From: williamkeithmahler@gmail.com   
      
   Deciding an ideal price for legal marijuana all depends on your priorities.   
   Here are just some examples of several possible priorities with the likely   
   impact on price they would have, with the highest prices at the top. The   
   possible prices I list for each are purely educated guesses, simply designed   
   to give readers a rough idea of the tradeoff — they could end up being   
   significantly wrong.   
      
   1) Highest price possible that still reduces the black market - (possibly   
   around $180 an ounce) – It seems this is Kleiman’s preferred choice. The   
   goal would be to eliminate the black market but also keep prices high to   
   reduce consumption.   
      
   I would like to see experts try to put an exact figure on this, because   
   there is no one magic number at which the entire black market would   
   instantly disappear. There remains a very small black market in almost   
   everything from cheese to laundry detergent. It is more of a sliding scale   
   based on many factors, so is the goal eliminating 97 percent of the black   
   market, or would a price that eliminates 85 percent be good enough? In   
   addition, if marijuana were also legalized in neighboring countries where it   
   was subjected to a very low tax rate, the local price would potentially need   
   to be dropped to stop the grey market smuggling of legal marijuana across   
   the border.   
      
   2) The most government revenue possible – (possibly around $120 an ounce) –   
   The goal here is to soak from the market as much money as the government can   
   get from it. This might result in a price higher or much lower than the   
   first option, depending on the demand curve and how much of the black market   
   remains at a given price. The argument for this option is that the tax   
   revenue could be used for all sorts of other priorities which may have a   
   much bigger positive impact on society than any change in marijuana   
   consumption.   
      
   3) Maximize new jobs – (possibly around $100 an ounce) – Taxes aren’t the   
   only way to keep prices higher. Demanding frequent testing, substantial   
   security measures and limiting the size of farms all make legal marijuana   
   more expensive but also end up creating more jobs. The marijuana industry   
   could be made artificially inefficient, localized, and diverse with the top   
   goal of making it an indirect jobs program. This might end up creating a   
   price similar to option two, but with much of the money going to workers and   
   companies instead of tax payers.   
      
   4) Maximizing substitution for more dangerous drugs while discouraging   
   overuse - (possibly around $60 an ounce) – There is some indication that   
   people might substitute marijuana for more dangerous drugs for either   
   medicinal or recreational reasons. A study found opioid deaths dropped   
   significantly after states legalized medical marijuana. While it would be   
   hard to determine, it is theoretically possible the optimum price for   
   overall public health is between option one and the lowest price possible.   
   The price would have to be low enough to encourage beneficial substitution   
   while also high enough to discourage some users and still raise sufficient   
   revenue for public health programs.   
      
   5) Whatever it costs to create extremely accurate information or maximum   
   security – (possibly around $50 an ounce) – The primary thing determining   
   price could even be some goal separate from tax revenue or demand, like   
   assuring the most accurate chemical labeling possible or super aggressive   
   security measures. If the regulator burden was big enough, it could end up   
   indirectly setting a high floor on the overall price. Under priorities like   
   these the “ideal” price is whatever it costs for the industry to meet the   
   goal.   
      
   6) The “fair” price relative to alcohol – (possibly around $15 an ounce)   
   –   
   Polling shows most adults want to see marijuana taxed and regulated like   
   alcohol. One could argue the “fair” thing to do is treat marijuana just   
   like   
   alcohol by subjecting it to the same relative tax rate and overall   
   regulatory burden.   
      
   7) Let the market decide – (possibly around $6 an ounce) - Several   
   ideological arguments can be made for allowing the market to mainly decide   
   the price by subjecting it to only basic regulations. Some people don’t   
   think it is the government’s place to pick winners, make judgments about   
   morality, or try to be a “nanny state.”   
      
   http://justsaynow.firedoglake.com/2014/10/28/what-price-do-you-w   
   nt-legal-marijuana-to-sell-for/   
      
      
      
   __._,_.___   
   W. K. Mahler   
   http://www.mahlers.com   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)