The National Debt Crisis, The CBO's Warning and Marijuana

See The Nation Debt Clock

The CBO's warning about our dire fiscal future is real. In the CBO report, if the Bush Era Tax Cuts are allowed to expire and the $100 Billion in automatic spending cuts go into effect, then the economy will face a recession in the first half of 2013. According to the projections, the economy will shrink 1.3% however in the second half of the year they estimate a growth of 2.3%, this is of course dependent on congress doing nothing. Congress will likely act in some way, hopefully we will see the Buffett Rule come into being and some fairer tax rates, especially for the top 1% who have seen their income soar while ours dwindle.

But What if congress takes a Radical Measure to eliminate the debt and truly reduce spending... What Radical Measure would have that effect?

Legalize Marijuana!!

"Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." - Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President quote on Hemp

Yes!! Legalizing Marijuana today would have a nearly instantaneous effect on the economy, a positive effect!

See: Politics of Pot and Legalizing Marijuana

If we Decriminalize Marijuana and make it legal to sell in the same way we sell Alcohol and Cigarettes, we could tax the drug, add hundreds of thousands legal jobs to the economy, and would incur no additional enforcement costs. Enforcement would be added to the ATF's responsibilities, the DEA would be able to concentrate on real drugs instead of a weed, and we could bring down our incarceration rate.


Did you know:

• 1 in 100 Adults in the US are behind bars? 

• The average cost to house an inmate is $47000 per year

• We spend over $5 Billion a year to house inmates in federal prisons for drug crimes, mostly marijuana,

• Last year, police arrested 847,864 persons for marijuana violations, almost 90 percent of them for possession only.  

From Salon.com:

Approximate number of people incarcerated for drug related crimes:

• 108,000 people in federal prisons as of April 2010
• 280,000 people in state prisons across the country as of June 2007
• 31,500 people in California state prisons as of December 2008 

Let's expand a bit by putting it into perspective, and that means understanding how many total people are incarcerated for all crimes:

• 211,455 inmates at federal prisons as of April 2010
• 1,395,916 inmates in state prisons as of June 2007
• 171,161 inmates in California as of December 2008

So that means around half of all inmates in federal prisons are there for drugs, around 20% of inmates nationwide in state prisons are there for drugs and around 18% of inmates in California state prisons are there for drugs.

"When I was a kid I inhaled frequently. That was the point."
- Barack Obama, U.S. President quote on Marijuana

How legalizing weed can help the economy.

What do Alaska, Alabama, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia have in common? Their biggest cash crop—generating far more revenue than wine in the Napa Valley, tobacco in North Carolina, or pineapples in Hawaii—is marijuana. When a product gains that kind of economic foothold it’s time to take stock.

Not only is cannabis the biggest cash crop in those 12 states, it’s in the top three in 30 states, the top five in 39. In fact, marijuana is the greatest revenue producer of all agricultural products grown in the U.S. With production values of roughly $36 billion annually, the cultivation of marijuana is permanently entrenched within and integrally connected to the U.S. economy.

And it’s illegal.

Incarceration:
If legalization happens, we be able to stop sending people to jail for Marijuana crimes except for those who sell to minors. This will Save Billions and we can spend this money on better things, Like infrastructure or eliminating the deficit.

Tax revenue:
If we follow the model set in place for tobacco and Alcohol, pharmacies could be used to sell Marijuana cigarettes and we could have Hash Bars. Sin Taxes will be paid on the products sold and people will now have to pay income taxes because they will be selling it in a legitimate fashion. 

New Jobs:
If Marijuana is legal to sell, people will be hired to sell it.
Social clubs revolving around Marijuana will need people baking, rolling, and serving.
Companies that form to make Marijuana cigarettes will hire people to make them.
Farms that are now growing will hire people to harvest the plants.
Logistics, people will need to get the Products from Point A to Point B.
That's not to mention the jobs that will form due to the spending from those new spots

How Legalization will reduce crime.

See: Legalization Will Reduce Crime, Free Up Police Resources
Eliminate gang revenue:
If you no longer have to go to the guy on the corner who can shoot you if the deal goes bad, would you stop? YES!
If we have a legal way to buy Marijuana, gangs will cease to have that revenue stream, in fact, they may have to get legitimate jobs in order to make a living. You know, a job where they too will have to pay there share of taxes.

Reduce Crime:
With Gangs no longer having weed as an income source and many member getting jobs, they will be too busy to commit crimes. as a matter of fact, given that they simply will be unable to sell weed like they used to, crime will go down dramatically

Better use of Police Resources:
With marijuana enforcement off the table, police will be able to concentrate on real crimes; crimes like Rape, Domestic Violence, Burglary, and Destruction of Property.

WHAT ABOUT OUR LIBERTY!!! Weed is our RIGHT!

With 100 million Americans having used pot at least once, including the president, his two immediate predecessors, the mayor of New York and countless other luminaries from all walks of life, and with an estimated 25 million regular users, marijuana consumption is a deeply ingrained pattern of American culture. 

"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this."- Albert Einstein quote on Hemp

The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! - Patrick Henry During the Second Virginia Convention, March 23, 1775

Speaker Boehner threatens another debt ceiling fight

From: http://www.examiner.com

Speaker of the House John Boehner

Last August the United States nearly went into default as Congress nearly failed to raise the debt ceiling in time. Today, Speaker Boehner (R-OH) is threatening to reignite the conflict next year, when the Congress will once again have to raise the debt ceiling limit to avoid default.

