I have yet to see a significant prediction made by marijuana opponents prior to marijuana legalization occurring that has come true. There is no mayhem on the roadways. There is no epidemic of marijuana getting in the hands of children. Last time I checked the sky is still in tact, the American economy hasn’t lit on fire due to a generation of stoner zombies being a part of the workforce, and there has been no ‘ten dollars in social costs for every one tax dollar generated by the marijuana industry.’ One prediction that I heard a lot from marijuana opponents before recreational marijuana was legalized is that the legal marijuana grown in legal states would flood non-legal states, especially via the mail. Turns out the math says otherwise.
In 2014, the same year that legal recreational marijuana sales began in Colorado and Washington, marijuana packages found in the mail actually dipped. Per US News:
The amount of marijuana detected in the national mail system surprisingly declined in 2014 as the world’s first licensed recreational marijuana stores opened in two Western states, appearing to dash at least some predictions of chaos as other jurisdictions move to legalize the drug.
Data provided to U.S. News by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service show the number of marijuana parcels seized by inspectors fell more than 12 percent in fiscal 2014, with a coinciding decrease in the collective weight of contraband cannabis.
The fiscal year began on Oct. 1, 2013, three months before pot stores opened in Colorado, and ended on Sept. 30, 2014, three months after stores opened in Washington state.
That’s good news for marijuana supporters, but bad news for marijuana opponents. I can’t wait to see what Kevin Sabet has to say, and how he’ll try to spin this one. He provided a quote for the article, which was bland, but I’d imagine he will revisit this quite a few times ones him and his cronies have awhile to see how to put the spin doctor factor on it. Mason Tvert had a great quote in the article I linked to above. He essentially said that marijuana prohibition is anarchy, and there are no rules in an anarchy. Now that marijuana is becoming more regulated, people have a ‘sense of order’ and are less likely to take the risk. Especially when they can just drive to a legal state and acquire marijuana on a trip and enjoy the legal marijuana while they’re on ‘legal soil.’
