Thank You for Smoking was the title of Christopher Buckley’s 1994 humorous novel, made into a movie in 2005. Buckley’s book exposes the absurdity of defending smoking despite the overwhelming scientific evidence of its dangers.
While precise numbers are difficult to calculate, federal spending on anti-smoking efforts, including campaigns, research, litigation, and medical cessation programs, likely has exceeded $10 billion over the past fifty-plus years.
And yet… and yet the recreational use of marijuana has been legalized in 24 states, three U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. Another seven states have decriminalized its use. The mind reels.
And yet, help may be on the way: newly installed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may be able to galvanize the country into rejecting marijuana. He waffled on the topic during the campaign but more recently said he believes cannabis does hold serious harm potential. That’s an understatement: he needs to study up and prepare for the fight of his life. Opposing the marijuana industry will be an uphill task. There’s big money there, as there’s big money in tobacco. And the list of politicians who support legalization is long and disheartening.
Kennedy will have to take on much of the Democrat establishment in the country, which, given how the Democrats treated him recently, shouldn’t keep him awake at night.
Here’s Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on marijuana: “It’s past time for the federal government to catch up to the attitudes of the American people when it comes to cannabis. That’s why we’re reintroducing the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, legislation that would finally end the federal prohibition on cannabis while prioritizing safety, research, workers’ rights, and restorative justice.”
Kamala Harris promised, “I will legalize recreational marijuana, break down unjust legal barriers, and create opportunities for all Americans to succeed in this new industry.”
Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) on Senate legislation to decriminalize marijuana said, “This long-overdue legislation will protect legal businesses and workers in Colorado, open up research into cannabis, expand tax revenues, and help address historic inequities in our justice system.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (AK) is in favor too: in July 2022, in response to the question, “Should marijuana be legalized federally?” she said, “Yes.”
And of course, Sen. Elizabeth (“Feathers”) Warren (D-MA) couldn’t resist sending her own smoke signal: “Legalizing marijuana is about more than just allowing recreational use, or the potential medicinal benefit, or the money that can be made from this new market. It’s about undoing a century of racist policy that disproportionately targeted Black and Latino communities.” Warren reminds us that rule by monarchy might not be so bad after all.
Secretary Kennedy needs to read up on the literature critical of marijuana. There’s enough to keep him busy for weeks.
Dr. Jennifer Bailey, principal investigator with the Social Development Research Group at the University of Washington, said this: “Early use and heavy use during adolescence can have a lot of negative health consequences, then and later in life, so we don’t want teen use to be going up.”
Dr. Gil Kerlikowske, former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, remarked, “Legalization is off the charts when it comes to discussion, from my viewpoint. . . . It’s a dangerous drug.”
Dr. Kevin Hill, addiction psychiatrist at Harvard Medical School, asked the giveaway question: “Is medical marijuana just a ploy to legalize marijuana in general?” A high school student could give the correct answer to that question.
Sec. Kennedy needs to get a chart ready to display to Congress, and especially the American public, showing the money trail.
In 2024, Illinois reported more than $2 billion in cannabis sales, resulting in more than $490 million in state tax revenue. This marked the fourth consecutive year of record-breaking sales.
Since launching its legal cannabis market, New York has approached $1 billion in sales. Tax revenues have included $22 million for local governments and more than $16.6 million for the state treasury.
In 2022 alone, states collected nearly $3 billion in marijuana revenues. Projections suggest that nationwide legalization could generate approximately $8.5 billion annually in tax revenue for all states. Collectively, states with legalized marijuana have amassed more than $21 billion in tax revenue from recreational and medical cannabis sales to date.
But, of course, there’s another side to the coin: the higher the taxes, the more illegal activity there will be. States’ efforts to create and then tightly regulate legal markets for marijuana have—surprise!—made the black market for weed bigger than it’s ever been. That’s one kind of crime.
Another is local crime. Readers who live in small towns anywhere near where marijuana is being sold should ask their local police about marijuana-related crime. They are unlikely to be enthusiastic about legalizing marijuana after that discussion. And what about healthcare costs? Car accidents caused while driving high? These are all economic costs that offset the supposed tax benefits.
Given the number of people promoting marijuana, we have to ask, where’s Christopher Buckley when we need him?
Daniel Oliver is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Education and Research Institute and a Director of Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy in San Francisco. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President Reagan, he was Executive Editor and subsequently Chairman of the Board of William F. Buckley Jr.’s National Review.
Email Daniel Oliver at Daniel.Oliver@TheCandidAmerican.com.