Quote:
Originally Posted by tical
I think you're over analyzing the situation.
Look at the pharmaceutical industry for instance, as soon as patents expire & generics can be made (with the same effectiveness) they are sold for WAY cheaper than the prescription drug. Marijuana can't be patented, therefore it isn't subject to that kind of proprietary pricing.
Prices won't go up - they will go down. Marijuana already has a decent price & it is ILLEGAL! How would legalizing it make it more expensive? The same people would just continue growing top notch shit and selling it for the same price if that was the case...
Last - if you're high and driving you should have to deal with the consequences - you are impaired!
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ok let me see here...
Points to be made:
1) The comparison to pharmaceuticals is moot and arbitrary. the entire point of patents and generic branding is that various drugs can be copied and manufactured. this isn't the case with marijuana. moot point. what it IS subject to is government interference and regulation/policies surrounding cost.
2) Prices will not go down. it's arbitrary to compare the price of illegal marijuana with legal marijuana, because the dynamics are totally different. government regulation will result in a government run 'industry', much like cigarettes and alcohol, where the government sets prices and makes a profit off those products. costs will include taxes, manufacturing, transport, testing, etc.
Legalizing it will make it more expensive simply through government involvement. As it stands there is no 'middle man', there is no regulation, and the users and producers set their own prices as per societal norms and acceptable practices.
Sure, the 'same people could just continue to grow', but if the government now has a brand new industry, they will want to curb that with every possible effort. There will be an increased rise in prosecution for drug crimes that cannot be proved to have been purchased from a regulated vendor, and increased penalties for those caught growing/distributing. And setting up as a regulated vendor would be highly costly. This makes for a hostile environment for the 'growers'. Will it curb it? no, but it will make it a less appealing and attractive method of business.
It will be more difficult to find a quality 'dealer' because no one will want to take on anyone new as a 'client'.
Take a look over the past 15 years and how much more expensive cigarettes have gotten. They are what now 5-9 bucks a pack depending on where you are. Remember when they were less then 2 bucks a handful of years ago, and the govt will likely do with marijuana what they did/do with cigarettes. Jack the price up, under the guise of 'betterment of people' and 'incentive to quit' while still making MAD profit off the industry, due to GOVERNMENT REGULATION.
I think this is good for now.