dealers offer schwarzenegger 1 billion dollars

Press Release: Marijuana Dealers Offer Schwarzenegger One Billion Dollars
Printer Friendly Version Email this Article Posted in In the Trenches by David Guard on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 2:13pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 6, 2007
Contact: Clifford Schaffer, tel: 661-268-0442, e-mail: [email protected]

Marijuana Dealers Offer Schwarzenegger One Billion Dollars

August 6 -- A coalition of California marijuana growers and dealers has offered Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger one billion dollars to solve the current state budget crisis. The group, calling itself Let Us Pay Taxes makes the offer through its web site LetUsPayTaxes.com. The offer comes at a time when the California legislature is deadlocked on a new budget and California has stopped issuing checks for vitally needed social services. Legislators are currently arguing over which programs will be cut in order to balance the budget.

“It is ridiculous that California can’t pay its bills,” said spokesman Clifford Schaffer. “It is a tragedy that they will cut badly needed services and programs such as medical care for the elderly and prison drug treatment when the money to fund all these programs and more is there and available. Everyone who is currently waiting for a check from the state should be enraged at this foolishness.”

Regulation and taxation of marijuana could produce six billion dollars in additional tax revenue, according to economic studies linked from their web site LetUsPayTaxes.com. In addition, it could save up to ten billion dollars in enforcement costs. “That is a conservative estimate,” said Schaffer. “By other estimates, the revenues could be five times that. The economists are with us all the way on this one. Marijuana prohibition is an economic disaster.”

“Let’s face reality,” Schaffer says. “Marijuana legalization is inevitable. The situation is already beyond control in California. The state and local authorities have offered safe harbor for medical marijuana use and the Federal Government simply doesn’t have the resources for effective control.” More importantly, says Schaffer, the operators of the medical marijuana clubs are no longer afraid of the Federal Government. “If you talk to them, you will find that they know they are going to win this battle. They know that the DEA is vastly outnumbered and can’t begin to prosecute all of them. The few that are prosecuted are accepting their fate as martyrs because they know that what they are doing is right. They are willing to sacrifice themselves to make the point that the Federal Government has just gone too far in interfering with very personal and private decisions. There is no way the DEA is going to win this battle. At this point, it is all over but the counting of the money – and the victims of the DEA.”

Schaffer went on to say that the national market for marijuana has been estimated from a low of ten billion dollars per year to more than fifty billion dollars per year. “The first states to regulate and tax marijuana will receive an economic bonanza bigger than the original California Gold Rush,” says Schaffer. “Some states will get rich like the Saudis.” Schaffer predicts that it will not take long for some local areas to wake up to the economic possibilities. “We are talking potentially big bucks here,” he said. “The Canadians are already starting to take note of a cannabis-fueled economic boom in some areas. Politicians can’t resist fresh cash, especially when it is coming to their local community. There will be big winners and losers here. The winners will be the ones who recognize the foregone conclusion first.”

The group also cites foreign terrorism as a reason to regulate and tax marijuana. “Drug Czar John Walters is being dishonest when he says that marijuana money goes to criminals and terrorists. The only reason any of that money goes to criminals or terrorists is because of the prohibition that Walters supports,” said Schaffer. “Marijuana prohibition makes criminals rich just like alcohol prohibition did. The criminals are now so rich and powerful that they can challenge the legitimate governments of their own countries. There is no reason to send billions of dollars per year to foreign criminal gangs when patriotic Americans make the best products in the world. There is no reason to suffer such a huge foreign trade deficit when that money could be providing jobs and funding badly needed services right here in the USA.”

Let Us Pay Taxes calls upon all US citizens to sign their petition at their web site http://LetUsPayTaxes.com and press the issue with their lawmakers. “Take the money, please,” said Schaffer. “These people want to contribute. Now it is up to our politicians to tell us why they want to send those billions to foreign criminal gangs rather than to their own voters.”

I believe that this is exactly the way marijuana will be legalized. Look at how and why gambling has spread across the country. Some state government will decide that there's just too much money slipping through their greedy fingers and start issuing permits and selling tax stamps - we will see this in our lifetime.

ahh, greed. probably the best tactic, maybe the ONLY one to achieve legalization.

Hold it. The federal government will not give up power until the last man is dead. Look what Lincoln did when the South wanted to part ways with the central government. That resulted in over 500,000 American deaths. Americans killing Americans. So, let's assume that the Governor of California and the State Legislature goes along with the idea of legalizing, regulating and taxing the sale of marijuana. The first thing the FEDS would do is cut off all federal funding to the state. No highway funds. No education funds. No federal welfare funds. No disaster relief funds. Get it? These funds involve a lot of powerful special interests ... and they WILL revolt against the idea of legalized marijuana if their federal funds are cut off. If the state still tries to go ahead with the plan, the DEA goons will be supplemented by the National Guard and the military ... even though it would be unconstitutional. They will let the courts sort it out later. Don't believe it? Where in the Constitution does is say that states can't suscede from the Union? In fact, it states just the opposite, but that didn't matter to Lincoln, did it?

Vi

IdontGetHigh said:

I believe that this is exactly the way marijuana will be legalized. Look at how and why gambling has spread across the country. Some state government will decide that there's just too much money slipping through their greedy fingers and start issuing permits and selling tax stamps - we will see this in our lifetime.

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Hopefully it will lead to Marijuana being legalized or them kicking the illegals out of the damn country, I am sure social services would greatly appreciate that.

Who's going kick the illegals out of the country? There are WAY too many special interests involved who WANT them here. Take Western Union for example. Western Union has more locations than McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, and Kentucky Fried Chicken COMBINED. Western Union makes BILLIONS off of money transfers going from the illegals in this country to their home countries. Western Union is one of the largest lobbying forces against enforcing the borders, and one of the largest lobbying forces for amnesty. Western Union is just one faction. There are hundreds of others. Another one is the National Chamber of Commerce. These entities have tremendous influence on our policy makers, both in the states and in the federal government.

Vi

I will not pay taxes on my weed, bootlegger now, bootlegger always

speedhabit said:

I will not pay taxes on my weed, bootlegger now, bootlegger always

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Exactly. Keep the government out of the equasion, and let the only free economy we have left flourish. Uhhh ... that would be the underground economy.

Vi

vredd,

U do realize CA is the 7th largest economy in the world? The US NEEDS CA more than CA needs US funds, yes Fed fund are very helpful but CA can support itself pretty good on it's own if need be. If we could get the local polititians actually behind this issue rather than hiding from it the feds would have a change of heart very soon at the Fed level. We are close we have 13 states right now, almost 30% of the country, e r closer than u think.

It all comes down to CA wont leave the US just so we can have our weed, there's too many people opposed to it to want to cut ourselves off from the government. BUT if we were to legalize weed and tax it, it could probably significantly offset a lot of federal funding we would potentially lose.

yeah Khan, pretty much hit nail on head, while this is an important issue for those on this board, in real life it would NEVER be an issue the entire state would even come close to thinking about leaving US territory.

But if there was a reason to do so, CA would be able to take care of itself from a natural resource, economic/financial and potentially military stand point (we do have a large military from every branch of service and have a national guard that could rival most countries military forces...) ok enough of this CA pride... LOL

I guess my thought was more from a point that our Federal rep's voted by majority against the most recent legislation that dealt with MMJ and MJ. Pretty sad when your State Reps are afraid of this issue even though the following is true:

Proposition 215 (HS 11362.5) was passed in 1996 by a 56% majority of California voters in November 1996. That is more California votes than Presidents Clinton, Bush or most other elected official have received.

think about this, if every federal politician that represented a MMJ state would actually vote in favor of proposed MJ laws they would pass every time, period. Why on earth would a politician from a state vote against legislation that would help it's state law's be more enforceable or less at odds with Federal law? Other than just being an idiot of course.....

Uh, California has the worst budget problems of any state. Probably because they have the biggest budget and those numbers look so mind-bogglingly huge that the people overseeing it tend to think it's an inexhaustable supply of money. But it isn't and so they almost always run in the red, paying big chunks of interest on debt.

I owe nobody anything. No mortgage, no car payments, no credit cards, no student loans. I'm in waaaay better shape than California, economically, and I'm just a dude. My credit rating isn't as good, but hey.

LOL, yes we go a few years with a surplus because an industry is thriving and the tax revenue is so tremendous these idiots that get elected want to spend, spend, spend... This time it is due to a hot RE market that is cooling off and last time it was Silicon Valley; If they would realize just like the last time this happened the money will run out at some point and we will be back to deficit spending before they know it, just like we are now... same thing happens at the Fed level.

Not to mention the politicians spin the budget numbers so much even they don't know what is deficit and what is surplus. They love to cry spending cuts, when in reality it is just NOT AN INCREASE in spending and they justify calling it a cut because there is not a cost of living increase, the public buys the BS and gets angry about an issue they know nothing about in the first place and scare the politicians into spend more money, it really is a vicious cycle. They need to grow some balls, start holding firm on spending even in the boom times build a surplus then reduce state taxes, this will make for a good incentive to encourage business growth then in turn drive better revenues for the state allowing for reduced personal taxes maybe even eliminate person state income tax...

Ahhh, let me in the Gov. mansion, move over Swartz, I'll take the Pot Billions and have a free health care system in place, eliminate corp and personal taxes, give hemp farm subsidies and put grants in place to encourage bio based fuels and power while working to find a profitable way to offer free utilities for CA citizens, like coming up with a state run power company run off of stuff like wind power, ocean currents, rivers, solar, recycled fast food oils, ect. then figure out how to sell off enough of this energy/fuel to other states and countries that it would allow free usage for CA citizens (kinda set up like how the AK citizens get subsidies from the oil revenue).... hey if I can dream it, that means it could happen..... lol

What not fully realized by most of you is the fact that the people who run Commiefornia, are in full support of a centralized power located in the federal government. They support it ... and they survive because of it.

History shows that when the federal government exercises its power over the purse (federal funds) Commiefornia will buckle under without a whimper. Anyone remember Carter's edict of a 55 miles per hour speed limit throughout the states? If anything could have been more ridiculous for California, what would it be other than a 55 mile per hour speed limit? And yet ... the California Highway Patrol enforced that stupid federal law like there was no tomorrow.

Vi