Boehner’s office released prepared remarks from a speech the Speaker is set to deliver today before the Pete Peterson Fiscal Summit in Washington D.C. According to Talking Points Memo, those remarks include the following ominous warning from Boehner,

“Allowing America to default would be irresponsible. But it would be more irresponsible to raise the debt ceiling without taking dramatic steps to reduce spending and reform the budget process.”

Boehner will also say that the House Republicans will not allow any tax increases to be passed in order to pay for the debt ceiling hike. Instead, Republicans will demand all spending cuts to pay for any hike.


The problem is that a similar stance led to the standoff between the House Republicans and the White House last August. Eventually Senate Republicans stepped in to force a compromise by House Republicans, but some damage had already been done. After the near default, Standard and poor’s downgraded the United States credit rating. In their report, the S&P cited the political gridlock in Washington rather than the inability of the United States to pay of its debts.

In the past the debt ceiling was a non-political issue, and was routinely raised in order to put creditors at ease. Many Republicans who voted for debt ceiling increases during the Bush era have objected to any increase under the Obama administration. Democrats have argued that the Republicans are attempting to use the debt ceiling as a weapon to gain concessions in a political “hostage taking” strategy.

Legalizing Marijuana, Lets Go Green, Reduce the Deficit, and Stimulate the Economy in one move

    A major complaint lately with the Government has been overspending, budget deficits, and with the spending comes taxes and with taxes you have less money to spend. Annually, the Federal Government spends over $20 Billion, that’s billion with a B, on the enforcement of marijuana laws. In 2007 1,841,182 arrest were made, that is 1,841,182 people who instead of working and making our society more productive, are being incarcerated at an average cost of 49,000 a year, how is this helping our economy? Not to mention the Health Benefits of Marijuana, but that will come another time.

"That is not a drug. It's a leaf”

    - Arnold Schwarzenegger about marijuana, 2007

    Imagine now if we were to legalize Marijuana and then allow for the creation of hemp farms as well as the sale of cannabis in a professional manner where it can be regulated in the same fashion as alcohol and tobacco. Instead of wasting resources on senseless arrests we could essentially reverse it and begin bringing in money to pay for law enforcement of violent crimes, as well as for infrastructure; due to this observation, police, sheriffs, and judges are pushing for proposition 19. Proposition 19 is a law coming up for vote in California, a law that would legalize marijuana for recreational use to those 21 and older.

"Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

-Abraham Lincoln, December 1840

    How can legalization of marijuana stimulate the economy? Well, lets start a list and touch on each one at a time…

• Reduction of the deficit
• Instant Job creation 
• Reduction of gang revenue
• Use of hemp to go green and make more products at a cheaper price.

Reduction of the Deficit.
    As earlier stated, the federal Government alone spends $20 Billion annually on marijuana enforcement, what I failed to mention was the upwards of $30 billion the states pay each year. If legalized, their would be no need to waste money on frivolous cases and law enforcement would be able to focus on more important crimes. Furthermore, if legalized, the Government would be able to regulate it in the same fashion as alcohol and tobacco,  keeping it out of the hands of children as well as bring in a tax revenue.
    How will it be regulated, you might ask? Simple, in the same fashion, and with the same people who already regulate the sale of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the ATF. Perhaps with the new addition to their regulation authority we could change it to MAFT, or AFTM, or what ever arrangement they deem necessary. The point being, their would be no need for the creation of some new government organization, one that can handle the job immediately is already in place.

 "If the words "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" don't include the right to experiment with your own consciousness, then the Declaration of Independence isn't worth the hemp it was written on."

- Terence McKenna

Instant Job Creation and Reduction of Gang Revenue
    It is amazing how the legalization of one product can create jobs, take alcohol for example, how many bartenders do you know of? Better yet, how many bars are in America and how many people do each of those bars employ? A lot right? Imagine if we put the dealers out of business and replaced them with legitimate business people, people who are not going to sell to minors, lace the products with chemicals, or use the money to fund a gang. Hash bars could be created, waitresses and waiters, cooks, marijuana tenders, hosts, and an array of other restaurant staff would be hired.
    With new establishments popping up the ATF, or new MAFT, would hire new agents to inspect and make sure that everyone is operating within the guidelines established. The array of newly hired employees and agents would begin to spend money, as they begin to spend money the domino effect will begin to stimulate the economy.
    As new bars open, the need to go to a dealer on the street will be eliminated, the drugs will become cheaper from the bars and other legitimate sources and the dealers will be unable to compete in an open market. As people cease going to the illegitimate sources, gangs will lose a large portion of their income and lose the ability to operate.

"Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?"

- Henry Ford

Use of hemp to make fuels, clothing, paper, and more products and at a cheaper price
    Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to produce hemp at an industrial scale? The uses of hemp can only be described in a separate laundry list.

• Hemp Fabrics
• Biodegradable industrial products
• Biomass Fuels
• Replacement to some wood products
• Paper
• Body Care Products
• Pet Food
• Detergents
• Art Supplies
• Food Products

Those are only the tip of the iceberg with hemp, sadly, many do not know that hemp is THC free, the chemical that gets you high when you smoke pot. Due to the inaccuracy of the news media, many people associate hemp growing with cannabis growing and are unwilling to give our struggling economy a boost in the right direction and are also perfectly fine with their liberties being trampled every second of everyday.



With this blog I am calling for everyone who reads it to write, call, or email their senators and representative to push for legislation to stop the invasion into our personal lives.
If the information sounds simple, thats because it is.


“Why is marijuana against the law? It grows naturally upon our planet. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem to you a bit . . . unnatural?”

- Bill Hicks

http://www.drugsense.org/wodclock.htm
http://www.reference.com/motif/Society/what-is-the-average-cost-to-incarcerate-an-inmate
http://www.hempusa.org/hmps/articles/hemp-uses.html