How does the government make money off drugs

In the past several years, the national movement to end drug prohibition has accelerated. Nine states and Washington, DC, have legalized recreational marijuana, with at least three more states Connecticut, Michigan, and Ohio likely to vote on legalization by the end of Dozens of others have decriminalized the substance or permitted it for medicinal use. Drug legalization affects various social outcomes. In the debate over marijuana legalization, academics and the media tend to focus on how legalization affects public dles and criminal justice outcomes. But policymakers and scholars should also consider the fiscal effects of drug liberalization. Legalization can reduce government spending, which saves resources for other uses, and it generates tax revenue that transfers income from drug producers and consumers to public coffers. Drawing on the most recent available data, this bulletin estimates the fiscal windfall that would be achieved through drug legalization. Those gains would come from tge primary sources: decreases in drug enforcement spending and increases in tax revenue.

The feds are making billions from state-legal marijuana businesses off a s-era tax law — and they have no incentive to stop. Wanda James is great at following rules. James is not alone. Because of the discrepancy between state and federal law, legal marijuana businesses are often stuck paying twice as much as normal businesses — effective rates of up to 70 percent — in federal taxes. So while Attorney General Jeff Sessions is out here presenting marijuana legalization as a moral problem and encouraging prosecutors to go after state-legal weed businesses, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the fact that the federal government may have a financial incentive to keep cannabis listed as Schedule I on the Controlled Substances Act. And if the feds continue to act in their own best interest, economically, it could be a very long time before we see marijuana legalized nationwide. It was written in the s to prevent the Scarfaces of the world from writing off the cost of packaging for methamphetamine. But now that a majority of states have legalized the medical or recreational sale of marijuana, the E tax provision has become a key point of contention between the federal government and state-legal businesses. About 15 years ago, Rodgers was the whistleblower in the infamous Jack Abramoff case, helping authorities to uncover criminal lobbying and bribery activities that ultimately led to convictions for 21 people, including a congressman and two former Bush White House officials. These days, Rodgers has expanded his oeuvre to include some work on behalf of the cannabis industry. In , in conjunction with a chain of Colorado marijuana dispensaries called the Green Solution, Rodgers commissioned the research firm to develop an analysis of E in the hopes of ultimately getting the provision repealed.

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For a year, the research firm worked on crunching the numbers, hoping that they could eventually be used by Congress. Senate unless you have [that]. You need it in order for your issue to get addressed. Finally, at the end of last year, as the GOP was developing its comprehensive new tax bill, Senator Gardner publicly considered attaching an amendment that would allow state-legal marijuana businesses to be taxed like normal businesses. Gardner requested estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation on how a repeal of E might affect tax revenue during the next decade, assuming a 20 percent corporate tax rate. The final version of the GOP tax bill had that rate at 21 percent. The firm then presented their findings to the JCT. In the end, Gardner did not end up even introducing the antiE amendment, but the response he received from the JCT constitutes the very first official government estimates of how repealing E would affect federal tax coffers. The marijuana industry is notoriously difficult to quantify.

The Modern Drug War

One route is a vaccine, but so far that has proved a very difficult research problem. There is an ongoing clinical trial of one promising treatment in South Africa, but unlike the smallpox or polio vaccines, it appears to provide only moderate protection. But there is a problem. Bizarrely, the studies proving Truvada works for PrEP were conducted and paid for almost entirely by the federal government the Gates Foundation also helped. The Centers for Disease Control even holds a patent on this specific treatment. Yet the government is doing nothing to prevent this outrageous price-gouging, which places a near-insurmountable barrier to getting the drug out to all who need it. It’s an object lesson in the dangers of allowing private companies to profiteer off government research. First, some background. Truvada was originally developed to treat people who already had HIV, as part of the usual suite of anti-retroviral medications to slow down the virus’ progress. Two government-funded scientists proved it could be used to prevent transmission — first Thomas Franks at the CDC, who demonstrated it worked with monkeys, then Robert Grant, who showed the same for humans with a grant from the National Institutes of Health. That work was completed around Yet because of the eye-watering price and broader dysfunction in the American health-care system , only about 20 percent of the people who need the drug are getting it, and many who do have to navigate hellish bureaucracy to get access.

But what first came to mind when I read the question was the Iran-Contra Affair. If our economy is doing as well as we are told or at least better than other member states then should we not be saving money instead of spending it, or am I being to simplistic. Gray Woody Harrelson John E. Bob B Lv 7. The government is a business. The matter was further examined in the report of the US Department of Justice Inspector General, where the main question under investigation was whether CIA was instrumental in creating the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles, and where evidence was presented of patronizing by CIA of drug trafficking to Los Angeles, California.

