Cannabis Tax on Long Beach Dispensaries
Long Beach Ca. city council voted last night to go after taxes on medical cannabis collectives, as part of what may become a wave of communities turning to such proceeds to plug budget deficits. The medical marijuana tax is modeled after one by the City of Oakland, which expects to collect $1 million a year in revenue from its four authorized medical cannabis clubs “We’re looking under every rock to find revenue sources and under one of those rocks could be a Medical Cannabis tax,” Long Beach council member Patrick O’Donnell said in an interview. His city faces an $18.5 million deficit for 2011, according to a letter to the council yesterday from Long Beach’s financial management department.
Marijuana is a very misunderstood drug. The controversies on legalization are far too confusing and they vary in different states. What do you do if your doctor prescribes it to you for an illness that you have been diagnosed with? With cancer, glaucoma and other major illnesses that would benefit from the use of marijuana, why would anyone try to stop something that helps increase appetite and decrease pain? On the other hand, law enforcement has been trying to get a handle on reducing crime involving the illegal use of “pot” for years now. Recreational use is still a no-no. Cultivation is a major no-no. Unless, of course, a doctor says you can. So, basically, the controversy will continue about the medicinal use, pros and cons thereof and legalization of marijuana, which would, in turn, benefit the government tax issues if it were controller or just continue being a general nuisance for the men and woman of law enforcement?
Although marijuana once was legal and considered to have no medical value by the American Medical Association, it hasn't been legal in years now. There have been a handful of states, approximately 11 total, including California, that were able to get it legalized on the state level, most of which have been since overturned. What is it going to take to prove its medicinal reasons as well as its reasons that the government would make money off the taxes, if it were regulated and get this country out of our national deficit? There would be less crime on the streets and because our government would regulate it, it would be safer than what it is right now.
At present, marijuana is classified under the Controlled Substances Act as a SCHEDULE I drug, one that has no medicinal value and may prove addictive. Advocates for the drug want the federal government to reclassify marijuana as a SCHEDULE II drug, one that physicians can legally prescribe, despite its potential for addictions. Morphine is an example of a SCHEDULE II drug.” (Fackelmann, 1997).
The legalization of marijuana would bring a great deal of revenue for our government from the taxes of its sale, as well as the money that would be saved in the anti-marijuana campaigns. “The government spends $8.26 million dollars a year to try to keep marijuana off the street.” (Miller, 2008). With Government Regulation handling all the growth and sales of “cannabis” or marijuana, the jails would be less crowded with inmates charged with possession, as well as, free up the police men and women to extend that energy into catching criminals that are committing serious crimes. The drug consistency would remain the same and therefore be safer for those that are using the drug. Deaths related to smoking pot are found because alternative additives were added to enhance the enjoyment, not because of smoking “pot”. It is because of that fact, that with the government legalizing it and growing it in a controlled environment, those people that later could or previously developed an addiction to it would be able to get the help that they need. Whether it is addictive or not, requires more research and studies.
Using marijuana for medicinal purposes can and does provide the relief for those that use the drug in controlled and responsible circumstances. The people that benefit from the use of marijuana would be cancer patients going through the trauma of chemotherapy, muscular sclerosis patients, AIDS patients, arthritis sufferers or anyone with chronic pain, all benefit from the use of marijuana. Chemotherapy treatments lead to very strong side effects, such as vomiting and nausea, which make patients very weak. It's difficult for patients to eat, which in turn causes weight loss. With weight loss, weakness and vitamin deficiencies occur due to a lack of nutrients in their system. Smoking pot relieves the stress on their bodies and increases their appetite which makes it easier to eat. That alone seems enough to warrant further investigation. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects the functions of the nerves in the brain and the spinal cord. If anyone ever watched Montel Williams on daytime television, you would have heard his opinion about the benefits. He does not smoke the marijuana; he takes the THC pills that are derived from the cannabis plant. Just a few of their symptoms can be severe fatigue and depression, extreme debilitating muscle spasms and even paralysis. “Many wheelchair-bound patients report that they can walk unaided when they have smoked cannabis. Patients also report that they find smoking herbal cannabis better at controlling their symptoms than synthetic derivative. Cannabis may even retard the progression of the disease.” (Marijuana-The Forbidden Medicine, Grinspoon, 2007)
Next is a direct quote from an electronic article from the Associated Press website. This particular article goes into detail about the comparison between prescription medicines and the effects of medicinal marijuana. The facts are that addiction and the side effects of prescription medicines are very well known. It is also a well known fact that with many prescription drugs, another prescription drug to counter act the side effects of the original prescription drug are not unheard of as well. “After weighing the pros and con's of both medicinal marijuana and prescription drugs, short of eliminating prescription drugs altogether, I don't see how we cannot promote and legalize the use of marijuana as a medicinal aid.” (Heard, 2008).
Another important piece of research that was discovered is how many different types of drugs are on the market that has actually been derived from the marijuana plant. As well as those that has been derived from the synthetic version of the marijuana plant. There is also a drug that is found are similar to those found in marijuana, but not exactly found in the plant. Sativex is a drug manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals, that phase III clinical started in the year 2006. It's suggested medical use is “Treatment of neuropathic pain and spasticity in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS); Analgesic treatment in adult patients with advanced cancer who experience moderate to severe pain” and its Cannabis Related Properties are “Mouth spray whose chemical compound is derived from natural extracts of the cannabis plant” (Medical Marijuana ProCon.org Web site).
With all the research that has been done and the findings that smoking pot would bring relief to the terminally ill and may even put a dent in our national deficit, what would the harm be to try it? If anyone that has ever witnessed the good that it does when it is prescribed legally for a loved one, there would be no debate. Will they give the terminally ill patients a vote? Or maybe the doctors that prescribe it to them to ease their pain and promote their appetite? Maybe we should give the good people in our law enforcement agency a vote, so we could free up the jails that are so overcrowded and wasting taxpayer's money….again. Legalize it to control it, collect the taxes on it, free up our jails for our law enforcement so they can actually prosecute real criminals and let the people that it would be prescribed for live out their lives more comfortably and with less pain. The other alternative would be to keep it the way it is now. How is that working for us? You be the judge.
REFERENCES
MILLER, T. (2008), PROS OF MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION, RETRIEVED FROM KAPLAN LIBRARY, 2009.
GRINSPOON, I. (2007), MEDICAL MARIJUANA USES. “MARIJUANA, THE FORBIDDEN MEDICINE.” RETRIEVED FROM KAPLAN LIBRARY, 2009.
FACKELMANN, K (1997), MARIJUANA: USEFUL MEDICINE OR DANGEROUS DRUG, CONSUMERS. 80, 15.
(6/30/2008) PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS BASED ON CANNABIS. RETRIEVED 01/2009 FROM MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROCON.ORG.
