I always LOL when I hear the "let's legalize it so we can collect taxes from it" argument.
Like anyone is going to walk into a PDQ and pay $8.00 for a pack?! HA!
If it's legal, people will just grow and roll their own.
If it's taxed, the DEA will turn enforcement over to BATFE and they'll run a huge Drug War on illegal growers, just like they do with people who distill mash into whiskey without paying. People could simply make their own distilled spirits, but they don't. It's legal to make your own beer and wine, but few do. A cake from scratch tastes better than from a mix, but supermarkets have lots of boxes of cake mix. people will pay $8 for a pack of 5 commercial MJ cigarettes, or $5 for a box of 15 MJ chocolates or a cannabis lollipop for a couple bucks. Once it goes commercial the weed in a baggie will be gone.
If we taxed planting and growing pot, or selling pot regardless of source, we'd still have a neverending WOsD, but with tax revenue being the driver rather than Saving the Children and confiscating their parent's house.
“We need an immediate no-knock warrant for 1818 Cactus Wren Street in Covina, they bought a growlight and some potting soil...”
In this instant gratification society? I have to LOL at the thought that most pot smokers will become master horticulturists and invest a couple of thousand dollars in growing equipment to grow in 90 days time what they can get at the store all packaged up.
Much how like everyone currently grows their own lettuce, tomatoes, corn, apples, melons, etc.
Hell, many people don’t grow things like basil and mint which are ridiculously easy to grow.
Most pot is already cheaper than beer on a per use basis. It should be cheaper than it is today even with taxes when commercial farmers start growing it like they grow other crops and all the risks related to it being illegal are gone. Why would people want to grow their own if they could just walk into a shop and select from a wide variety of quality product for a reasonable price? Look at those medical marijuana dispensaries in California. Those places are doing gangbusters business selling super expensive pot to people who have medical marijuana cards. The state allows these people to grow their own yet they go and buy it from a shop? In the Netherlands they let people grow up to five plants but hardly anyone does it. The fact is that having a garden requires knowledge and special skills. It requires space, time, work, money, and a fair amount of dedication. Most people don't smoke enough to justify all that. Some would grow their own just like some brew their own beer, but just like homebrewers homegrowers would be the tiny minority.