I recall they voted to re criminalize it in 1990 the states supreme court overruled the voters.

Dude, because then they’d have a quick fix for their munchies.

(Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Also, should we remember that after the end of prohibition that organized crime did not go away but just moved on to other fields. What makes anyone believe that those that grow marijuana would start working at McDonalds once it is legalized?

To me it would be dramatic just to cut in half the number of non violent inmates in prison.

Both are a pretty interesting read. Sullum figures the excise tax projection is overblown since prices would likely fall through the floor and not be offset enough by increased consumption, but still thinks it will amount to up to “a billion or two”, has the economic benefit of enjoyment by a wider group of people, and saves on law enforcement costs from the favorite Libertarian punching bag that is ‘the war on drugs’ and more importantly it’s associated unnecessary loss of liberty for prosecuted and incarcerated non-violent pot smokers.

I’m with Paul that I’d certainly like to see this have a chance to play out. That said, I’m inclined to agree with Sullum’s skepticism of the amount of excise revenues and his endorsement regardless on legalization’s own merits, even though I don’t accept at face value his general opinion of excise taxes being an evil unto themselves.