re: What is the argument for weed being illegal at this point?

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You need the old conservatives to die off. Politicians do not want to lose those votes

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I've always agreed with this, but currently if a candidate put's legalizing weed as a platform item, are they really going to lose that many voters?
I guess it could be a problem for a small town local politician, but on the bigger stage I don't see how it's a real concern.

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What is the argument for weed being illegal at this point?

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Big alcohol and tobacco want to keep it that way

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 a state like Louisiana where the revenue that will come from it can improve the state.

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Don't kid yourself. The lottery and casino gambling was supposed to improve the state. You see how that worked out. The money always ends up in the pockets of politicians.

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The black market is still very strong in Oregon and Washington!

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WA resident here. That weed is moving to non-legal states (thanks, btw).

As far as residents, I don't know anyone in WA who buys black market anymore. It hung around the first couple of years because the initial taxation level was absurd and resulted in $20 grams. They got somewhat out of the way and now that we're down to $1-$12 a gram there isn't a single reason to go to the black market unless you're underage or purchasing weight to move out of state.

Let's see, I can

-text some dickhead hippie with zero concept of time or customer service
-wait around for an hour in the 7-11 parking lot to buy weed of indeterminate origin, quality, and potency
-choose from a much smaller selection (if there is any selection at all)
-pay just as much or more than legal weed

OR

I can drive down the street to a well lit and inviting store and

-get waited on by customer-service oriented professionals
-choose from hundreds [at some places thousands] of strains, concentrates, edibles, salves, and tinctures
-receive a detailed lab analysis of the product
-take advantage of sales, discounts, and loyalty programs
-have some ability to refund and exchange

I mean, which would you choose?

There really is no reason to go to the black market unless you're underage or just determined break the law. Not that different from moonshine. You're always going to have a small base that buys moonshine for whatever reason but it's probably too kind to even refer to the moonshine industry as a shell of what it was during prohibition.