I have more progress to report.

Chuck Beyer will be introducing this resolution in his local NDP constituency association meeting on October 16th.

George Shavluk is also putting this resolution forward in his NDP constituency association in Delta this week.

If anyone else is putting this resolution forward in their area, or has other NDP news to report, please let me know.

Excellent initiative. Kudos.

I think tho that the issue of taxing pot commercially is misleading. If it becomes legal, the price will plummet, and many will grow their own, increasingly from clones, I suspect. The revenue from grow equipment should rise considerably tho.

Just food for thought...

peace and pot

I'm not sure if I buy the argument that legalizing pot wont help tax revenue as everyone will "simply" grow their own...

Its Obvious to me that people who say this have never grown. I would Much rather go down to my local MJ Distributary and purchase a pristine bud of my choice than work/wait 2-3 months on my own crop.

I also dont buy the quality cop out... "well mj in stores will Never be as good as homegrown.." mmmmmmmbullshit. Can you homebrewers make a better beer/wine than I can buy in a beer/wine store? If you can why arent you marketing it and getting rich ? I mean, its Better right?

Its not like its some Ancient Chinese Secret... once its commercialized the information on the "how to" will be snatched up and utilized by those money-making powers that be. Sure there will be hold-outs... , jus' like with homebrewers today..., but they, in comparison, are a Small small percentage of the user population. I think its a safe bet the cannabis market will pan out the same.

It would probably end up like alcohol. Both sold in stores and home-grown but I think that lifting the prohibition would create a far greater supply as legitimate growers could use big greenhouses instead of residential homes. There would be outdoor crops. I think the supply would explode beyond the demand. If the store price remained as high as the black market pricing then even more would grow their own. Just like people smuggle ciggarettes from Ontario to save the tax. If the prices are too high, people will go around the law. It's a tomato and if legal, I would think would be no more expensive than tobacco.

Quote:

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I am sure that there are millions of Canadians who would be happy to pay $10 a gram for their marijuana in a legal environment.

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Well I am not one of them...

To clarify I just think $10 is too much. I would take that if I could get it simply to have it legal...I just don't think it would be possible to keep the prices that high. If they can't interdict the supply when it's banned outright, how could they do it when it's legal?

In a cafe setting perhaps then that makes it worthwhile for people to run cafes but if I cook at home its 1/4-1/10 the cost. Cafes with multiple vareities would be cool and I can't say I wouldnt go to one on occasion!

If ole Paul Martin says "pots legal but here is the price scheme" I am not going put up a big fight unless the price was about to increase. Of course the "let the market decide' folks might have something to say about that. A value added tax like gst/pst and maybe a 'sin' tax at most rather than outright price fixing. If the legal price is too high then we won't eliminate the black market cannabis trade.

I agree that getting from prohibition to a regulated legal system is doubtful except in stages over most likely a long time. I just thought of this right now: the most liberating plant on earth should itself be free. That's what we're here for. But we've made it, ironically, an icon of commerce. Billions of dollars. The biggest cash crop we grow, but only with artificially inflated cost...

Regardless of how the details of a pot/hemp economy work out, the prohibition system is a massive waste, affects millions of people, and is unsustainable.

And ya it would be cool to pay for herb in a public place, and $10, or $5 or $1 a gram would mean litle for the sheer freedom to do that.

I'll get off my soapbox now...

peace and pot