Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 4:39 pm | By: Radical Russ
In the face of growing calls to tax and regulate marijuana, the prohibitionists are left with few tools in their rhetorical arsenal. One talking point they’ve trotted out lately goes something like this:
Why not tax pot and alleviate the financial burden of our cities and states? We tax alcohol sales and it earns billions. “The latest studies show that the U.S. collects about $8 billion yearly in taxes from alcohol.” However, this is not the end of the story. “The problem is, the total cost to the U.S. in 2008 due to alcohol-related problems was $185 billion, and the government pays about 38% of that cost (about $72 billion), all due to consequences of alcohol consumption, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse & Alcoholism.”
In other words, if we “legalized” marijuana, the damage caused by all the rampant stoners would cost us more than the pot taxes would bring in.
Of course the argument is silly on its face; alcohol use causes serious health problems, violence, and auto wrecks, so it naturally costs society more than it brings in. Cannabis use is relatively safe and as I’ve argued before, 22 million of us are using it now, so if there is any social cost, why not at least bring in some tax revenue instead of none?
In terms of costs per user: tobacco-related health costs are over $800 per user, alcohol-related health costs are much lower at $165 per user, and cannabis-related health costs are the lowest at $20 per user. On the enforcement side, costs for cannabis are the highest at $328 per user—94% of social costs for cannabis are linked to enforcement. Enforcement costs per user for alcohol are about half those for cannabis ($153), while enforcement costs for tobacco are very low.
Now that’s Canada, so our US numbers may vary a bit, especially when we’re talking about health care costs. But in the title of his post, Paul asked me to “do the math”. So here it is:
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009 at 5:02 pm | By: Radical Russ
I was gone at Hempfest so I’m sure by now the mainstream media has plastered the news of this new study all over the airwaves, internet, and print, right?
(NIH PubMed) The effects of cannabis on lung function remain unclear and may be different to tobacco. We compared the associations between use of these substances and lung function in a population-based cohort (n=1037). Cannabis and tobacco use were reported at ages 18, 21, 26, and 32 years. Spirometry, plethysmography, and carbon monoxide transfer factor were measured at age 32. Associations between lung function and exposure to each substance were adjusted for exposure to the other substance.
Cumulative cannabis use was associated with higher forced vital capacity, total lung capacity, functional residual capacity, and residual volume. Cannabis was also associated with higher airways resistance but not with forced expiratory volume in 1 second, forced expiratory ratio, or transfer factor. These findings were similar amongst those who did not smoke tobacco.
By contrast, tobacco use was associated with lower forced expiratory volume in 1 second, lower forced expiratory ratio, lower transfer factor, and higher static lung volumes, but not with airways resistance.Cannabis appears to have different effects on lung function to those of tobacco. Cannabis use was associated with higher lung volumes suggesting hyperinflation and increased large-airways resistance, but there was little evidence for airflow obstruction or impairment of gas transfer.
Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 8:08 pm | By: Radical Russ
A Stasher forwarded me an email he sent to the board of directors for the tobacco giant, Philip Morris. A fascinating read and maybe a little scary…
Dear Louis & Craig,
With all due respect, sirs, you are missing a golden opportunity to build a stable and sustainable revenue stream in a $35-$100 billion domestic market.
As we both know, the tobacco market is inherently limited, with bright medium run prospects, as demand in developing nations continues to grow, but dim long term prospects, as those same developing nations will ultimately move to limit or ban smoking, following the path of their more industrialized brethren. As a leader of your company and your industry, you have a responsibility to consider these challenges and to find ways to diversify your revenue base in an effort to ensure the long-term viability of your company
While this is certainly a grand strategic challenge that I am sure you have spent countless strategy meetings exploring, you are missing a very attractive market – one that is very large – $35-$100 billion domestically and $200 billion+ internationally, highly sustainable as it is characterized by largely inelastic demand, accessible – given a bit of elbow grease on your part, and and a perfect strategic fit for Philip Morris – you could likely deploy existing capital resources in production for this new market. That market is marijuana. I’ll spare you the business analysis here, as I seek to avoid redoing work that has been completed by both internal and external persons – see this rudimentary business analysis for example (http://www.mcafee.cc/Classes/BEM106/Papers/UTexas/351/Phillipmorris.pdf).
