Re:Why did California vote down legal pot?
by kamechan on Thursday November 04, 2010 @06:09AM
(#1868305)
it's taxed ... just by drug dealers who get to charge a premium for something that could otherwise have been cheap and/or could be generating a revenue stream for the government. not saying that i'm pro-pot, i'm not. but i am anti-regulation of substances which create an incentivized underground market, to a large extent.
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Re:Why did California vote down legal pot?
by bilban on Thursday November 04, 2010 @06:19AM
(#1868314)
All so backward - why even have the middle man. How about a sensible use policy, illegal to sell pot, but make it legal to grow your own, still illegal to grow with intent to supply. Or even cap the amount of plants you are allowed to grow. In the UK you can make your own beer, or grow your own tobacco, but there is a cap on production.
Not everything has to be a business!
Making cannabis an exception to the law of comparative advantage doesn't seem like a sensible use policy to me.
Re:Why did California vote down legal pot?
by bilban on Thursday November 04, 2010 @08:31AM
(#1868570)
I'd not come across the term 'comparative advantage' before. Not thought of it from that angle. You want the freedom to turn pot into a commodity?
Growing the plant, a weed is pretty trivial. Anyone could do it. Which means those barriers are not in place. However, I appreciate some people might not have the time and energy - how about additionally making it okay to give to your friends?
The recreational drug I do frequently is alcohol just because it's legally and sociably acceptable - given a free choice it certainly wouldn't be my first.
Re:Why did California vote down legal pot?
by andymorris on Thursday November 04, 2010 @07:49AM
(#1868484)
Without unleashing the market upon pot, criminals could still make large amounts of money on the black market.
More to the point though - as the article says, the burden of proof is on the side advocating restriction! We don't require governments to allow us to do every little thing - the basic assumption is we can do anything we like, except for a few restrictions needed to prevent reducing others' freedoms.