That comparison does not dampen Tvert's enthusiasm, because he ignores it. In addition to the excise tax, Colorado collects a 10 percent special sales tax on recreational marijuana, plus a 2. Local governments can impose their own taxes, which in Denver total almost 12 percent. These numbers should put to rest the claims we keep hearing from opponents that marijuana tax revenue has fallen short of expectations in Colorado.

I understand why legalization advocates hype marijuana taxes as a new source of government revenue, but I still think it's a mistake. Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine and a nationally syndicated columnist. Follow Jacob Sullum on Twitter.

Recreational pot delivers $53 million in tax revenue to Colorado - Feb. 12,

Media Contact Reprint Requests. We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time. Fist of Etiquette 2. Last summer, congress passed some cuts to the DEA budget as well as attempted other measures which would have prevented federal interference in State marijuana policy.

The one narrowly defeated measure in the string of late Tuesday and Wednesday votes would have prevented federal prosecutors and anti-drug agents from blocking implementation of state recreational marijuana laws. That measure, introduced by Rep.

As to the specific cuts to DEA budget - they were minuscule. But they still freaked the fuck out and moan that its the end of the world. Here in NH, the republican dominated legislature has passed decriminalization bills maybe more than one , more reasonable medical bills with own-grow provisions the NH medical law is absurdly restrictive and they've all been vetoed by that stupid twat Hassan.

Its also notable that while Dem voters might poll well on things like weed, Dem politicians tend to be groomed and presented to the public as the representatives of public sector unions. That's sort of my point. Very few people are so consistent that they see the conflict between letting states do their thing with weed and consolidating federal control over everything else.

But I think that it is their actual preference. The problem is that, except for a few weirdos, legalization isn't a top issue that people vote on. I'm fairly confident they'll address the lack of tax revenue by jacking up the rates. It's an inevitable result of cozying up to the increased regulation devil in return for legal weed. That's been the case from the beginning in Washington.

I don't know what they've brought in, but I bet it's not as much as they'd hoped, since such a prohibitive tax rate causes people to still continue to turn to black market sources or grey market sources such as the delivery service I use, that just removed its website and went text message invitation only, presumably to avoid regulation.

Washington does the same thing with hard liquor ever since the state liquor stores were privatized, but you can't grow a bottle of gin in your basement, so they probably thought it would work well with weed too, because the State Liquor Board is a bunch of parasitic imbeciles.

Can you get Girl Scout Cookies, Gorilla Glue, or any of the other supposedly clone-only strains in your area? Those are both wildly popular and sadly mostly out of stock in most markets.

I just bought some Albert Walker on Friday, so And I have definitely seen Girl Scout Cookies on the delivery service menu as well. Fantastic work-from-home opportunity for anyone Look, lop, I sent the pics like you asked - even re-did the ones where the lighting on the donkey wasn't very good - and I still haven't seen a damn dime off of 'em.

WHERE'S MY MONEY, LOP? How much money are municipalities and counties saving by not policing, arresting, processing, trying, and jailing people for possessing marijuana? Then we start asking questions like, "What is this doing to the growth of street gangs?

What is this doing to the cartels internationally? Did the quantity of black market marijuana demanded on the street shrink? Does that alleviate pressure on federal agencies battling traffickers? Well, the lack of a profit motive clouds their thought. The difference between revenue and cost means that private companies tens to be obsessed with cost cutting--since raising prices drives customers to competitors.

Still, you'd think even the unions would see an opportunity there. The government will still spend every penny it gets--even Keynes told us to count on that. If local government has more money to spend because of cost savings, then they have more money to spend on ludicrous pension benefits for public employee unions, etc.

It's like my girlfriends. They've always been able to think of something to spend money on. Not only will they spend every penny, they will overspend and start running a deficit from the revenues.

Giving the government a new source of revenue is like giving a 16 year old a pack of condoms, bottle of whiskey and the car keys. Damn, could quite get it out! If by real criminals you mean teens sexting, then yes they are simply shifting to other criminals. I checked the link, that is exactly what he said.