Friday, June 19th, 2009 at 10:20 am | By: Dudemaster
The Honorable Congressman, Dr. Ron Paul (R-TX), is one of my favorite politicians. Although I don’t always agree with him, he speaks only the truth. He wrote this article for the Free Liberal, and it is quite profound.
Moving Towards Tobacco Prohibition
Last week, another bill was passed and signed into law that takes more of our freedoms and violates the Constitution of the United States. It was, of course, done for the sake of the children, and in the name of the health of the citizenry. It’s always the case that when your liberty is seized, it is seized for your own good. Such is the condescension of Washington.
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will give sweeping new powers over tobacco to the FDA. It will require everyone engaged in manufacturing, preparing, compounding, or processing tobacco to register with the FDA and be subjected to FDA inspections, which is yet another violation of the Fourth Amendment. It violates the First Amendment by allowing the FDA to restrict tobacco advertising in multiple ways, as well as an outright ban on advertising any cigarettes as light, mild or low-tar. The FDA will have the power of pre-market reviews of all new tobacco products, and will impose new user fees, meaning taxes, on manufacturers and importers of tobacco products. It will even regulate the amount of nicotine in cigarettes.
My objections to the bill are not an endorsement of tobacco. As a physician I understand the adverse health effects of this bad habit. And that is exactly how smoking should be treated – as a bad habit and a personal choice. The way to combat poor choices is through education and information. Other than ensuring that tobacco companies do not engage in force or fraud to market their products, the federal government needs to stay out of the health habits of free people. Regulations for children should be at the state level. Unfortunately, government is using its already overly intrusive financial and regulatory roles in healthcare to establish a justifiable interest in intervening in your personal lifestyle choices as well. We all need to anticipate the level of health freedom that will remain once government manages all health care in this country.
Actions in Congress such as this tobacco bill are especially disconcerting after we thought we were beginning to see some progress in drawing down the wrong-headed and failed war on drugs. A majority of Americans now think marijuana should be legal, taxed and regulated, according to a recent Zogby poll and over 70 percent are in favor of allowing medicinal use of marijuana. Bills like this take us down exactly the wrong path. Instead of gaining more freedom with marijuana, we are moving closer to prohibiting tobacco. Our prisons are already bursting with non-violent drug offenders. How long will it be before a black market in tobacco fills the prisons with non-violent cigarette smokers?
Hemp and tobacco were staple crops for our founding fathers when our country was new. It is baffling to see how far removed from real freedom this country has become since then. Hemp, even for industrial uses, of which there are many, is illegal to grow at all. Now tobacco will have more layers of bureaucracy and interference piled on top of it. In this economy it is extremely upsetting to see this additional squeeze put on an entire industry. One has to wonder how many smaller farmers will be forced out of business because of this bill.
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
Here’s something strange I found in my Inbox today – has anyone ever heard of the Blu Electronic Cigarette?
1. How does blu work?
blu works with a small rechargeable battery and a unique, safe replaceable cartridge that contains water, propylene glycol, nicotine, a scent that emulates a tobacco, and other flavorings exclusive to blu. When you inhale it activates the atomizer which releases simulated smoke that is actually water vapor.
11. What are the ingredients in e-liquid?
blu cartridges contain nicotine (in levels of high, medium, low and no nicotine), propylene glycol, tobacco flavoring, and other flavoring ingredients exclusive to blu. These cartridges come in various flavors and nicotine levels to satisfy the needs of a variety of smokers. Propylene glycol is a water-based ingredient found in many health products and medicines. None of the ingredients in the cartridges have been found to be carcinogenic.
18. Is blu healthier than traditional cigarettes?
Yes, blu does not contain the tar and carcinogens associated with traditional tobacco cigarettes. It simply provides the smoker with a small dose of nicotine to satisfy their cravings.
The marketing pitch I got on this email focused on the idea that blu users get these benefits:
You can smoke anywhere – eCigs release odorless, harmless water vapor. No smoke!
