Read the official press release.

The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Legalization in Massachusetts
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The true cost of marijuana prohibition is difficult to obtain, and since the amount of money is staggering by any measure the government is not interested in having this information widely available. Change the Climate has used the cost of marijuana prohibition as one of our main arguments for the need to change laws. Our advertising campaigns in Washington DC and Nevada highlight the costs associated with the war on marijuana.

The economic downturn has had a major impact on the funds available to cities and towns to pay for teachers, police, fire protection services and many other essential services we have come to rely on in our daily lives. In an effort to see how much money could be saved and raised if marijuana was controlled and made legally available in one state - Massachusetts - we commissioned a study by Boston University Economics Professor Jeffery Miron.

Professor Miron used a complicated formula to determine the costs - borne 100% by taxpayers in Massachusetts - associated with enforcing marijuana laws. Professor Miron used conservative estimates and still came up with $121 million in savings to taxpayers. Most of the savings were the result of reduced time and expense in the criminal justice arena in the Commonwealth. You can read and download Professor Miron's report at www.changetheclimate.org/bu-study.

Even though Massachusetts, like other states, would not be permitted to regulate marijuana and make it available to adults through controlled and legal distribution, we asked Professor Miron to consider the revenue that might be available to the state IF it was allowed to develop a system of legal distribution similar to alcohol. The $17 million in new tax revenue that Professor Miron estimates would be available is based on similar taxes generated alcohol sales. There are many unknowns but the message is clear - Massachusetts' taxpayers could save many millions of dollars if marijuana arrests ceased and the state decided to tax the sale of what many consider to be the state's number one cash crop.

Our hope is that Professor Miron's report and our related advertising campaign will stimulate debate among citizens and lawmakers to consider alternatives to this massive waste of taxpayer dollars. We think parents want marijuana less accessible to our kids and more resources (teachers, programs, facilities) available to educate students. Cities and towns could hire 3,450 more teachers, police and firefighters based on this economic analysis (assuming $40,000 salaries). If taxpayers had the opportunity to hire dozens more professionals to meet the local service needs of their towns instead of arresting and prosecuting hundreds of non-violent marijuana smokers, we think they would jump at the chance.

Spend the $138 million dollars any way you want . . . prescription drugs for seniors, homeless shelters, fuel assistance for the poor, toxic waste cleanup . . . the list is endless so what's the holdup? Politicians. Scared politicians. Gutless politicians. Click here to send your political representative a general letter about the need to reform marijuana laws.

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• Visit MASSCANN to learn how you can help change marijuana laws in Massachusetts.
  
  
• Send your political representative a general letter (via email) about the need to reform marijuana laws.