Search Results for: monopoly

Policy makes strange bedfellows.  The local paper is stirring up doubts about the state liquor monopoly, and it should look for problems, but I’m still for government sale of intoxicants, as explained here:  https://www.huffingtonpost.com/pat-oglesby/marijuana-under-president_b_8207864.html, and here:  https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR864.html (download). Here are some emails: ++++ 8/13/2018 10:09 AM Dear Folks at the Christian Action League: The Center … Continue reading “Allied with Christian Action League on Government Liquor Stores”

The Raleigh paper recently exposed some waste and abuse in the North Carolina state liquor monopoly.  Sure, government liquor stores create problems, but the private profit motive for alcohol sales, like the private profit motive for marijuana sales, works against public health. My public health friends have understood that tendency since the Rockefeller Report preceding repeal … Continue reading “The Center for New Revenue urges keeping liquor stores”

I’ve learned a lot from my friend Jon Caulkins, a drug policy expert and professor at Carnegie-Mellon (we were among eight co-authors on the RAND report for Vermont, and he’s helped and encouraged me over the years).  Jon worries about for-profit marijuana businesses, and prefers non-profit businesses. Fair enough, but let’s think about practicalities. In … Continue reading “Forced conversion of marijuana businesses to non-profit? I doubt it.”

Minimum unit pricing – charging a minimum price for temptation goods – appeals to some students of cannabis legalization. To me, government monopoly or high taxes can work better to serve policy goals. I’m just starting to think about this, and looking for pushback. The successes claimed for minimum unit pricing often involve loss leaders … Continue reading “Why minimum unit pricing for cannabis leaves me cold”

UPDATE:  Just tweeted (5 November 2017) that Oakland’s set-aside project is slowing legalization to a halt.  This link is illustrative:  “New hitch in Oakland pot permit pipeline.” +++ The NORML Conference in DC on September 11 has me on a panel that with the proposed title, “Legalization as an Economic Stimulus for All.” And we may … Continue reading “Panel for NORML: “Legalization as an Economic Stimulus for All””

I get to talk for an hour on marijuana revenue at the National Cannabis Summit in Denver on August 30 at 9 a.m. The sponsors write me: “Speakers are evaluated on several criteria, including audience engagement, and the results are posted online after the conference as part of our speaker ‘Zagat’s’ guide.” OK then. I’ll … Continue reading “Provoking a marijuana audience?”

[Update, 10 December 2016:  For libertarians, government sales are anathema. For liberals, nullification of federal law by a state or locality has a history of association with racism and even slavery.] News from The Advertiser in Louisiana: BATON ROUGE — Louisiana State University and Southern University are set to become the state’s biggest growers of marijuana … Continue reading “State plans to grow marijuana”

Why did John D. Rockefeller, Jr., look for safe ways to deal with alcohol, and so commission the study, “Toward Liquor Control,” that recommended state monopoly sales? My view, which I tweeted, is: “Rockefeller liked but couldn’t maintain alcohol Prohibition; faced reality with retreat to state liquor stores.” My friend Kevin Sabet replied, “Actually, Rockefeller … Continue reading “Rockefeller, taxes, and alcohol in the early 1930s”

To maximize marijuana revenue, a state might do what a Concord (NH) Monitor editorial – and Gubernatorial candidate Steve Marchand – suggest: “Legalize marijuana use and move its sale into state stores.” New Hampshire’s government-monopoly liquor stores do now what the Monitor suggests for marijuana: “Locate outlets on its borders and structure pricing to maximize … Continue reading “Maximizing marijuana revenue”

“Louisiana State University and [HBCU] Southern University want to begin growing marijuana for medical use. The boards of both schools approved plans Friday to pursue licensing, making them the sole growers and researchers for the state, The Associated Press reported.” The source is here. LSU’s vice president for Agriculture “said university officials believe they can meet … Continue reading “State Universities to grow marijuana”

We have to tax something. Here are some things where taxation would do little harm: Carbon Tobacco Alcohol Cannabis Legacies Tax haven income stashed offshore (all of it now).  Much of this income is not really foreign anyway, and comes from U.S. intangibles.  A mandatory deemed repatriation — saying “tax is due now” — would bring … Continue reading “Tax targets”

When legalizing marijuana, will legislatures do a better job than initiative writers?

Criticism of my “Sharing the Wealth from Marijuana Legalization” article in http://www.VTDigger.org prompted this reply, which is waiting for approval at: http://vtdigger.org/2016/02/02/patrick-oglesby-sharing-the-wealth-from-marijuana-legalization/ ++++ Thanks for reading. Here are some responses. More to come, maybe. “Poor writing and fuzzy subject.” — Ouch! You’re standing on my sore foot. “Oligarchy,” “disenfranchised,” and “The tax ‘wealth’ will be … Continue reading “Criticism from Vermont”

Beyond Democratic Socialism in the form of government ownership, voucher privatization, discussed here, where every voter gets a transferable quota, representing a fraction of the total amount of cannabis to be grown that year, looks a lot like the way Alaska shares oil wealth. +++ As Vermont considers marijuana reform, here is an article published by VTDigger, … Continue reading “Sharing Mj wealth for Vermont”

My friend University of Denver Law Professor Sam Kamin, who co-chaired the Regulatory and Tax Structure Working Group of the California Blue Ribbon Commission on marijuana legalization with me, is to thank for whatever understanding I have of RICO here. Still, Sam does not necessarily agree with anything I write. Sam points out that RICO, … Continue reading “State marijuana businesses are immune from RICO”

Canadians, like North Carolinians, say they prefer the safer alternative for marijuana commerce – government control of retailing. The RAND Report for Vermont explains why government stores are safer, and more cautious. This HuffPo article explains why government stores are not impossible in the United States. Here are the results of the recent poll in Canada, where several provinces … Continue reading “Gvt stores favored”

About my two pieces for Huffington Post on the Ohio Marijuana Legalization Initiative, Issue 3:  As of 7 a.m. EST today, one has 8,900 likes on Facebook; the other has 18. That’s nearly 500 times more. The popular one comes out firmly against Issue 3. The other one quotes the Bible (Jacob and Esau), and is … Continue reading “What Readers Like”