Creates no ash or waste, and emits no unpleasant odors that cling to hair and clothes
No more outdoor smoke breaks; you can smoke right at your desk, increasing productivity
But I’m thinking about the vaporization here – if this thing takes off, will it be the “killer app” that breaks vaporization into the public consciousness?
Monday, May 11th, 2009 at 11:20 am | By: Radical Russ
Smoking marijuana = bad message to the children. Chewing tobacco? Eh, nobody needs to know.
Theresa White, a Latina exotic dancer in Phelps’ hometown, sat down with the News to discuss his supposed insatiable sexual appetite and hard partying ways.
White claims to have met the swimmer in November 2008, the same month the News released the now-infamous bong photos of Phelps.
“I saw Michael after the photos were published in February and he got really upset. He turned to me and said, ‘I can’t believe that happened. I’m terrified my career will be over.’ He was almost in tears.”
While there were no complaints in the bedroom, White says Phelps chewed tobacco “like a sailor,” with spittoons peppering his condo, cried often over the stresses of the marijuana scandal and remained in constant communication with his mother.
I could care less about Michael Phelps’ sexcapades with strippers. He’s a 23-year-old single man with fame and money; have fun. It’s the chewing tobacco I’ve got an issue with. Won’t somebody think of the children? We vilified Michael Phelps because his marijuana smoking would send a bad message to the children; is anyone now clamoring for Michael Phelps to issue apologies for his chewing tobacco use? That will cause more head and neck cancer than pot every will.
By the way, the latest celeb news on Phelps is that he’s dating National Organization for Marriage spokeswoman and pageant-purchased breast implant-recipient Miss California Carrie “Opposite Marriage” Prejean. There’s something oddly appropriate about that, I think; two young people who made stupid mistakes and suffered a media firestorm end up together.
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 at 5:20 pm | By: Radical Russ
People who smoke both tobacco and marijuana increase their risk of respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), say University of British Columbia researchers.
[Study co-author Dr. Wan] Tan and his colleagues did not find any link between smoking only marijuana and increased risk of respiratory illness, but hedged their bets on marijuana’s potential effects.
While tobacco smoking alone was associated with increased risk, smokers who reported using both tobacco and marijuana were nearly 2.5 times more likely than nonsmokers to have respiratory symptoms and almost three times more likely to have COPD.
Those who reported smoking only tobacco were 1.5 times more likely than non-smokers to have respiratory symptoms and more than 2.5 times more likely to have COPD.
The study surveyed 878 people in Vancouver who were at least 40 years old.
Previous studies have found no additional effect from the combination of marijuana and tobacco use on either chronic respiratory symptoms or abnormal lung function in younger smokers.
So, if you’re over 40, smoking cigarettes is bad for your lungs and smoking pot makes the cigarettes worse on your lungs, but smoking pot by itself doesn’t seem to be an issue in respiratory illness. Remind me again, which one of those smokes is legal?
Friday, April 3rd, 2009 at 3:14 pm | By: Radical Russ
AUSTIN — Though they are legally considered adults and can serve in the military, 18-year-old Texans would be considered minors when it comes to smoking under a bill passed unanimously through a Senate committee Tuesday.
The measure would increase the legal age for buying tobacco products to 19, and would cut off an estimated $12.5 million in tax revenue for the state over the next two years.
Supporters say raising the legal age will prevent teens from smoking an extra year and keep cigarettes out of high schools, where they can be passed along to younger students.
According to the Department of State Health Services, roughly one-fourth of Texas high school students smoked cigarettes in 2006.
Four other states — Alabama, Utah, Alaska and New Jersey — have raised the smoking age to 19.
In the past, opponents have said that if 18-year-olds are old enough to serve in the military, they should be able to choose whether to smoke.
But at least one senator who opposed the measure on those grounds two years ago has changed his position. Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, said Tuesday that more information and statistics about teens smoking in high school led him to vote for the measure in committee.
With approval from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, the proposal now seeks a hearing with the full Senate.
If our laws actually followed the science about the danger to human development and addictiveness of these substances, the legal age for alcohol would be 24, for tobacco it would be 21, and cannabis would be 18. Personally, I’ve always felt that a set age for mind-altering substance consumption is not the best way to regulate their use. I know 18-year-olds who are rational and responsible cannabis consumers and I know 40-year-olds who are reckless and embarrassing.
