Athens Decriminalized Weed - $35 fine

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Well that will save about 5 arrest off the team each spring

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Legalize weed statewide

Tax on all dispensary purchases

Funnel the money into UGA NIL efforts

????

Profit

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Why pay taxes on something thats legal....

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I'll pay the tax just so I don't have to drive to some college kid's apartment complex and make small talk with his girlfriend while he weighs my bag on some scale he stole from his freshman year lab.

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Its going back black market in the states its legal. Why pay taxes on something thats legal....

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The stores have the best selection and a fine assortment of goods.

Athens re-instated mask mandates indoors but business can refuse to enforce them.
Most have.
5 bar for example has a big sign stating refusal to enforce any mask mandates.

Not surprising. This allows all our homeless people to smoke weed more publicly.

Still love downtown though and will continue to go several times a week for dinner, shopping and other activities.

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The black market has the same product and it sells for far less.

dispenceries are for suckers and tourists. Hell google it moron.

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Yes, there will always be a black market for literally anything that can be sold.

But Colorado's legal marijuana business is booming and growing each and every year.

LINK


The bulk of marijuana partakers are going to want to go the legal, safe route that is offered. They charge a 15% excise tax on the weed. That shakes out to roughly $1.80 in taxes for a $12 gram of weed. Add in the standard 2.9% CO sales tax, and the price for a gram is still highly reasonable. LINK

I don't think the cons and drawbacks of going to drug dealers/the black market are worth saving ~$3 to $5 a gram. Legal shops offer consistency, verified safe products, and no danger from the law. The standard pot smoker is going to take the easy/safe route each and every time.

Thank you for addressing my points and for committing your second ad hominem attack of the thread.

I can tell you really came to this debate prepared and ready for an open and fair discussion.

I've spent many a day in Colorado and out in California as well.


Want to address my points, or do you want to continue to use your anecdotes?

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Recreational growing is wide spread,. Many simoly grow there own. In most cases the tax revenue is not what was projected.

According to them, the out of staters prop up the dispenceries and pay the taxes.....

This was no different with corn liquor back in the day... American's disdain for what they feel was unfair taxation...

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I agree that there will always be black market/side dealing, but the numbers reflected by Colorado's reports show that people are paying the mark up. I don't think tourists alone are driving the year to year gains. The #'s have been booming every single year since legalization.

The legal market is more than earning its keep. Plus, I personally believe that "illegal" weed dealers are not a bad thing. They're just growing a plant and selling it to make some money. As long as they're not engaging in violence or harming others, c'est la vie.

I personally want GA to legalize just so the state can begin capitalizing on the revenue being left on the table. Same with sports gambling. That's just steady income a state can rely upon every year to help with the budget/providing better services to the state.

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This was no different with corn liquor back in the day... American's disdain for what they feel was unfair taxation...

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That's true, but at the end of the day it's far easier for the standard citizen to find a local dispensary vs. a dealer they trust. The cost of the taxes at the dispensary are simply the cost of convenience and security, in my eyes.