Odd that for all the facts and figures and statistics given in the press release on how much money the state took in, there's not a single citation for that statement. So how much did the state pay out for what it took in? I'm going to guess Tvert is silent on this question not because he doesn't want to draw attention to it but because he has abolutely no basis for that claim, he has no idea whatsoever what the state spent - and nobody knows how much the state spends on any damn thing.

I imagine that taxing and regulating marijuana costs far, far less than enforcing prohibition and jailing people.

Legal Marijuana: How Much Will the Average Colorado Smoker Spend on Pot Annually? | ucujaluxu.web.fc2.com

I am also pretty sure that if the social costs of legalizing marijuana are less than those of prohibition. If they were significant, we'd be subjected to a barrage of evidence of Colorado reefer madness by now. That's not to say that legalization has been good for everybody. It could be argued that marijuana legalization is evidence of a wider war against cops in particular, but there are other victims of legalization.

Legalization has no doubt created hardships on cops, politicians, and other gang leaders and has adversely impacted the job security of criminal defense attorneys, corrections officers, and bail bondsmen. When The Independents were on the air, someone came on the show and repeatedly insisted that car-accidents would skyrocket.

Also remember that toddler who ate the marijuana cookie that someone left in her yard the first week pot was legalized in Colorado? The fact is that even if the Fed's drug-enforcement budget is trimmed and their claws taken out of state weed-policy, some other arms of government will demand greater powers and regulatory oversight "to protect children" or drivers, or Alcohol has been 'legal' since the end of prohibition.

That was always stupid. As if there aren't tons of stoned drivers on the road already. It's almost like they think that laws like that are actually effective at controlling behavior.

Since legalization brings more awareness that drivers might be stoned, and often includes enhanced enforcement for DUI on weed, I'd think that if anything, stoned driving would decrease. The other thing about stoned driving is that pretty much either you can deal with it fine and it makes no difference to your driving ability. Or you can't and you avoid it.

Can't allow them to sell it cheaper than black-market dope or the black marketers will buy the legal stuff and sell it to children! A Cynic's Guide to Zen 2. It's like all the pot prohibitionists are stuck in this s frame of mind. It's that, or some paranoid urge to incarcerate passive drug users. We won't tolerate it! Anyway, I would assume Bic and Pyrex would be lobbying super hard for legalization.

Razor and blade anyone? R C Dean 2. Reasonable minds can differ on this, but don't kid yourself that isn't the choice you are making. Given the choice of apparently real possibilities for legalization, I think that what they have in DC right now is the best. No commercial sales and therefore no taxes , but really very few other restrictions.

It's not perfect, but it's what I'd choose out of the things that have happened in the US so far. Of course, that came about in an odd way that is not likely to happen in any states. Here in CO they sold Amendment 64 in part to "regulate marijuana like beer and liquor". But beer and liquor have much lower taxes. I didn't realize it for years , but CO still has 3. TRENDING TOPICS CLOSE Donald Trump Cuba Cultural Appropriation Jeff Sessions Russia Obamacare FBI Budget Taxes College PC Net Neutrality Supreme Court Immigration NAFTA GOP Baseball Shooting Freedom of Speech Asset Forfeiture Marijuana Police School Choice Gun Control Terrorism Libertarian Party.

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VIEW COMMENTS 34 LEAVE A COMMENT. But does it outweigh the revenue certain entities made from its outright prohibition?

Democrat voters seem to be better on weed issues. The people the elect really just aren't. The biggest quantifiable benefits are harder to measure than tax revenue.

Colorado's Marijuana Tax Results: $ Million, $35 Million Going to Schools - MARIJUANA POLITICS

It isn't how much revenue they get from taxes; it's how much money they're saving. There must be line items in a published budget somewhere. Oh god, not the children! You must have an account and be logged in to comment. Click here to register, or here to login if you already have an account. Scalia SCOTUS… Damon Root Obamacare Rand Paul, Mike Lee Rip into Health Care Bill, Which Is Now Expected Thursday Matt Welch Mitch McConnell Might Hold a Vote on an Obamacare Rewrite Next Week.

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