Therefore, I personally think we ought to use educational attainment and employment to grant consumption privileges, up until age 24, when you gain the privilege automatically. Graduate high school (or GED) and contribute 36-months of part- or full-time payroll taxes into Social Security, or 36-months of 2.5 GPA undergrad classes, and you receive your Consumption License. If a kid started work at 16 and graduated at 18, by age 19 he’d accumulate 36 months and would be allowed to consume alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis. If he didn’t start work until after graduation at 18, or decided to go to college, by age 21 he’d earn his Consumption License. If the kid does nothing but drop out and be a bum, well, then he doesn’t get to party until he’s 24.
Even over 24-year-olds, however, would have to get the license. The Consumption License would also require its own safety course and registration. People would get the objective facts about substances, the laws concerning them, instructions for safest use, awareness of addiction and information on treatment and rehabilitation. People who abuse their consumption license can have it suspended or revoked. We’d have reliable statistics as to how many people are consuming substances. The license could have a renewal fee and generate money for the state that would go toward treatment programs.
The added benefit is a bit of coercion for students to stay in school and graduates to go to college or work. Substance use wouldn’t be seen as a “rite of passage” that comes along automatically at a certain age, but rather as a privilege that is only extended to repsonsible, educated adults. For those who choose not to use, they don’t have to be taxed to care for the substance users; the users’ Consumption Licenses take care of that.
I can think of all manner of logistical hurdles and political difficulties in instituting such a system, but it makes more sense than just declaring that at a certain age, a human is responsible enough to smoke, drink, and toke.
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009 at 2:53 pm | By: Radical Russ
The House voted Thursday to grant the Food and Drug Administration sweeping powers to regulate the production and marketing of tobacco products.
Under the bill (HR 1256), which passed 298-112, the FDA would be able to regulate nicotine levels, and makers of tobacco products would face tough new marketing and advertising restrictions.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to face intense lobbying from the White House to clear it.
Supporters say the measure faces its best chance of becoming law since a massive effort to regulate tobacco and codify a landmark settlement with the tobacco industry collapsed in the Senate a decade ago.
Republicans said it defies common sense to ask the FDA, which approves products if they are proven to be safe and effective, to regulate nicotine.
“The last thing we should be doing is forcing the FDA to regulate an inherently dangerous product and carrying out a mission that is counter to its culture,” said Buyer during the debate.
Excuse me, is this the same FDA that won’t approve a product that is proven to be safe and effective?
If this bill passes and the FDA begins regulating tobacco, then it becomes even more absurd for them not to approve cannabis. Of course, they cannot while cannabis is still Schedule I, a designation meaning that the drug has no accepted medical value in the United States, despite thirteen states in the United States accepting the medical value of cannabis.
The DEA, Attorney General, or President would have to change the designation of cannabis from Schedule I to at least Schedule II (or completely de-schedule it, as logic would dictate), which they can do as an executive measure. It need not be approved by Congress or the courts.
That would be the Drug Enforcement Administration, which is also charged with enforcing the laws against the hemp that is not a drug, or the Attorney General, who once fought for five-year mandatory minimums for marijuana sales in DC, or the President who “inhaled, frequently, that was the point” and now can’t stop giggling about it.
And they are the ones who wonder what the hell we’ve been smoking.
Medicinal cannabis has attracted a lot of attention in recent times. Various forms of administration are used, of which smoking is very common but the least desirable. Smoking cannabis generates a large amount of unwanted side products, of which carcinogenic compounds are the most dangerous.
A common practice among recreational drug users, and to a lesser degree patients who uses cannabis as medicine, is to mix the cannabis material with commercially available tobacco in order to increase the burning efficiency of the cigarette and to reduce the overall costs of the cigarette.
In this study cannabis material has been mixed with tobacco in order to determine whether tobacco has an influence on the amount of and ratio between tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabigerol (CBG), and cannabinol (CBN) administered while smoking. A small-scale smoking machine has been used and cannabis mixed with various ratios of tobacco was smoked. The trapped smoke was quantitatively analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the amount of THC, CBG, and CBN was determined for each cigarette.
