I can't believe America sometime. Americans are supposed to cherish freedom. Yet they cravenly surrender and prostitute their freedoms at the slightest sign of moral outrage and censure from their fellow citizens. What free-minded person would support 25% taxation on a product which, if used correctly, has no negative effect on anyone other than that person (i.e. incurs no negative externalities) - and therefore no conceivable justification for taxation?
Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
131–140 of 165 posts
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've been in the vapor scene for a while, I'm starting to hear a few horror stories about liquid build up in the lungs. My guess is over use but its something to watch for. Regarding pot not causing lung cancer I can't really argue, emphasima on the other hand is a very real thing. While this is anecdotal, my mother is a nurse in a country town where there are a lot of weed only life long smokers and most of the old…
>My understanding was that there is about 10 cigarettes worth of tar in a similarly sized joint. That may be true, but how much does your average pot smoker actually smoke in a day? My dad was a two-pack-a-day cigarette smoker, which is forty cigarettes. I have yet to run into someone who smokes four cigarettes worth of pot in a day, and while I'm sure they must exist from what I can see the average is more like an a…
Average school boy stoner or graduated professional and functional addict? There is a bit of a difference. The majority of full time stoners, not exactly functional usually dealers could easily smoke 10-20 ciggarette sized joints in a day. A functioning addict could smoke 4-5 a night. Schoolboy stoners might smoke 2-3 a day.
4-5 a night is very common, at least where I've come from. I'd say about as common as someone who drinks 4 beers in a night after work. Not the total norm but not crazy or anything either.
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
>My understanding was that there is about 10 cigarettes worth of tar in a similarly sized joint. That may be true, but how much does your average pot smoker actually smoke in a day? My dad was a two-pack-a-day cigarette smoker, which is forty cigarettes. I have yet to run into someone who smokes four cigarettes worth of pot in a day, and while I'm sure they must exist from what I can see the average is more like an a…
It helps that marijuana is not addictive in most of the population.
For those interested, to expand on the above. Physically its not addictive in any of the population, if you are predisposed to addictive tendencies you can very easily build up a pschological dependency which isn't totally hard to break but there is about 8 days worth of withdrawals to go through, the first 4 or so which can be pretty emotionally intense.
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#134The portion of the tax going to public education should have been $40 million plus a flat 5% of revenue to really scale if it's really that lucrative.
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Legalizing marijuana won't get rid of drug cartels.
Why not? Legalising drugs destroys every single element which supports violent paralegel cartels. 1) It eliminates legal risk, so drug production becomes instantly a much more lucrative activity, enticing more people to do it. 2) Profits are reduced as the market becomes more competitive. 3) The cartels are unable to pursue their "normal" extralegal means of suppressing competition, because the parties they might see…
Drug legalization isn't the problem, corruption is. When the cartels can buy any officer and government official in Mexico, legalization will only give them more power.
"4) In a competitive, legal market, the successful firms will be the ones which offer the best product - the firms with the best drugs, the highest standards of quality and ethics, the nicest stores, and the best customer service. Why buy from dodgy drug-dealers when you can walk into a beautiful store and get great customer service?"
Really? So Walmart and Amazon have the highest standard of quality and customer service..really??????
"Why buy from dodgy drug-dealers when you can walk into a beautiful store and get great customer service"
Because money talks. The government will tax and regulate drugs. Many users will not want to pay a higher price for a lower quality product (quality might be THC levels, etc).
Why go to dodgy virus-laden websites to download software and music when you can go into a beautiful store with great customer service?
I'm all for the legalization of MJ, but I feel like common sense goes out the window in any of these discussions.
If the community is all about stopping the violence, why not boycott all cartel grown drugs?
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, the $2 a ticket costs is a sign of the incredible "numerical illiteracy" (the word is innumeracy) of lottery players. That or they just 'waste' $2 on a long-long-long shot knowing that they won't win but don't care because, really, it's only $2 and how much does the average American pay for their coffee? Now people who dedicate significant portions of their resources to scratch and lotto tickets have a different…
I agree with this. I strongly believe people who put down the lottery just can't let go of their super-rational minds and just enjoy an irrational thrill every once in a while. Sure, the people who spend $100 a month on Lotto when they only make $400/mo... that's a bad decision. But just $2 once every couple of months when the jackpot is some insane number? Why not? It's just $2 bucks! Yes the odds of you winning are…
I was going to upvote you until I saw your edit about downvoting. I believe you should state your mind without concern for arbitrary internet points. If you express concern over these points, it weakens your perspective, in my opinion, and I am much less likely to award you those useless points.
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
But it will reduce their profits, as they have to face competition.
Ever heard of cocaine?
I'm not sure of your point. Cocaine does have legal uses, especially with ENT doctors/surgeons, who use it as an effective anaesthetic.
But the profit margins in the illegal drug market is largely because of the risk involved. Facing legal competition, which does not have to include that risk in its price, is effectively creating a market where legitimized producers have an extreme advantage.
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
Buying a lottery ticket is no more irrational than buying a movie ticket. It buys you a little thrill -- the possibility that you may become rich.
No I don't think that works. Many people buy lottery tickets and really think they are going to win. Movie tickets to entice people with false hopes of riches. They also don't involve gambling addiction.
Buying a lottery ticket is rational if the cost of the ticket is offset by the relative increase in your pleasure that comes from dreaming of winning.
For example, if you gain >$price of a Powerball ticket worth's of entertainment from musing about how you'd spend the prize, it's a rational purchase.
On the other hand, buying two tickets isn't rational. You get no extra dreaming, and your expectation of winning hasn't moved essentially at all.
Re: Colorado Pot Tax Proving More Lucrative Than Expected
#139I can't believe America sometime. Americans are supposed to cherish freedom. Yet they cravenly surrender and prostitute their freedoms at the slightest sign of moral outrage and censure from their fellow citizens. What free-minded person would support 25% taxation on a product which, if used correctly, has no negative effect on anyone other than that person (i.e. incurs no negative externalities) - and therefore no c…
Two thoughts:
1. Your objection applies to all sales tax. 2. Why do I think you would be equally outraged for staggeringly high laws on pollution-generating industries or firearms, which do have negative effects on other people.