Ib Ia Microeconomics free essay sample

The gathering also underscored mixed law enforcement messages about the statute. Hours earlier, Seattles city attorney issued a stern warning that public pot puffing would not be tolerated and violators faced citations with $100 fines. But the prosecutors admonition was contradicted by the Seattle Police Departments own instructions to officers to limit their enforcement actions to warnings, at least for now. The new law, passed by voters last month in a move that could set the state up for a showdown with the federal government, removes criminal sanctions for anyone 21 or older possessing 1 ounce (28. grams) or less of pot for personal use. Colorado voters also chose to legalize pot for personal recreational use but that measure is not due to come into effect until next month. Both states are among 18 that have already removed criminal sanctions for medical use of marijuana. The Washington law legalizes possession of up to 16 ounces (0. 45 kg) of solid cannabis-infused goods like brownies or cookies and up to 72 ounces (2. 4 kg) of weed in liquid form. However, driving under the influence of cannabis, or imbibing in public places where the consumption of alcohol is already banned, remain illegal. If youre smoking in plain public view, youre subject to a ticket, Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes told a news conference Wednesday. If drinking in public is disallowed, so is smoking marijuana in public. VICTORY FOR HEMP The new law ultimately will permit cannabis to be legally sold and taxed at state-licensed stores in a system to be modeled after those in many states for alcohol sales. The state Liquor Control Board, along with agriculture and public health officials, have until next December to set up such a system. But for now, it remains a crime to sell, cultivate or even share ones own stash, even though the law allows individuals to purchase a limited amount for personal possession. Little if any of the laws fine points seemed to matter to the mellow and largely middle-aged gathering of about 100 people near the foot of the Space Needle as the statute took effect at midnight. Low-key cries of Yeah! and Smoke some weed and Anybody got a bong? rose after an Oregon radio personality, Radical Russ Belville, finished a 10-second countdown on a bullhorn. Mike Momany, 61, wearing a black Bad Pig brand motorcycle jacket, said he was forming the Washington State Cannabis Tourism Association to promote pot tourism. Although he has smoked grass for 40 years, Momany said he had slowed his intake because it makes me eat too much. Another smoker, wearing sunglasses and ca lling himself Professor Gizmo, 50, said: Victory for hemp. If our forefathers could see us now. No police were visible as the aroma of cannabis wafted through the air and Bob Marley music blared from loudspeakers. There were no immediate reports of any arrests. Appeals to keep pot smoke indoors were expected to go unheeded again at a larger celebration by marijuana advocates planned for Thursday evening at the Space Needle. Celebrations over pot legalization were later muted by violence, as police said two masked men who tried to rob a large pot-growing operation in a residential garage were shot and killed outside of Tacoma. LAID-BACK APPROACH The Seattle Police Department publicized its laid-back pot enforcement directive on its SPD Blotter website on Wednesday, but advised against flagrantly lighting up in public. The police department believes that under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a Lord of the Rings marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to, the notice said. While asserting that public pot use remained expressly prohibited, Seattle police said officers lack clear enforcement authority and that it would take at least 30 days for legislation to be crafted enabling officers to cite violators. In the meantime, in the spirit of the new law, the departments going to give you a generous grace period to help you adjust to this brave, new and maybe kinda stoned world we live in, the departments online message says. Prosecutors in several counties said last month they were dismissing scores of misdemeanor marijuana possession cases in advance of the new law. But whether public or private, cannabis use violates federal law, which classifies marijuana as an illegal narcotic. U. S. Attorney Jenny Durkan in Seattle reiterated on Wednesday the U. S. Justice Department position that growing, selling or possessing any amount of marijuana remained a federal crime, regardless of any changes in state law. The Washington State’s landmark marijuana law permits Marijuana to be â€Å"legally sold and taxed at state licensed stores†. The enactment of the legalization of marijuana statute results in both positive and negative externalities. The main positive externality is the effect of law on the government’s budget. The state can now tax the production and sale of marijuana. More importantly, the government can save millions of dollars by reallocating the government expenditure spent on criminal justice enforcements of prohibition. The main negative externality is the social and moral implications of smoking marijuana. When marijuana was prohibited the government had no access to any of the revenues from the illegal sale of marijuana. The main positive externality is, therefore, the effect of the law on the government’s budget. The state can now tax the production and sale of marijuana and benefit from this large and lucrative industry. Consumers will also benefit because marijuana is an elastic good. Marijuana is considered to be elastic because a change in the price leads to a change in the quantity demanded or supplied. Diagram 1: Before the legalization of marijuana the supply and demand were in disequilibrium. As indicated by the graph bellow, the price (P1) of marijuana was too high because the consumer is paying for the risk of the drug dealer being arrested. The corresponding quantity (Q1) is low because the demand of marijuana is price elastic. Diagram 2: After the legalization of marijuana, the higher production caused by the legalization of the drug will lower prices and raise the quantity demand to Q3 ( Q3 is equilibrium) . Taxation of the drug will then result in higher revenues. Also, while it is hard to find an exact estimate to how many jobs could be generated by the legalization of marijuana, establishments will be created for distribution and jobs like physicians, delivery drivers, and dispensary operates are necessities. People with records of using and dealing marijuana may find an easier time getting a job. More jobs will ultimately higher a nation’s productivity and annually improve a nations PPC. The government can save millions of dollars by reallocating the government expenditure spent on criminal justice enforcements of prohibition. The government had spent over $50 billion on the war on drugs; the state also faced a 90% fail rate to eradicate the drug. Instead of the nation spending their peoples tax money on a war that can’t be won; a better investment can be made. For instance, medical care, investments in social standards like public parks and roads, or even an investment in industrial innovation; these investments are essential to economic stability rather than investing $50 billion dollars in a plan with virtually no outcomes. Inhaling smoke is never healthy; therefore social costs of legalizing marijuana may outweigh the benefits. To get an idea of social costs at hand, one can look at the social costs generated by tobacco smoke. Tobacco- related health care costs and lost production account to $200 billion a year nationwide in the United States. Tobacco is a demerit good. A demerit good is a good that is considered unhealthy or damaging in some way. Demerit goods also cause negative externalities, an externality is either a positive or negative side effect caused during a transaction between two parties while a third party is caring the good. According to the National Institutes of Health â€Å"While cannabis smoke has been implicated in repertory dysfunction †¦ it has not been casually linked with tobacco related cancers such as lung, colon, or rectal cancer. † Therefore, though inhaling smoke is never healthy, whatever costs or savings smoking causes will be less extreme for marijuana than tobacco. On another note, studies have shown that wants a subject has smoked cannabis the risk in being involved in a car accident doubles. A solution to this could be enforcement of a law forbidding smoking and driving. A law like this stands against consumption of alcohol and driving. Tax revenue from cannabis can also help to create a campaign to educate citizens not to smoke and drive. As for the moral issue, the article presents a solution to forbid smoking of marijuana outside private resentences. Without seeing anyone smoking the drug outside a household, citizens would not have to face the issue. In conclusion, the marginal benefits of the drug outweigh the marginal social and private costs. Meaning, profit will be generated and increase economic stability. Other aspects also point to legalizing marijuana as logical enough to proceed.