main debate notes

It was recently reported that the annual retail value of marijuana grown in the city of Vancouver alone was $750 million(1). According to the B.C. Minister of Agriculture, Ron Charles, profits from marijuana operations are three times greater than from dairy production, B.C.'s most valuable farm industry at $245 million per year(2). It might be possible, through amendments to the current Act and Regulations, and through strict cultivation, distribution and marketing regulations, to redirect illegal marijuana profits to legitimate agricultural operations California NORML estimates that a legal market for marijuana could yield the state $1.5 - $2.5 billion. A basic $1 per joint excise tax would yield about $1 billion to the state, while the state would save over $150 million in enforcement costs for arrests, prosecutions and prison. Additional benefits would accrue from sales taxes and spinoff industries. Total retail sales of marijuana would be on the order of $3-$5 billion, with total economic impact of $8-$13 billion including spinoff industries such as coffeehouses, tourism, and industrial hem * Retail sales on the legal market would range from $3 - $5 billion, generating another $250 - 400 million in sales taxes. in california alone