cannabisnews.com: Milton Friedman: Legalize It! Milton Friedman: Legalize It! Posted by CN Staff on June 01, 2005 at 21:49:44 PT By Quentin Hardy Source: Forbes Magazine USA -- A founding father of the Reagan Revolution has put his John Hancock on a pro-pot report. Milton Friedman leads a list of more than 500 economists from around the U.S. who today will publicly endorse a Harvard University economist's report on the costs of marijuana prohibition and the potential revenue gains from the U.S. government instead legalizing it and taxing its sale. Ending prohibition enforcement would save $7.7 billion in combined state and federal spending, the report says, while taxation would yield up to $6.2 billion a year. The report, "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," -- available at: http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/ -- was written by Jeffrey A. Miron, a professor at Harvard , and largely paid for by the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), a Washington, D.C., group advocating the review and liberalization of marijuana laws. At times the report uses some debatable assumptions: For instance, Miron assumes a single figure for every type of arrest, for example, but the average pot bust is likely cheaper than bringing in a murder or kidnapping suspect. Friedman and other economists, however, say the overall work is some of the best yet done on the costs of the war on marijuana. At 92, Friedman is revered as one of the great champions of free-market capitalism during the years of U.S. rivalry with Communism. He is also passionate about the need to legalize marijuana, among other drugs, for both financial and moral reasons. "There is no logical basis for the prohibition of marijuana," the economist says, "$7.7 billion is a lot of money, but that is one of the lesser evils. Our failure to successfully enforce these laws is responsible for the deaths of thousands of people in Colombia. I haven't even included the harm to young people. It's absolutely disgraceful to think of picking up a 22-year-old for smoking pot. More disgraceful is the denial of marijuana for medical purposes." Securing the signatures of Friedman, along with economists from Cornell, Stanford and Yale universities, among others, is a coup for the MPP, a group largely interested in widening and publicizing debate over the usefulness of laws against pot. If the laws change, large beneficiaries might include large agricultural groups like Archer Daniels Midland and ConAgra Foods as potential growers or distributors and liquor businesses like Constellation Brands and Allied Domecq, which understand the distribution of intoxicants. Surprisingly, Home Depot and other home gardening centers would not particularly benefit, according to the report, which projects that few people would grow their own marijuana, the same way few people distill whiskey at home. Canada's large-scale domestic marijuana growing industry (see "Inside Dope") suggests otherwise, however. Inside Dope: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17666.shtmlThe report will likely not sway all minds. The White House Office of Drug Control Policy recently published an analysis of marijuana incarceration that states that "most people in prison for marijuana are violent criminals, repeat offenders, traffickers or all of the above." The office declined to comment on the marijuana economics study, however, without first analyzing the study's methodology. Friedman's advocacy on the issue is limited--the nonagenarian prefers to write these days on the need for school choice, calling U.S. literacy levels "absolutely criminal...only sustained because of the power of the teachers' unions." Yet his thinking on legalizing drugs extends well past any MPP debate or the kind of liberalization favored by most advocates. "I've long been in favor of legalizing all drugs," he says, but not because of the standard libertarian arguments for unrestricted personal freedom. "Look at the factual consequences: The harm done and the corruption created by these laws...the costs are one of the lesser evils." Not that a man of his years expects reason to triumph. Any added revenues from taxing legal marijuana would almost certainly be more than spent, by this or any other Congress. "Deficits are the only thing that keeps this Congress from spending more" says Friedman. "Republicans are no different from Democrats. Spending is the easiest way to buy votes." A sober assessment indeed. Source: Forbes Magazine (US)Author: Quentin Hardy Published: June 2, 2005Copyright: 2005 Forbes Inc.Contact: readers forbes.comWebsite: http://www.forbes.com/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 02, 2005 at 13:54:06 PT Marijuana Lobby Points To Economic Impact The Denver Business Journal June 2, 2005Colorado -- A group calling for the legalization and regulation of marijuana says taking that step could give a boost to Colorado's economy. Sensible Colorado is relying on statistics from Jeffrey Miron, a visiting professor of economics at Harvard University. Miron says taxing and regulating marijuana in the same fashion as alcohol would yield savings and tax revenue between $10 billion and $14 billion a year nationally, and about $81.6 million annually in Colorado. Miron's expertise is in the economic impact of legalizing drugs. "Taxing and regulating marijuana is the right choice for Colorado," Brian Vicente, the director of Sensible Colorado, said in a statement. Miron estimates that regulating marijuana would save Colorado about $64 million from not having to enforce the prohibition against the drug, while taxation would bring in about $17.6 million in new revenue. Copyright: 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.http://denver.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2005/05/30/daily29.html?jst=b_ln_hl [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by The GCW on June 02, 2005 at 13:35:52 PT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE JUNE 2, 2005 New Report: Marijuana Regulation Could Save Colorado $81.6 million; Milton Friedman, Over 500 Economists Call for Debate on Replacing Prohibition With Regulation Harvard University Economist Projects National Savings/Revenues of $10-14 Billion CONTACT: Brian Vicente, Esq. Tel. # 720 280 4067 Denver -- In a report released today, Dr. Jeffrey Miron, Visiting Professor of Economics at Harvard University, estimates that replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year nationally and $81.6 million in Colorado. In response, a group of over 500 distinguished economists -- led by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Milton Friedman -- released an open letter to President Bush and other public officials calling for "an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition," adding, "We believe such a debate will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but taxed and regulated like other goods." "Taxing and regulating marijuana is the right choice for Colorado," says Brian