Interesting article which shows Colorado government generates more income from taxing marijuana compared to alcohol, pot generates nearly double the revenue of alcohol.

$70 million raised from cannabis sales taxes compared to $42 million for alcohol taxes.

If we are to consider new taxes how about taxing potheads, instead of the money going into the blackmarket it can benefit society by contributing with taxes, how much do we spend persecuting people for pot every year.
www.thefreethoughtproject.com/colorado-history-bringing-taxes-marijuana-alcohol-...

Here is another article which suggests ending the drug war will cut gun violence, drugs are a multi billion dollar industry with no legal recourse for deals gone bad so violence is used to settle disputes.
www.cato.org/publications/commentary/end-drug-war-cut-gun-violence

I think the Liberal Democrats are the only party saying pot should be legalised and taxed.

"If you look at the drug war from a purely economic point of view, the role of the government is to protect the drug cartel"- Milton Friedman.


The FBI stats for 2014 works out with one American being arrested every 51 seconds for pot, over 80% of these arrests are for possession of small amounts.

The evidence shows the war on drugs has been a costly failure, perhaps it's time to legalise and tax cannabis.

I am not convinced that the legalization of drugs like opiates, coke, and cannabis would be without a social cost. To address the unfair imprisonment, I prefer policies that would make possession liable to confiscation, and focus criminality on suppliers, not users.

bogarde73 wrote on Nov 4^th, 2015 at 2:52pm:


I would imagine Marlon is too busy getting high to worry about tax.

I am not surprised to hear of the tax benefit ..not at all.
Just imagine it?? QLD.. and for that matter, the rest of Australia would be DEBT FREE before you could really grasp the folly of the current regime.

It is so obvious I wonder why we haven't moved to bolster OUR coffers, rather than those of criminals and terrorists, a long time ago.
The failure to do so represents incompetence, criminality  and the politics of fear and loathing to me.

It divides our society in so many ways I cannot understand how anyone could logically support prohibition.

Oh and by the way.. alcohol is a drug. Why it is classed in people's minds as something 'else' , when it is clearly  A DRUG, lies with the mass propaganda and hysteria created, primarily, by the US government and it's policy against marijuana.
If truth and public health actually mattered to those creators of this clsterfk it would have never come to this.

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Stratos wrote on Jan 15^th, 2016 at 10:53pm:


Me either. Sounds like a reasonable proposition to me.

bogarde73 wrote on Nov 14^th, 2015 at 1:46pm:

Why does there have to be a penalty for smoking pot? people have been doing it for thousands of years.. there is zero positive outcome to be achieved by enforcing penalties. look at Marla there over in Colorado, shes happy enough, lives her life in a daze, harming no one.

Emma wrote on Jan 15^th, 2016 at 11:17pm:


I agree emma

hello again
Have just úpgraded', and need to post.   

Too bad Australia is so backward. In too many respects our conservatism is holding us back.

Strange really, when we consider the basis of the white Australia, which constitutes a huge mass of descendants of the unwanted from the British Empire, and then Europe and then Asia.
All those thieves and rebels, and we end up with the likes of Abbott and Costello..   and their ilk.. being voted into office.

(Happy they are now GONE) ..but the essential political conservatism of Australian politics remains.

It is really a reflection of the  'inner cringe'  Aussies seem to bear, the vague but persistent inadequacy we feel, which causes us, in turn, to act outrageously, both at home and when o/s.

We have a government which is responsible for massive abuse to innocents and the disadvantaged, both here and in the concentration camps to which  our conservative 'betters' have consigned too too many
innocents.

The sheer horror is hidden from us due to Laws enacted by these, our leaders.!! Absolutely despicable, and I can't imagine the sort of self-interest which our pollies possess to enable such foulness, and still hold up their heads in the world community. It can only be an excess of ego, hubris, and greed.

They'll do anything to stay in power, and they drag us all down to the gutter with them.

It horrifies me that I am a citizen of such a place.

Shame shame.