Who will supply marijuana to states that go legal?

Demand for Hemp cannabis (marijuana) has always been higher than the supply.  That is part of the whole problem in a mixed up equation we have come to accept as the policy failure mislabeled “The War on Drugs”.

As states like California begin to go legal, where is all the pot going to come from?  The tax estimate is in the billions for California as Bay Area NBC reports:

A new bill introduced by a San Francisco state assemblyman could generate annually about $1.4 billion in revenue from taxing marijuana, officials said today.

ABX6-9, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, is meant to tax cannabis if voters approve Proposition 19 in the Nov. 2 election, which would legalize marijuana consumption in California.

The jobs and economic boost to the state(s) that help supply the domestic cannabis to legal users is what some are calling the “Green Rush“.  Add the rising cost of petroleum based fuels and the move away from foreign oil, hemp diesel and industrial hemp may just add fuel to the fire to end marijuana prohibition once and for all.  If that does not work, perhaps law enforcement officers with the right sense for cents not scents will prevail.

Nate Bradley, who works for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, said that taxing marijuana could help take money out of the hands of criminals.  “They (criminal drug cartels) currently take in $14 billion a year in our state alone,” he said.

LEAP is a group of current and former law enforcement officers who speak about drug policies that have failed, according to the group’s website.

Along with Ammiano, LEAP members believe Proposition 19 and ABX6-9  would create government policies that would help officials address  criminalized portions of the marijuana industry.

Even if other states just want to allow and regulate medical use, the supply of marijuana has to come from somewhere, why not Wisconsin?  The article closes out by showing the potential of the marijuana market, estimated at $14 billion alone in California.