I am undecided how to vote on the initiative to legalize pot in Washington state. I am definitely in favor of decriminalizing marijuana. What I am not so sure of is creating a state run and heavily taxed system of supply and distribution.
The writers of the bill want to wrest the control of the pot business away from the criminal drug cartels and stop spending money arresting and incarcerating low level pot users. The state would also like a cut of the revenue rather than have all this commerce go untaxed. Worthy goals, no?
However, the new law would disallow a grower of marijuana from selling it at the "retail" level. Sellers could only buy from state authorized growers and the transaction would be taxed. The retail sale would also be taxed. This seems to me like it would automatically inflate the price quite a bit. Sounds to me like a strong incentive for a black market of unregulated marijuana sales to continue to exist.
Marijuana is simply a plant. It is not that difficult to grow. Your average teenager or chemo addled cancer survivor could easily grow a pot plant (or three). It does not involve risky chemical reactions. It does not require complex equipment or even bottling. I make these points because while marijuana growing and selling can be a large scale "industry", it can also be done by almost anyone anywhere.
If the state tries to have a monopollistic control on the marijuana trade, regulating and taxing each step of the process, suddenly they have an interest in suppressing all other competing suppliers. While it would be legal to possess pot, it would not be legal to grow it and sell it yourself, or buy it from any source other than the state run stores at highly taxed prices. Would this not spawn continued law enforcement efforts to continue to go after the "illegal" growers and sellers? Would not the drug cartels still have an incentive to sell to many of the current recreational users, undercutting the state store prices and keeping all the profit for themselves? You think they are going to give up this profit stream to the state?
What I would really like to see is just an effort to just make marijuana legal. Just like tomato plants are legal. You can buy tomato seeds, tomato seedling plants, tomatoes at the grocery store, or at the roadside stand. You can grow your own in the backyard, give some away, or have an entire tomato farm if you want. If pot were legal like this, then the state would collect tax on any sales, both retail or wholesale, that they normally would if you have a licensed business. But there would be freedom to grow, sell, and acquire pot informally as well.
The state and employers and schools are free to make laws or rules concerning consequences for driving while impaired or showing up to work or class stoned. Just as we are not allowed to drink on the job or be under the influence of other mind-altering substances at work, it seems to me that simple rules are enough to regulate inappropriate use.
If the new law would get the drug cartels out of the pot business in Washington, I would be all for it. But I just see this as creating a huge incentive for the cartels to remain in business and this government sponsored "drug war" will only continue because now our government wants to be the controller of the marijuana market. Only complete legalization where law abiding citizens can grow, sell, or acquire marijuana however they like might eliminate the criminal drug cartels from the mix. I don't see any drug cartels doing a brisk business in tomatoes!
So, I am leaning towards voting no because I don't want the state trying to wrest control from the drug cartels, making sure they get their cut from every ounce. Any other Washington residents have thoughts about this?