Monday, September 19, 2011

Supply and Demand of Legalization

There has been much discussion about the benefits and drawbacks of legalization of marijuana, including a state-wide proposition in California last year. This week, our in class graded discussion will cover the issue of legalization. Here are some questions to consider as you conduct your research.
  • will legalization increase or decrease supply?
  • will demand spike as a result of legalization?
  • Will government profit by charging taxes? Reducing the number of criminals in prison?
Of course, there are moral questions to consider as well. Do we want society to accept the use of this drug?

When you post, please cite any research that you have conducted.

10 comments:

  1. Hey Mr.Baure its bri,

    Legalization of weed will increase supply because there will be more producers competing for peoples buisness. There will probaly be an initial demand because people will be excited about it, but the dealers/suppliers already growing marijuana wont increase the demand. The goverment will profit from
    it and the price of weed will go down. There will be an increase in jobs like the farmers and people in "weed stores".... i honostly dont care if it should be legalized because people are going to smoke no matter what, and plus its pretty much already legal with the cannibis cards and medical marijuana. so if the goverment can make a profit that will help us get out of debt then why not go for it?(: "When we consider that physicians legally prescribe powerful and addictive drugs like morphine, codeine, oxycodone (OxyContin) and hydromorphone (Dilaudid), to name just a few, it is hard to see the justification for outlawing medical cannabis" - i got this from a website and its very true. we are giving people drugs way worse and highly addicting, but we think weed is bad?

    Recreational Use and Prohibition:

    "Research indicates that nearly 50 percent of Americans have tried marijuana at least once in their lives. Many find that it enhances creativity, and there is no doubt that it heightens one's aesthetic sensibilities, and one's experience of music in particular. By my count, at least the last three U.S. presidents are known to have tried it. Despite overwhelming evidence that most recreational users of marijuana come away unscathed from their experiences, we are living in a historical period of inordinately harsh laws that prohibit its use.

    Criminalization has made countless criminals out of otherwise ordinary citizens. We have allowed fear to motivate us to such an extent that we are willing to throw our kids in jail for something that many of us did during our own periods of youthful indiscretion. The hypocrisy of the contrast between the public face of our collective societal stance against marijuana and our true private attitudes toward the same is unconscionable. Even if young offenders manage to avoid jail sentences, their lives are often stigmatized in such a way as to seriously hamper them from pursuing productive lives as adults. We are two-faced about the issue and kids see right through that. Furthermore, prohibition of popular substances like alcohol and marijuana will always fail because people who desire them will find ways to get their hands on them anyways".

    If weed was legal there would be far less people over 18 in jail for marijuana related crimes. plus considering if it is legalized then it will still be illegal for kids under 18.

    All in all legilazation could be good and bad for america, but the benifits out wheigh the risks.


    oh and i got my stuff from this website:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-malerba/marijuana-healing-herb-or_b_765531.html

    see you tommorow!
    ~brianna kathryn beatty(:

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  2. Bri's comment is way too long.
    This is Dakota, I really don't have a side on the whole legalization of marijuana thing. However, I was surprised that no one mentioned hemp. If marijuana were legalized we would see a lot of hemp being used. Hemp is much more reliable than cotton. It is also stronger, cheaper, and easier to decompose than cotton, making it less of a threat to the environment.

    Source(s): the Hemporium in Ashland, Oregon.

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  3. Hello Mr.Bauer!, the legalization of marijuana will increase because there will be more people trying to sell therefor if there is more the price will be at a more reachable price for the coustomer. I do beleave that the demand will increase but at the same time it wont since people are not all of a sudden are going to want to smoke pot but it will go upp in demand since it will be at a easyer access to the client. The goverment will profit since it has been informed that it will be very expensive for the person that wants to obtain the drug. I personaly would not want this drug to be leagl since it will probably bring more troubles to society such as drunk drivers, that will be a bigger risk to society since the person under the effects of marijuana will not be concious of his or her acctions.

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  4. hey mr.Bauer this is Janett G . What i think about the legalization on Marijuana is that it would be an increase since a lot of people would substitute it for pain medication(pills). A lot more people would be conscious of their acts including that prescribed medications have long lasting side effects which pot doesn't. A "drug" that wasn't able to put a tax on made illegal by the gov't since they wouldn't make a profit for our own pleasure. It is definitely safer than cigarettes because that hurts your lungs and alcohol that effects your liver.

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  5. The legalization of marijuana would cause a temporary spike in demand but, for the most part, the people who have been smoking will continue to smoke and those who just began would soon be over it. The number of criminals would decrease because since marijuana is illegal, many turn to it as a way to get money quick but if the government was to step in and legalize it,
    "criminals" would have one less bad option. The government would be saving lots of money because instead of spending time putting people in jail for growin some weed they would be getting the real criminals, those who hurt people and creat great damage in our community!

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  6. Ello mr.bauer its dayna perez from second period.I am here to say that they should legalize marijuana because it would have a demand shift for the positve majorly.And it would improve our environment.
    Love dayna.

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  7. Will legalization increase or decrease supply?
    It will only increase demand for a while until it has hit people that it is not a everyday necessity.
    Will demand spike as a result of legalization?
    I believe that there will be a huge spike in demand for about a 3 to 4 year period. But after a while it will start to slow down as everyone gets adjusted to seeing it in there everyday grocery store.
    Will government profit by charging taxes? Reducing the number of criminals in prison?
    Most defenently. The government will make alot more money off of taxing weed. But they offenders that are in prison would be let out only if they are in prison for selling or possessing weed.

    Do we want society to accept the use of this drug?
    Maybe only time will tell if society will except the use of this drug on a daily basis.
    -Dalton Garcia

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  8. Alex Abbott

    the demand would increase and because of that, supply would as well. it will probally be taxted more just like alcohal and ciggaretes.
    If weed was legalized then the crime rate dealing with it would decrease. and the gov could make money from the excess tax and even benefit.

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  9. I believe the demand for marijuana may spike for some time, as frequent users continue to use and new people decide to try. But as time goes on, the legalization will quickly lose its luster, and demand will creep back down. Depending on how high the tax is, people may even be discouraged to purchase marijuana solely due to high taxes.

    As for acceptance in society, marijuana is already has widespread usage in even the smallest communities, and 90% of high school teens admit it isn't difficult to purchase marijuana illegally. The public seems to have a blind eye to the use of marijuana in communities, and continues to use the anti-legalization excuse of "Legalizing will make your child do drugs!" In reality, your children are doing drugs now: Legalizing it will only make it harder to get for teens.

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  10. Marijuana should definately be legalized. First of all, why would u not want to put marijuana in drug stores like in Raleys or Cvs? alot of people use marijuana on a daily for legal issues. The reason why its not legalized is because of a "Gateway" drug. that is false also. It is only a gateway drug if "You" as a person decide to do different drugs. marijuana is it own stimulant. its not a gateway drug. i no for a fact marijuana is not bad for you. You can loose brain cells, but what cant u loose brain cells nowadays? in all, this should legaized and get way bigger. It would bring alot more money too us. Take the drug dealers off the streets. There is more pros to it then cons.

    sincerely,
    mason weaver

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