Taxing One Drug to Fight Another?
Marijuana legalization has led to major controversy this year. A few states have not only legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, but also legalized it for recreational uses. Colorado and Washington were some of the first states to fully legalize the drug and now other states have fallen suit. Whether or not marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to other drug use is a whole other debate for another time, however, can any good come from the full legalization of marijuana? Some Massachusetts Sheriffs believe so.
Some Massachusetts Sheriffs want state lawmakers to pass a tax increase on the retail sales of marijuana and use those tax dollars to help in the fight against the opiate epidemic. Sheriff Patrick Cahillane of the Hampshire County Sheriff’s Office expects the legalization of marijuana to lead to a much higher demand for substance abuse services. While Somerville Democrat Patricia Jehlen has been skeptical of raising the tax imposed on retail marijuana, she said it seems as though lawmakers, so far, seem receptive of the idea of funneling that money into funding substance abuse programs.
Right now, Massachusetts is right in the cross hairs of the opiate problem and has long been a major hub for heroin trafficking and distribution. The moral question that comes up is, “should we tax one drug to fight another?“ The legalization of marijuana might see spikes in addiction, leading to the eventual use of opiates, thus requiring drug rehabilitation services. Would it be moral of our society to take one drug, say it’s okay, only to use the taxes derived from its sales to open up and fund substance abuse programs?
As someone who works in substance abuse, I am not an advocate for recreational marijuana. Every day, I speak to addicts enrolled in our program who all share a common theme… their drug use began with marijuana. And it’s true, we who work in the field of substance abuse, might not be able to change already passed state legislation, but we can put it to good use. What do you think we should do with these tax dollars? Do you think we should use the money generated by the sale of recreational marijuana to help those who are addicted to opiates?
The fact of the matter is the opiate epidemic isn’t going away and, in some areas of the country, is getting worse week by week. While legalizing marijuana isn’t going to do anything in the way of decreasing drug use, at least part of the legalization can be used constructively. Many addicts who struggle with opiate abuse either don’t have the ability to pay to go to rehab or don’t have access to good substance abuse treatment in their areas. With the shortage of good, quality drug treatment, at least taxes derived from the sale of marijuana might do some good for the state of Massachusetts and allow more people access to the help they need.
