Home  Medical Use Other Diseases & Conditions ILLINOIS: It's Time to Legalize and Tax Cannabis
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ILLINOIS: It's Time to Legalize and Tax Cannabis |
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If the Illinois lawmakers need some extra green for the budget perhaps they should consider marijuana, regulating and taxing that is. After all, the state is spending money to arrest, prosecute and imprison this part of the population when the state could be making a significant amount of money if they simply taxed the use of cannabis.
Marijuana arrests in Illinois have been around 40,000 a year since 2000 and that is just those that get caught with marijuana; imagine how many others there are who were not arrested but would also probably prefer to buy cannabis legally and be taxed instead of illegally and risk arrest.
From a financial standpoint it would make sense to tax and regulate cannabis versus incarcerating those who use this plant because one way spends money and the other way makes money.
Alcohol prohibition only led to increased gang violence and huge profits for those willing to risk breaking the law. Maybe it is time for Illinois lawmakers to see that this is very similar to marijuana and that the state could make money from taxing cannabis just like it does from alcohol.
Could anyone imagine arresting adult alcohol users if they are doing nothing wrong other than drinking? It is absurd. Why are we arresting adult marijuana users? for 70 years adult cannabis use has been outlawed, and now is the time to end this prohibition and war on the American cannabis using population.
Cannabis is not for everyone, and kids should not use it, but please stop wasting tax dollars arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating these Americans and start making money by taxing adult marijuana use.
After all, we seem to be having a budget problem, so maybe a little extra income could help, but maybe I am just high.
Dan Linn, Executive Director,
Illinois Chapter National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (Illinois NORML)
Source: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), Augus 22, 2007
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