Jun 4, 2005
Milton Friedman Endorses Marijuana Report
Forbes.com is reporting that, "Milton Friedman leads a list of more than 500 economists from around the U.S. who today will publicly endorse a Harvard University economist's report on the costs of marijuana prohibition and the potential revenue gains from the U.S. government instead legalizing it and taxing its sale. Ending prohibition enforcement would save $7.7 billion in combined state and federal spending, the report says, while taxation would yield up to $6.2 billion a year." The report, funded by the Marijuana Policy Project, is by Jeffrey A. Miron.
The story later quotes the White House Office of Drug Control Policy as saying "most people in prison for marijuana are violent criminals, repeat offenders, traffickers or all of the above." Notice the sneaky way the ONDCP leads with the absolutely miniscule number of violent criminals who happened to have been arrested for marijuana offenses. Remember, the drug warriors have often asserted a cause and effect relationship between marijuana use and violence but they have never demonstrated it. Reefer Madness is like any other government program, tough to get rid of.
Hat Tip to Richard Lake