelong stigma for being a convict (and diminished employment potential). Also, throwing drug offenders in jail just exposes them to learning other more serious crimes from other inmates. Not to mention the serious psychic, spiritual, and emotional damage. Is there a price tag for that?

Do you consider the drug-jail industrial complex a sneaky stimulus plan? Or do you think the economy would be better off with drug decriminalization?

If weed was legalized. Everyone would be brain dead. To those who say there is nothing bad from smokin bud your a fucking retard. Let me give you some fast ass bong rips everyday for 30 days and you tell me your not brain dead.

I do think that the government can benifit if it was legalized in say half the states and the other half strict as a bitch if caught with anything marijuana relaited. Just my ideas if i ruled the world one day. I'm pretty sure GFY members can run USA much better than the people behind the curtians. Fuck em anyway cause i don't care. :pimp

A lot of very, very successful people who post here are also "potheads".

Keep on trollin', though! :winkwink:

regulated drugs would stimulate the economy. The well know golden ages flourished because of drugs.

Housing all of these pot heads does mean states have to spend a ton of money, which in turn simulates the economy. However, seems the states don't have the money to spend any more.

Islamic Golden Age = powered by hashish? Who knew :winkwink:

If people and politicians knew how much money was really spent on people buying weed underground, and how much money they would make taxing that, they would change their views real, real fast.

But the alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical companies continue to line politicians pockets, because legal cannabis is the biggest threat to their profits.

California is leading the way though. The cannabis economy there now is more than anyone around the world realizes. There have been so many jobs created. There are completely new publications dealing in advertising medical marijuana places. There are companies delivering. There are companies making food items and hiring cooks/bakers and sales people, distributors. Not to mention all the goodies that go with cannabis like papers, vaporizers, all that stuff. When people read the news, and repeat it "they're shutting down the dispensaries in Cali, the fun is over"... they have NO IDEA how much is going on in terms of the business revolving around the medical marijuana industry.

There are millions more dollars in it than what some prison guards spend on the weekend. They probably spend their wages at the dispensaries too. :1orglaugh

In fact, Cali is stimulating the economy so much, I know a few people from down here in New Orleans who have been traveling to Nor Cal to harvest... they make $15-$25 an hour and get a place to stay for free. And then they come back here for a month or so, and back up... and yeah they spend their money here. Go Cali! :1orglaugh

Exactly. LEGAL pharma abuse = top cause of accidental deaths in the US. Even more than drunk driving.

TL DR

But in other news who likess waffles

You misspell every other word and you call other people brain dead??

Interesting. So you are saying that we need to find more ways for our government to spend money.

Not around here they don't.

In the nice community where I live (NOT innercity crack-land), I suspect that half of the homes have "legal" (under state law) marijuana farming operations of some level currently underway (or having just harvested).

The feds threatening to pursue legal collectives and individual growers despite state law allowing such, is causing somewhat of an exodus of folks from the area, with new "for sale" and "for rent" signs popping up daily.

This is messing with property values in an already tough market and it's because there are not "other jobs" in the area (unless you can live off Internet). You can't feed your family while you're in jail.

Folks are afraid and that ripples hard through our local economy as they pack up and leave, or go on welfare or I suppose they could move close to a jail and be prison guards :disgust

more drug = less people in jails...

Watch this video to see the economics on the other side of the equation :(