We have found that tobacco increases the amount of THC inhaled per gram of cannabis from 32.70 ± 2.29 mg/g for a 100% cannabis cigarette to 58.90 ± 2.30 mg/g for a 25% cannabis cigarette. This indicates that tobacco increases the vaporization efficiency of THC by as much as 45% under the conditions tested.
Shorter: Blunts pack a bigger buzz. However, if you’re looking to increase the vaporization efficiency of THC, just spend the extra dough on buying a vaporizer and lose all of the carcinogens from any kind of smoke. I hear that tobacco stuff is addictive and dangerous.
RevRayGreen: MASS TWEET THIS -@ChuckGrassley Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer sadness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
RevRayGreen: @ChuckGrassley http://bit.ly/55Ejsi Truth is Chuck you follow Nixon's CSA full of reefer madness. btw Chuck, Marijuana is not a drug.
SneakerPimp: one last thing Puff puff pass to any one who wants it
SneakerPimp: i wanna here about the imminent MiniSpof sounds like time for some
SneakerPimp: im estatic and excited for NSL today.
SneakerPimp: mountain time wake n bake
SneakerPimp: oh yea also wake n bake
SneakerPimp: its central im high as a kite everybody
SneakerPimp: ill grab that WUD
WakeUpDead: @Russ, I dont think that wireless is going to work out for the show, it was choppy and studdered just like last week. Hardline may be the only way. Puff [...]
WakeUpDead: A MINI Spof, Lock up your Weed, in 18 years that is. Really Man congrats! Greatest days of my life when my kids were born, hell yeh, great news [...]
BenJaMin: Late night Stash!!!
SneakerPimp: heres a bong rip for spof
RevRayGreen: errr test over....
RevRayGreen: on hold..
RevRayGreen: @RR I'll try and lob a call to you.....
SneakerPimp: where is the first field of cannabis gonna be?
SneakerPimp: !
Radical Russ: Breaking News: MrSpof's wife's water just broke! A MiniSpof is imminent!
SneakerPimp: oh russ its not my fault that i dont understand choppy word:stoned:
SneakerPimp: @Mrspof congratulations tell us all about it tommrow
Radical Russ: OK, test over. Sorry. Only needed a half hour. Be back tomorrow afternoon.
slash5city: don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west
thaistik: Local Crime Stoppers notice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pot shop burglars sought
Crime Stoppers is looking for information on the suspects who police say burglarized a medical marijuana dispensary and stole cash, drugs [...]
Marijuana-Related Health Costs Minimal Compared To Those Of Alcohol, Tobacco; California Medical Association Says Pot Prohibition Is A "Failed Public Health Policy"; Oregon: State NORML Affiliate Opens First 'Cannabis Café'. […]
American Medical Association Calls For Scientific Review Of Marijuana's Prohibitive Status; Dutch Marijuana Use Lower Than European Average, Study Says […]
"Truth In Trials Act" Reintroduced In Congress; Maine: Voters Approve Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Measure; Colorado: Breckenridge Voters Overwhelmingly Decide To End Pot Penalties. […]
Some of the nation’s top athletes discuss why today's pros are turning to cannabis — and away from alcohol and painkillers — off the field, and question why pro sports leagues are continuing to sanction those who do. Moderator: Steve Bloom, Author, Pot Culture; editor, celebstoner.com * Toby Grear, MMA fighter * Sean Neumann, Documentary Filmm […]
Cannabis Law Reform's Missing Link: Law Enforcement Former Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper; LEAP and NORML Advisory Board; Author of Breaking Rank Putting the Mexican Cartels Out of Business Mexican drug cartels now employ over 100,000 soldiers and are responsible for nearly ten thousand deaths per year. Their largest source of income is marijuana. […]
“But legalizing marijuana will cost society more than it earns in taxes” – debunked!
In the face of growing calls to tax and regulate marijuana, the prohibitionists are left with few tools in their rhetorical arsenal. One talking point they’ve trotted out lately goes something like this:
sounds like time for some 
mountain time wake n bake 
don't forget to watch CCS live on u-stream 8 pm west 
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