We are so square.
Me: California is talking about legalizing pot. Apparently taxing it could net like $1.4 billion per year, and they’re broke.
The Inconvenience: How much would they tax it?
Me: The article says $50 per ounce. Geeze, that’s expensive.
The Inconvenience: Is it? I don’t know how much an ounce of pot is, really.
Me: You know what? Me either.
I know, I know. We’ll hand in our libertarian cards on our way out.
From what I’ve heard on other forums, an ounce is a fuckload of pot. Street price is 400-500, but people usually buy smaller quantities. So mass production + $50 tax per ounce would turn out to make pot even cheaper than it is now!
Back about 6 years ago, before I joined the Army, I partook frequently in this illicit substance. An ounce of dirt-cheap “ditch weed” ran around a hundred bucks. I’m not surprised that California would think about this, but they’d have to figure out how to circumvent the federal narcotics laws on the books before they could legally tax the stuff. If they managed to pull this off in the Republik, they might manage to slow down some of the crime in their larger cities, while also managing to help their revenue flow a little. Somehow, I doubt that enough people would jump on the chance to buy state-sold and taxed pot to generate 1.4 billion though…
I quite enjoy your blog Mrs. Laurel, thank you for writing.
An ounce is in fact a large amount of pot. Think gallon sized zip lock bag. Street price on an ounce is between 400-2000 depending on quality, origin and region. If it ever gets legalized prices will probably drop through the floor and make a lot of stoners poor(er). I’ll be interested to see how California survives going against the Fed by legalizing weed. With such a weak man in head office now is the time to try for anything like this though.
I struggle to picture Obama as weak. I just think that he isn’t showing strength is what we traditionally define as strength for an American president. The man is a statist in the finest sense and think we will see just how strong he is in a year or so when the next Waco rolls around.
I’m trying to remember, I think the standard by weight was an eight of an ounce, which would put the tax at 6.25 per eighth. It’s been a long time since I’ve hung around with anyone who needs a bong hit to get out of bed in the morning. I actually find the chronic users annoying.
I have no idea on the price range over the last 25 years though.
Also small “l” libertarians don’t usually go around revoking each others membership every weekend, so you’re safe.
It’s not like pot is functionally illegal in California, anyway.
Like handicap stickers/placards/plates, it’s damned easy to get a “medical reason” for a pot prescription.
Heck, they don’t even need to legalize it to tax it. There is already enough of it sold legally to make a fortune on taxes.
Of course, in my libertarian view, we shouldn’t worry about the war on drugs.
Let the wastoid potheads pay our socialism taxes.
Let the users of the hard stuff kill themselves off and clean up our gene pool.
Please, Revoke you L card? I am a libertrain and I’ve never done drugs. A liberatrian only believes that people are responsible for what they choose to do, not that they must do anything.
When I was a teenager, $35-$50, depending on the quality (and did I just out my age or what…). Nowadays, I couldn’t tell you. Wish I could, but both my employer and my anchor chain… er… wife would probably object.
My “expertise” on this subject is indeed dated, as my experience goes back to the early 70’s. (really) Since my recollections about weed are a little foggy, I phoned a friend to help me out. I began our conversation by saying, “Hey, I have a question…” and proceeded to ask questions about weed – of the smoking kind. I chuckled as my phone-a-friend stammered. We decided even though excellent weed of today probably weighs a lot less than the stem laden stuff from back in the day, volume-wise an ounce of weed really isn’t that much. In my current life I would equate the volume of an ounce of weed to that of dried parsley. California residents who hope to pass legislation legalizing weed have been smoking too much of the stuff. If it is legalized and taxed, the quality will be degraded significantly and taxes will make it cost prohibitive for many – which isn’t even fair! If my fellow Californians are successful, they deserve what they get. Many bureaucrats stand to lose more than they gain if weed is legalized in CA. Of course they could and would go underground for the good stuff.
some very good points.
I mean if there is any organization out there that could screw up dope by legalizing and taxing it, that would be the government.
1 ounce of roots, stems and seeds; only 149.95 plus tax.
To identify it as already taxed, they will spray it purple.
They will spend entirely too much money to licence the phrase “purple haze”
The dye will make the stuff taste like you are smoking cow pies
The dye would also contain a substance known to the state of California to cause cancer
Therefore the package would have 2 (!) Proposition 65 labels, because of course the state of California has already put marijuana on the list of items that cause cancer.
15 years from now, lawyers will sue the state of California for billions of dollars with a class action suit on behalf of people who read the warning labels but smoked the shit anyway. A million or so “victims” will get coupons for $25 off their next chemotherapy session while overwhelming majority of the booty will be split by the lawyers.
Anyone else? Come and pile on!
one more: Because you won’t be able to buy the stuff in a one-time use plastic baggy, you will be forced to put a deposit of $50 down on a reusable hemp bag.
The price of marijuana would probably go down, even with taxes. Most of the cost now is the cost of evading law enforcement, and the cost of poor economies of scale due to how it’s grown.
An ounce of weed nowadays is actually a fairly significant amount, according to most folks I’ve talked to. A dimebag ($10) is usually a gram nowadays, which is .03 ounces. So $280 would be an ounce. I don’t think the cost of weed will drop less than 18% post-legalization so it’ll be a net price drop to legalize and tax.
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price of an ounce depends on quality, location and on whether or not you are a friend–or not. currently in ID, expect between 250 to 350.
Whoa, the cost has gone way up since I was in High School! But I understand concentration has increased as well, depends on the bud. Personally I could care-less about pot anymore – but how much will they tax ’shrooms?