Pot Prohibition Costs Taxpayers More Than $40 Billion Per Year, Study Says

Cherry-Bomb Productions · 10-05-2007, 01:24 PM

October 4, 2007

Washington, DC: Marijuana prohibition costs US taxpayers nearly $42 billion dollars per year in criminal justice costs and in lost tax revenues, according to an economic analysis released this week.

According to the study, "Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws," law enforcement spends $10.7 billion annually to arrest and prosecute marijuana offenders. This amount comprises nearly six percent of America’s total criminal justice expenditures.

Pot’s criminalization also artificially raises the plant’s retail price and diverts billions of dollars into the black market economy, the study finds. According to the report, Americans spend some $113 billion dollars annually to consume an estimated 31.1 million pounds of pot. By criminalizing this market, the study estimates that the government loses more than $30 billion per year in tax revenue.

"The market in marijuana in the United States is illicit, illegal, and as such it diverts capital away from the channels of the licit or legal economy, especially the channels from which local, state, and the federal government collect tax revenue," the study concludes. "If [the billions of dollars America’s currently spend on marijuana] were spent on legal commodities … those economic transactions would produce billions in tax revenues for local, state, and the federal government."

According to data released last week by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), police arrested a record 829,625 persons for marijuana violations in 2006. Of those arrested, 738,915 Americans (89 percent) were charged with marijuana possession.

Full text of the study is available online at: http://www.drugscience.org.

adecou · 10-05-2007, 08:08 PM

Wow! I knew it was costing us a lot... but wow.

Legalize it... geez... it's not like every political power doesn't smoke anyway!

I know people from all walks of life, from elementary school teachers to doctors to a secretary at a private Christian elementary school that all smoke for recreation...

10-10-2007, 11:15 AM

Maybe if it was legal you could buy it in hi quality in pack like cigarettes.
NO MORE SWAG!!!!
I have always said the government could balance the budget in tax revenue from the legalization.

Lerxstcat · 10-10-2007, 05:52 PM

Depending on where you live, most cops finding a small amount on you, like 1/4 to 1/2 an ounce, will just take your pot and let you go, for 2 reasons: too much paperwork for a small bust, and lots of cops like to smoke pot too!

10-05-2007, 01:24 PM	#1 (permalink)
Cherry-Bomb Productions MODERATOR BY DAY / NINJA BY NIGHT GCB Senior Citizen Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: A Padded Cell Posts: 2,476 Rep Power: 44	Pot Prohibition Costs Taxpayers More Than $40 Billion Per Year, Study Says October 4, 2007 Washington, DC: Marijuana prohibition costs US taxpayers nearly $42 billion dollars per year in criminal justice costs and in lost tax revenues, according to an economic analysis released this week. According to the study, "Lost Taxes and Other Costs of Marijuana Laws," law enforcement spends $10.7 billion annually to arrest and prosecute marijuana offenders. This amount comprises nearly six percent of America’s total criminal justice expenditures. Pot’s criminalization also artificially raises the plant’s retail price and diverts billions of dollars into the black market economy, the study finds. According to the report, Americans spend some $113 billion dollars annually to consume an estimated 31.1 million pounds of pot. By criminalizing this market, the study estimates that the government loses more than $30 billion per year in tax revenue. "The market in marijuana in the United States is illicit, illegal, and as such it diverts capital away from the channels of the licit or legal economy, especially the channels from which local, state, and the federal government collect tax revenue," the study concludes. "If [the billions of dollars America’s currently spend on marijuana] were spent on legal commodities … those economic transactions would produce billions in tax revenues for local, state, and the federal government." According to data released last week by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), police arrested a record 829,625 persons for marijuana violations in 2006. Of those arrested, 738,915 Americans (89 percent) were charged with marijuana possession. Full text of the study is available online at: http://www.drugscience.org. __________________ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- www.myspace.com/cherry_bomb_productions www.myspace.com/octavedownband नमस्ते ELEVATE,DON'T PERPETRATE Dip Me In Beer,And Throw Me To The Drunk Chicks. Last edited by Cherry-Bomb Productions; 04-04-2008 at 02:00 PM.

10-05-2007, 08:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
adecou Band Whore Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Queen Creek, Arizona Age: 25 Posts: 795 Rep Power: 11	Wow! I knew it was costing us a lot... but wow. Legalize it... geez... it's not like every political power doesn't smoke anyway! I know people from all walks of life, from elementary school teachers to doctors to a secretary at a private Christian elementary school that all smoke for recreation... __________________ "You're thinking that I'm strange... just think of what I think of you" A Day in the Life of a Musician's Wife My Myspace

10-10-2007, 11:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
too far gone Guest Posts: n/a	Maybe if it was legal you could buy it in hi quality in pack like cigarettes. NO MORE SWAG!!!! I have always said the government could balance the budget in tax revenue from the legalization.

10-10-2007, 05:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
Lerxstcat Band Whore Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 394 Rep Power: 23	Depending on where you live, most cops finding a small amount on you, like 1/4 to 1/2 an ounce, will just take your pot and let you go, for 2 reasons: too much paperwork for a small bust, and lots of cops like to smoke pot too!