Legalize Pot To Fund The Rescues? Pam Says So!

Love the idea. Better yet, why don't we use a chunk of the TARP to buy lithium for every American?

lithium is some serious sh*t! Like for treating major bipolar disorders..

i like it!

let's legalize crystal meth, that will also increase worker productivity. Imagine never needing to sleep, that would get us out of this slump.

Plus all the new meth labs that would inevitable explode would burn down thousands of homes, thus reducing the glut of homes on the market!

Jacques - now thats just silly

ps: this was a joke!

Joke or no joke the idea is brill, but not original to Ms. Anderson. There are almost 700,000 people doing time in America for drugs.

Figures below are per annum based on all drugs. Cannabis accounts for slightly over half.

1.7 M -People arrested
10 K -People incarcerated

$56 B -War on drugs
$14 B -Cost of incarceration

$8 B -Revenue from Gov Controlled Marijuana

Ballpark $35 B savings from marijuana alone. These figures are conservative. The savings and earnings are likely to be much higher. All those freely released potheads would have to go to work to pay for their habits and pay taxes in the process.

The following is a quote from the Economist.
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=6849915

"IF CANNABIS were unknown, and bioprospectors were suddenly to find it in some remote mountain crevice, its discovery would no doubt be hailed as a medical breakthrough. Scientists would praise its potential for treating everything from pain to cancer, and marvel at its rich pharmacopoeia—many of whose chemicals mimic vital molecules in the human body."

There has not been a single documented death from pure marijuana. Not even aspirin can make that claim.

Also, though hemp and marijuana are both cannabis, hemp is the male plant and contains so little THC and other substances as to be useless as a drug. It does however make fine clothing, paper, the best rope, and the seeds are a source of oil that is the perfect ratio of Omega 3-6-9 for the human body, not to mention bio-diesel. It can grow on marginal lands and yields are such that 1 acre of hemp produces as much paper or fiber as 4 acres of trees or cotton. The addition to the GDP could be as high as $500 B, with tax revenues of more than $50 B. It would also create an estimated 250 K new jobs in the first 2 years...perfect for the newly released pot-heads.

So.....anyone up for $85 B per year that isn't coming out of our pockets? I would say the joke is on the Average Taxpaying American--again.

“Make the most of the hemp seed, sow it everywhere.” -George Washington

Since our country has exported all of it's industrial power and America only consumes and doesn't produce anything, I'd say Pam's idea is no longer so far fetched. The question is, will our government latch on to such a bold idea and second, will it's citizens be able to afford to buy it even if it's legal?

By Janualy 2010, the America you all remember will be quite different, if you don't understand our financial checkmate well enough at this point, I'm afraid we all will get an involuntary crash course, the word "crash" being the emphasis.