Surprise, Surprise, Surprise: Beer Industry Opposes Marijuana Legalization: "This Bud's Not for You"
"The California Beer & Beverage Distributors is spending money in the state to oppose a marijuana legalization proposition on the ballot in November, according to records filed with the California Secretary of State. The beer sellers are the first competitors of marijuana to officially enter the debate; backers of the initiative are closely watching liquor and wine dealers and the pharmaceutical industry to see if they enter the debate in the remaining weeks."
HT: Huffington Post, via Catherine Rampell
9 Comments:
Hmmm, well this seems kind of silly to me...
Back in the day nothing slaked 'cotton mouth' like a cold brew...
I would think that if the legalization of reefer came about the beer industry should be seeing "$" everywhere...
Brings new meaning to theold war cries, "Taste great vs. less filling."
MP:"This Bud's Not for You"
lol, good one
seriously though, you have to wonder if there is already a bidding war going on between bud and altria for farmland in california as they hedge their bets . . .
prediction: if the MJ initiative passes it's going to wreak havoc with the U-Haul rates in and out of california :o]
California will lose revenue with less alcohol sales.
Unintended consequence?
Unlike tobacco, isn't pot easily grown almost anywhere?
When pot is legal, won't people start growing and rolling their own in tax free backyards and stop buying mega-taxed tobacco?
Just a thought.
The MJ legalization measure (which I support) will raise surprisingly little tax revenue as people will start growing their own. The MJ tax is HUGE, so the black market sales will continue to a large extent.
But cutting back on the prosecutions and incarcerations of MJ sellers will help reduce our state's bloated prison population -- California has the highest per capita incarceration rate of any state in the nation.
One "blowback" issue -- if the greedy state wants, law enforcement can then start prosecuting MJ growers and black market sellers for tax evasion.
The active beer industry opposition, while reprehensible, is not surprising.
When North Carolina was voting to legalize "liquor by the drink," an unholy alliance was created between Southern Baptist ministers and moonshiners who funded their opposition efforts.
RRider:"But cutting back on the prosecutions and incarcerations of MJ sellers will help reduce our state's bloated prison population -- California has the highest per capita incarceration rate of any state in the nation."
you've got that right.
i've been waiting for an onslaught of anti-MJ advertising from the california prison guards union [argh, unions]. in the last election they spearheaded the defeat of an initiative easing CA MJ laws.
"if the greedy state wants, law enforcement can then start prosecuting MJ growers and black market sellers for tax evasion"
you can practically count on that :o[
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