Oakland Drug Abuse: Taxing Marijuana – a Gateway to Trouble?

Oakland did it. Long Beach and numerous other California cities are weighing their options in levying a heavy tax on medical marijuana.

In the face of tremendous budget woes in the state of California, is it now okay to get permissive about the legality of marijuana? After all, hundreds of thousands-if not millions-of dollars in perceived profits are at stake.

But, much like a drug, is a marijuana tax itself a quick “fix” in a time of need?

With an $ 83 million dollar deficit, Oakland hopes to generate nearly $ 300,000 in annual revenue using an $ 18 tax per every $ 1,000 in marijuana sales in the city’s quasi-legal pot dispensaries. Long Beach may follow suit. But at what greater cost?

It is interesting that marijuana is being pushed as a solution to financial problems when in the long term it may cost these same cities hundreds of millions of dollars more to address the unintended but inevitable consequences of drug addiction.

Marijuana legalization is a controversial issue, admitted, but attempts to legitimize it through quasi-legal pot dispensaries and associate it with medical purposes is a testament to the power of this drug.

Marijuana is in fact an addictive drug, and addicts will use any justification they can to continue using it, including minimizing the fact that it is addictive, or pushing the idea of its perceived health benefits.

In truth, Smoking marijuana just five times a week can expose the smoker to as much carcinogenic material as smoking a pack of cigarettes per day, and teens in the US are now entering drug rehab for marijuana addiction more than any other drug.

While $ 300,000 per year in tax revenue may seem like easy money, voters should not overlook the hundreds of millions of dollars per year that represent the much higher costs of drug addiction.

Every dollar spent on effective drug addiction treatment and drug-abuse prevention programs saves many, many more in terms of crime, medical intervention and lost productivity that result from drug abuse and addiction.

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