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Total benefit spending includes the welfare budget, plus also the total spending on pensions. X» «Pepe». Bob B Lv 7. It ofg seriously examines what perpetuates the War on Drugs and criticizes it, while providing suggestions and opinions from those trying to deal with the problem of drugs from outside of the institutionalized and incentivized war. Well I was watching some rap video and the song was about stories of cocaine or something «Peruvian Cocaine» by «Immortal Technique» and some people posted stuff like ‘Don’t fool yourself if you think our government isn’t banking more money that the national debt on their war on drugs’ and others posted things about how decriminalizing drugs such as weed or cocaine would make the government lose money. Retrieved October 30,

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Well I was watching some rap video and the song was about stories of cocaine or something «Peruvian Cocaine» by «Immortal Technique» and some people posted stuff like.

Can someone explain if this is true or they are just idiots. Where to begin on that one.!!?? I could go back over a years or even on that one, but first off Cocaine was legal untiland Marijuana was made illegal in But what first came to mind when I read the question was the Iran-Contra Affair.

I don’t know if your old enough to remember that or if you heard of it but, it happened in the early 80’s when I was in High School. It happened during the Reagan Administration, Pres Ronald Reagan with senior U. At least some U. Funding of the Contras by the Reagan administration had been prohibited by Congress. Large modifications to the plan were devised by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North of the National Security Council in latein which a portion govenrment the proceeds from the weapon sales was diverted to fund anti-Sandinista and anti-communist rebels, or Contras, in Nicaragua.

North’s handwritten notebooks and memorandum sent to North show that North and other U. The matter was further examined in the report of the US Department of Justice Inspector General, where the main question under investigation mone whether CIA was instrumental in creating the crack cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles, and where evidence was presented of patronizing by CIA of drug trafficking to Los Angeles, California.

And as iff Marijuana or Hemp, there are many reasons. Again, this creates «Lots» of jobs. Enuff said, I think. I agree most everyone who is saying to send them back have no personal experience with the border towns. Get off your how does the government make money off drugs horse and go check out how poor these people really are and how much hospitality they will offer you, although they don’t have very much money they will still offer you food.

You should all be ashamed of how hateful you are talking. You were lucky to be born over here and not there so don’t be so stuck up.

Before you judge people take a walk in their shoes then let me know what you think. I am an Irish Indian from Oklahoma. I knew nothing about the Hispanic race, but I went down there lived there for a bit and I tell you if I could afford it I would have given all my money to those kids who have nothing begging for food.

It is a poor country and unfortunately a large country and their government doesn’t help the way ours does. At one point, the CIA was shifting quite a lot of drugs in some parts of the world. This was eventually leaked to the media and there was quite a bit of controversy about it. That, however, would be nothing compared to the amount of money they could get in taxes if the stuff was ever legalised.

Something like. The government is a business. Do you really think they care about us? They care about themselves, they care about controlling us, that is human nature. It gvoernment crucial for them to appear as though they care about us, but they really don’t. Trending News. At least 2 dead, 15 hurt in Missouri shooting: Police.

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Answer Save. Favorite Answer. Davida Lv 4. Bob B Lv 7. How do you think about the answers? You can sign in to vote the answer. Nathan Hawthorne. I wouldn’t believe too much of anything brought up in a rap song. Still have questions? Get your answers by asking .

How Mexico’s Drug Cartels Make Billions

More drug abusers maoe in jail, drgs hospitals, and in courts and drugs are still easily attainable. This has left many wondering, how much does the war on drugs cost and is it worth it? The drug business poses violence, child neglect, and organized crimes. While much of the effort may be focused on criminalization, something alarming is happening. That is that the amount being spent to eradicate drug abuse is just too enormous. Heroin was used in the treatment of respiratory illnesses and at one point, cocaine was used in soda, particularly Coca-Cola.

Estimates for Expenditures and Tax Revenue

President Richard Nixon proclaimed drug abuse as the number one public enemy of America in and initiated significant funding to aid in treatment programs including the contentious methadone maintenance program. Today, the number is higher and bovernment federal government continues to spend huge sums of money on people in jail. A punitive approach on the war against drug abuse may bring some hope, but what about the cost implication? In about 50, people were behind bars for violations related to drug law and now the number is overDrug war advocates continue demanding more dollars for failed policies. Demand for drugs within the U. The high number of people spending time in prison means that countless lives and communities are being destroyed, yet the federal government and states are spending more on drugs. Male heavy is that financial burden when you consider that there are more than governmrnt, inmates in prisons federal and state on drug charges? There has been increased scrutiny on the goverhment against drugs in the recent years, but even with that, the amount that is being earmarked how does the government make money off drugs battling drugs has not slipped. Since President Obama was in office, the amount almost doubled. The deaths arising from an overdose of drugs in the U. The new estimates by the CEA on opioid crisis spending show that there have been an underestimate on how druhs abuse of opioids is costing Americans. A change in drug use and abuse policy may perhaps bring in positive effects and help curb the problem.