R6 Planet Money Podcast: An Economist Gets Stoned

R6 Planet Money Podcast: An Economist Gets Stoned

            This podcast presented information that would appeal to several college students or those who like to “fly high”.  The podcast was about legalizing marijuana and whether or not it would actually boost the economy.  By legalizing marijuana, it is said that the prices will go down incredibly.  They mentioned that if it were originally a thousand dollars per ounce it could go all the way down to a dollar per ounce.  A doctor from Harvard University compares the price of marijuana to the prices of other legalized products.  As an example he compares it to a chocolate bar.  He says the supplies that go into a chocolate bar are not expensive but the other expenses such as taxes, transportation, insurance, packaging, advertising, and other expenses all drive up the costs of the chocolate bar.  The same goes for the marijuana.  People have raised the price of the marijuana because of all of the costs it takes to smuggle it into the country.  He says that if it were legal those prices would not exist and therefore they would be lowered. 

            Another thing mentioned in this podcast was how legalizing marijuana would boost the suffering economy.  They mentioned the Alcohol Probation that occurred in the United Stated from 1920 to the early 1930s.  While it was banned, people went to speakeasy bars to illegally purchase and consume alcohol.  Even though money was still being made, there was no tax on the alcohol so the government was making no money on it.  However once they ended the probation, the government placed a tax on alcohol and ended up making money off of it.  Although the process would be similar by legalizing marijuana, I think there would be some differences.  The podcast even said that the main time people smoke marijuana is in their teenage years when they are experimenting with risky behavior.  Therefore the main consumers would be teenagers who purchase it, except for the few outliers.  Although these consumers may purchase more marijuana, the lower prices will not affect the people who have no interest in getting high.  Whereas for alcohol, once you are twenty-one you can legally purchase alcohol from any age on.  The age group of alcohol consumers is much larger than that of marijuana consumers.  Although I do think that legalizing marijuana would have some impact on the US economy, I do not think it is as large as some people would expect it to be.

            Legalizing marijuana is a very debatable topic.  Many people against it say that it will lower the price and increase the amount of people that smoke it.  Those for it would say that it will lower the price, more people will use it, and it will help the economy.  Although it has been seen in the past how legalizing an illegal substance has benefited the economy through the Alcohol Probation in the 1920s, I feel the effects on legalizing marijuana would not be the same.  By lowering prices, more people will purchase marijuana, however it may not attract more people to start using marijuana.  The only way that legalizing marijuana would benefit the economy to the level that we need it too would be by attracting new users to purchase the marijuana at the lower prices with the taxes.  In my opinion the best thing to do would be to leave marijuana only legal for medical purposes and find a different way to boost our economy.

Because I Got High