Marijuana Has Generated $250 Million in WA State Tax Revenue (Seattle: sales, 2014)

[Seacove]

Personally, I never tried marijuana and have no interest. I voted for legalizing marijuana because I thought prison sentences for it were incredibly stupid. But now, we have seen it generated $250 million in Washington State tax revenue. That makes me a huge fan. Washington has no income taxes and has low property taxes but it loves sin taxes. If people want to pay taxes to smoke marijuana, I say, "please proceed" and thank you for your money.

The hay haired cheeto king, however, was all about states rights yesterday with bathroom laws but today is all about federal laws on marijuana. What can Washington do about keeping that revenue coming? Making it easy to get medical marijuana? So ridiculous, considering red states have been passing legal marijuana too. If he had any brain at all he would put a federal tax on it and move on.

"Pot shops have sold over $1 billion worth of non-medicinal marijuana since July 2014, in turn generating more than $250 million for Washington state through excise taxes, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Friday."

Marijuana sales in Washington state top $1 billion: Report - Washington Times

[franklin42]

Originally Posted by Seacove

Personally, I never tried marijuana and have no interest. I voted for legalizing marijuana because I thought prison sentences for it were incredibly stupid. But now, we have seen it generated $250 million in Washington State tax revenue. That makes me a huge fan. Washington has no income taxes and has low property taxes but it loves sin taxes. If people want to pay taxes to smoke marijuana, I say, "please proceed" and thank you for your money.

The hay haired cheeto king, however, was all about states rights yesterday with bathroom laws but today is all about federal laws on marijuana. What can Washington do about keeping that revenue coming? Making it easy to get medical marijuana? So ridiculous, considering red states have been passing legal marijuana too. If he had any brain at all he would put a federal tax on it and move on.

"Pot shops have sold over $1 billion worth of non-medicinal marijuana since July 2014, in turn generating more than $250 million for Washington state through excise taxes, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported Friday."

Marijuana sales in Washington state top $1 billion: Report - Washington Times

Thanks for voting yes Seacove! Not everybody who ingests cannabis is who the media portrays them to be. I see ALL walks of life in the dispensaries when I go. All races, colors, male, female, young, old etc. I have no problem paying the taxes if it benefits this great state. With billions in taxes generated I really don't see that moron doing anything about it. But then again... Oh well, I'll just grow it. Meh.

[homesinseattle]

My wife suffers at times from dehabilitating Chrohn's Disease and experiences significant pain relief of her symptoms when she uses a little cannibas. She doesn't look like a pot smoker, most people would never guess. There are many like her.

[franklin42]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

My wife suffers at times from dehabilitating Chrohn's Disease and experiences significant pain relief of her symptoms when she uses a little cannibas. She doesn't look like a pot smoker, most people would never guess. There are many like her.

100% Homes! High CBD/low THC strains work wonders for me. What does a pot smoker look like though? A doctor? Lawyer? Successful business owner? Soccer mom? Not trying to be a jerk it's just that I don't know anybody who looks like a pot smoker? It's strange.

[homesinseattle]

Franklin, I was being tongue in cheek with the "doesn't look like a pot smoker" comment . You probably guessed that.

[Kayela]

I voted for it to keep the money in WA and out of the hands of the cartels, and quite frankly I haven't noticed much of a difference. The people who used to smoke/ingest it still do, and those who didn't, still don't.

If history has shown us anything - it's that prohibition only benefited the mob, and didn't keep people from drinking. Well, keeping something that has gone through as much study as Marijuana illegal makes less sense than prohibiting alcohol, and the profits don't stay in the community. You want American jobs? Why not domesticate and regulate the production and sale of something more lucrative than cheap, plastic crap. I'm very glad to see that WA is profiting from this vs other countries.

Additionally - marijuana has been more extensively studied, for much longer, than most pharmaceutical drugs on the market. I've recently had a host of mystery neurological symptoms, have had umpteen drugs suggested, and am appalled at the lack of studies there are on them. Drug companies don't want to admit that they have no idea what their drug does, just that most of the time, in a certain set of circumstances, it does X. Uh huh. If I ever need to be medicated for chronic pain, anxiety, or a host of other issues, I'm marching right down the street to the nearest dispensary.

[Hemlock140]

You never know who might be a pot smoker, but I see many of them daily next to that big tree in Pike Place Market across from the park, and they DO look like post smokers. Of course, they are breaking the law doing it in public, also within 25 feet of a building entrance, but no one bothers them about it. I was surprised last week to see how many pot shops are in Port Angeles, seems like 1-2 in every block. There are none here in Sammamish, only one in Issaquah. The one I pass on the way to & from work every day is right across from the Art Institute, and appears to do a brisk business.

[franklin42]

Originally Posted by homesinseattle

Franklin, I was being tongue in cheek with the "doesn't look like a pot smoker" comment . You probably guessed that.

Sorry Homes, I was just venting about the stereotype. My bad.

[franklin42]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

You never know who might be a pot smoker, but I see many of them daily next to that big tree in Pike Place Market across from the park, and they DO look like post smokers. Of course, they are breaking the law doing it in public, also within 25 feet of a building entrance, but no one bothers them about it. I was surprised last week to see how many pot shops are in Port Angeles, seems like 1-2 in every block. There are none here in Sammamish, only one in Issaquah. The one I pass on the way to & from work every day is right across from the Art Institute, and appears to do a brisk business.

I also don't like when I see people smoking in public. Just like I hate seeing people drinking in public. I also hate how cartoony everything is about the cannabis industry. It just adds to the stereotype I think.

There are 3 dispensaries in Port Angeles that I know of. 1-2 every block? Are you talking about bars/taverns? I hope a dispensary pops up in Sammamish one day. To think of all of those people that have to travel to Issaquah!

[Ira500]

And now Presidential spokesman Sean Spicer has indicated that the feds might clamp down on those states that have legalized it for recreational use. Which is stupid, because you can't really selectively enforce states rights.
As far as appearances, there must be a lot of pot smokers, because there are a lot of dispensaries. I have a friend who looks like a total pothead. Long, greasy hair. Bleary eyed, unfocused. Well, not only has he never tried the stuff, he's also a Republican.
I think I'd prefer it if the tax revenue was specifically earmarked( for education, etc), instead of most of it going into the general fund.