Thousands of people rallied in Denver and Boulder on 4-20 to show their support for reforming marijuana laws in Colorado, and smoke a little weed. There were similar rallies last year on 4-20 also; I don't know what the significance of 4-20 is with regard to rallies by potheads.
Organizers cited economic arguments for legalizing marijuana. Denver Post reporter George Plaven writes that a Harvard economist calculated that Colorado could collect $17.6 million annually in new tax revenue if the state regulated marijuana sales. Can you imagine the lines at Wal-Mart seeking to buy various brands of marijuana light, marijuana smooth, marijuana in a box, marijuana in a soft pack, marijuana regular, marijuana ultra light, marijuana menthol?
The same Harvard study calculated that Colorado spends about $65 million annually on law enforcement and judicial resources to prohibit marijuana distribution. I wonder how many traffic tickets were written to rally participants on their way home.
4 comments:
The date coincides with the police code for marijuana possession, which is 420. So whether it is that date or just that time of day, its become a pop culture reference.
meilandru,
Thank you for the information. All those years in college produced some useful information!
Ok I have a question how much more are we going to pay for medical care for those on the drug and those traffic accidents caused by someone being on the drug. Has anyone figure out that cost?
We already pay those costs, in uninsured motorist costs and state-run health care. The welfare system has programs in place for such instances that occur now.
I honestly support the initiative, for the same reasons that people support the continued legality of alcohol. The state makes money to run the programs, the people are generally happy, and we run much of the same risks as with alcohol problems.
It the concept of outlawing something people want only makes them want it more, what reductions would we be looking at when we legalize it? Will it stay constant, increase, decrease? Will the desperate run to harder materials? Or will it become as mainstream as tobacco and alcohol abuse?
I know there are a lot of downsides to this, but the state should really get some benefit for all the budget-busting antics it goes through attempting to criminalize something on caliber with legal substances.
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