Vicente, Esq., the director of the drug policy non-profit, Sensible Colorado. "The experts agree, marijuana prohibition has failed and the time has come to implement a more rational and humane drug policy in Colorado. Savings produced by taxation and regulation could salvage Colorados failing health care system which currently denies drug abuse treatment to over 250,000 residents in need." Using data from a variety of federal and state government sources, Miron's paper, "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," concludes: ** Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of legal regulation would save Colorado approximately $64 million in government expenditures on prohibition enforcement, while taxation of regulated marijuana sales would raise at least $17.6 million in new revenue. **Nationally, such a change would save approximately $7.7 billion in enforcement -- $2.4 billion at the federal level and $5.3 billion at the state and local level. **National revenue from taxation of marijuana sales would range from $2.4 billion per year if marijuana were taxed like ordinary consumer goods to $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco. While Dr. Miron noted that many factors beyond costs and tax revenues would need to be considered in evaluating possible changes in marijuana laws, he said, "These budgetary impacts should be included in any rational debate about marijuana policy." "Colorado needs to invest in the future by increasing treatment, prevention programs, and harm reduction education. Regulating and taxing marijuana would fund this investment, " concludes Brian Vicente. Dr. Miron's full report, the open letter to public officials signed by over 500 economists and the full list of endorsers is available at http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/ ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Economics Prof. Laura Connelly, University of Northern Colorado Tel.# 970-351-1558 #### [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 02, 2005 at 09:59:05 PT MPP Press Release June 2, 2005 - For Immediate ReleaseMilton Friedman, 500+ Economists Call for Marijuana Regulation Debate; New Report Projects $10-14 Billion Annual Savings and RevenuesSavings/Revenues Projected in New Study by Harvard Economist Could Pay For:**Implementing Required Port Security Plans in Just One Year**Securing Soviet-Era "Loose Nukes" in Under Three YearsBOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS -- In a report released today, Dr. Jeffrey Miron, visiting professor of economics at Harvard University, estimates that replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year. In response, a group of more than 500 distinguished economists -- led by Nobel Prize-winner Dr. Milton Friedman -- released an open letter to President Bush and other public officials calling for "an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition," adding, "We believe such a debate will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but taxed and regulated like other goods."Using data from a variety of federal and state government sources, Miron's paper, "The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition," concludes:**Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of legal regulation would save approximately $7.7 billion in government expenditures on prohibition enforcement-$2.4 billion at the federal level and $5.3 billion at the state and local levels.**Revenue from taxation of marijuana sales would range from $2.4 billion per year if marijuana were taxed like ordinary consumer goods to $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco.These estimates may be conservative. Because available data is incomplete, assumptions necessary to produce national estimates inevitably allow for some variation up or down. For example, Miron's report does not include estimates for certain potential savings -- such as the likelihood of fewer criminal justice referrals of marijuana offenders to drug treatment and reduced prison costs stemming from persons on parole or probation being reincarcerated after positive urine tests for marijuana. In addition, Miron based his figure for corrections costs stemming from marijuana prohibition on an estimate that one percent of state prisoners are imprisoned for marijuana- related offenses. A report released May 18 by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy put the figure at 1.6 percent, acknowledging that tens of thousands of Americans are incarcerated in state or federal prisons for marijuana offenses.While Miron notes that many factors beyond costs and tax revenues would need to be considered in evaluating possible changes in marijuana laws, he said, "These budgetary impacts should be included in any rational debate about marijuana policy."Those impacts are considerable, according to officials of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. For example, $14 billion in annual combined annual savings and revenues would cover the securing of all "loose nukes" in the former Soviet Union (estimated by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb at $30 billion) in less than three years. Just one year's savings would cover the full cost of anti-terrorism port security measures required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The Coast Guard has estimated these costs, covering 3,150 port facilities and 9,200 vessels, at $7.3 billion total."As Milton Friedman and over 500 economists have now said, it's time for a serious debate about whether marijuana prohibition makes any sense," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "We know that prohibition hasn't kept marijuana away from kids, since year after year 85% of high school seniors tell government survey-takers that marijuana is 'easy to get.' Conservatives, especially, are beginning to ask whether we're getting our money's worth or simply throwing away billions of tax dollars that might be used to protect America from real threats like those unsecured Soviet-era nukes."Dr. Miron's full report, the open letter to public officials signed by more than 500 economists, and the full list of endorsers are available at: http://www.prohibitioncosts.orgWith more than 17,000 members and 120,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, see: http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.orghttp://www.mpp.org/releases/nr20050602.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 02, 2005 at 09:01:40 PT Taylor You really give me hope for a better tomorrow. We need more young people to get on board and be as serious as you are. Keep up the good work. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Taylor121 on June 01, 2005 at 23:45:29 PT :) Report Report itself can be found http://www.prohibitioncosts.orgUpdated my blog rounding up some of the latest news: http://libertyindex.blogspot.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on June 01, 2005 at 21:50:46 PT Legalize It! Now we're talking! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment