Are You Telling Me The Government Can’t Tax Something?

Yet another popular myth about marijuana legalization is the myth that the government won’t legalize it because they would not be able to tax it. Excuse me, the government can’t tax something? Even though this argument seems hard to believe many people do actually believe that this is a serious answer. Many even believe that this is the main reason why the government won’t legalize it. There is a popular saying that the only sure things in life are death and taxes. Let’s face it, the government can and will tax everything and anything under the sun. Food, cars, and alcohol are all taxed by the government. In fact it would be a surprise to see one thing in the United States that isn’t taxed in some way. What would make this one plant unable to be taxed? The only possible way to keep this plant from being taxed is by keeping it illegal.

                This myth is no different than the others that surround marijuana. Like many other arguments against marijuana legalization it only serves to give a brief and simple answer to satisfy a question. When someone asks why marijuana isn’t legal the answer is that the government can’t tax it. When someone asks if marijuana is a dangerous drug, the reply is that it is a gateway to other more dangerous drugs. When someone asks if marijuana was legal what would happen, the response is that crime will increase. All of these responses have something in common. They are all easy answers to much more complicated questions. These answers just serve to quell the legitimate questions people have about marijuana. If someone is given an answer to their question that seems believable at face value, then they are less likely to ask follow up questions on the subject. After all, their question was answered and this causes the questioner to become satisfied. However if we look closer at the answers we can see the obvious fallacies that lie within them. It’s time to start asking more questions that dig deeper into the issue. Only by doing this will we be able to see that the arguments against marijuana are extremely thin.

                This myth is by far the most unreasonable and it’s surprising how many people believe it, but this brings up another very important question. If marijuana was dangerous and had legitimate reasons for being illegal, then why would someone have to create such a ridiculous reason to explain why marijuana should remain illegal? These simple answers only serve to keep us quiet on the issue. We need to start asking more questions. I guarantee if we do then we will see that the opposing side will run out of explanations.