| Oakland did it. Long Beach and numerous other | | | | but attempts to legitimize it through quasi-legal pot |
| California cities are weighing their options in levying a | | | | dispensaries and associate it with medical purposes is |
| heavy tax on medical marijuana. | | | | a testament to the power of this drug. |
| In the face of tremendous budget woes in the state | | | | Marijuana is in fact an addictive drug, and addicts will |
| of California, is it now okay to get permissive about | | | | use any justification they can to continue using it, |
| the legality of marijuana? After all, hundreds of | | | | including minimizing the fact that it is addictive, or |
| thousands-if not millions-of dollars in perceived profits | | | | pushing the idea of its perceived health benefits. |
| are at stake. | | | | In truth, Smoking marijuana just five times a week |
| But, much like a drug, is a marijuana tax itself a quick | | | | can expose the smoker to as much carcinogenic |
| "fix" in a time of need? | | | | material as smoking a pack of cigarettes per day, |
| With an $83 million dollar deficit, Oakland hopes to | | | | and teens in the US are now entering drug rehab for |
| generate nearly $300,000 in annual revenue using an | | | | marijuana addiction more than any other drug. |
| $18 tax per every $1,000 in marijuana sales in the | | | | While $300,000 per year in tax revenue may seem |
| city's quasi-legal pot dispensaries. Long Beach may | | | | like easy money, voters should not overlook the |
| follow suit. But at what greater cost? | | | | hundreds of millions of dollars per year that represent |
| It is interesting that marijuana is being pushed as a | | | | the much higher costs of drug addiction. |
| solution to financial problems when in the long term it | | | | Every dollar spent on effective drug addiction |
| may cost these same cities hundreds of millions of | | | | treatment and drug-abuse prevention programs |
| dollars more to address the unintended but inevitable | | | | saves many, many more in terms of crime, medical |
| consequences of drug addiction. | | | | intervention and lost productivity that result from |
| Marijuana legalization is a controversial issue, admitted, | | | | drug abuse and addiction. |