cannabisnews.com: Toke Break Toke Break Posted by CN Staff on October 25, 2002 at 07:55:57 PT By Richard Bingham Source: Globe and Mail In September, the Canadian Senate's Special Committee on Illegal Drugs released an astonishingly open-minded policy paper backing the belief that criminalization of cannabis is about as sensible as Prohibition was for booze. Smoking pot is basically legal already-sort of. In August, 2000, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that banning marijuana for medicinal purposes violated the Charter of Rights. This made the law unenforceable as written, so the 2.5 million or so Canadians who use cannabis were given one less reason to be paranoid.But what if marijuana were as legit as, say, hard alcohol and similarly taxed and controlled? It may be a long way off, but here are the potential savings. Canada spends about $1 billion a year on drug enforcement; 77% of reported drug-related offences are related to cannibis. Decriminalization could represent annual savings of $1.76 billion on policing, legal aid, court administration and prosecution costs.Approximately 800 tonnes of cannabis circulates in Canada each year, 50% of it homegrown. A conservative estimate of $225 an ounce makes the retail value around $6 billion. GST alone on this is $420 million. But if cannabis were taxed like cigarettes-at around 70%-the take would be around $4 billion, roughly what the provinces and the feds collect in tobacco taxes annually.Besides that, there could be a government-run retail monopoly, similar to the wildly successful Liquor Control Board of Ontario. In 2001, the LCBO returned $850 million in shareholder dividends to the province, above and beyond tax revenues. A well-run Cannabis Control Board could bring in anywhere from $50 million to $100 million a year annually.Then there are the spinoffs: a spike in tourism, comparable to the effect of wineries in Niagara and the Okanagan, and a bonanza for advertising and marketing firms. We could also expect some pretty funny ad campaigns-plus, of course, some significant benefits for the snack-food industry.Note: Imagine how much Canada could save - or earn - if marijuana were fully legalized.Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Richard BinghamPublished: Friday, October 25, 2002 – Print Edition, Page 21Copyright: 2002 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/Related Articles & Web Site:Canadian Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/can.htmCanada Poised To Ease Pot Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14339.shtmlSenate Report on Cannabis: Get Whole Story http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14319.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by delariand on October 25, 2002 at 15:15:43 PT John Tyler... Actually the senate report specifically stated that the tobacco companies should be legally restricted from having anything to do with the pot business. Not a bad idea... I can just imagine smoking a pack of Marlboro joints, only to find out later i'm addicted to the added nicotine they didn't tell me about. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by DdC on October 25, 2002 at 11:52:36 PT No Medical Value... http://www.cannabinoid.com/wwwboard/politics/binaries/27/27582.gifThe same as citizens legally home brewing beer, people should be able to grow their own stash too. Legal buds for $250.00 an ounce? Why legalize at all? That price would remove profits from individual citizens just to put them back into the fascist greedy paws.Price it the same as tobacco for those not growing. Still more profits without the expense of thousands of chemicals added to cigarettes, not added to ganja.Its a vegetable. Treat it as a vegetable!Peace, Love and Liberty or the Fruitloops of D.E.A.th!DdCD.E.A.th Deceptions http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/ddc/DEAth.htmlU.S.Al Qaeda! http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/39/39670.gifThugczar Wally http://www.cannabinoid.com/boards/politics/media/35/35838.gifThe Elkhorn Manifesto Shadow of the Swastika..."Certain American industrialists had a great deal to do with bringing fascist regimes into being in both Germany and Italy. They extended aid to help Fascism occupy the seat of power, and they are helping to keep it there." - William E. Dodd, U.S. Ambassador to Germany, 1937. Continued... http://www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.htmlThis is happening to the cannabis movement, not De Je Vu, Just Stupidity and Greed repeated!"No class or group or party in Germany could escape its share of responsibility for the abandonment of the democratic Republic and the advent of Adolf Hitler. The cardinal error of the Germans who opposed Nazism was their failure to unite against it. ....the 63% of the German people who expressed their opposition to Hitler were much too divided and shortsighted to combine against a common danger which they must have known would overwhelm them unless they united, HOWEVER TEMPORARY, to stamp it out." -William L. Shirer, [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by John Tyler on October 25, 2002 at 09:36:53 PT Tobacco companies When cannabis is relegalized the tobacco companies will try to corner the market from production to distribution. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by WolfgangWylde on October 25, 2002 at 09:22:03 PT Don't forget... ...the cost of border defense when the U.S. invades. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by knox42897 on October 25, 2002 at 09:00:49 PT Monopoly Besides that, there could be a government-run retail monopoly, similar to the wildly successful Liquor Control Board of Ontario. Why is it they always want to put the MJ dealers out of business? Screw your monopolies, give my local dealer a chance to conduct legal business. As far as I'm concerned he has earned it the privaledge to sell MJ. Let the MJ dealers recoup some of their money that has either been confiscated or seized or ripped off from them, I say let my poor MJ dealer make some money. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Doobinie on October 25, 2002 at 08:20:53 PT How much would the GST be on 6 Billion? 420 million. How funny is that? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment