Sports star arrested for ridiculous amount of weed – and other reasons we need to legalize marijuiana

As with many Americans, one of the first things I do every morning is check the headlines overnight, including any happening in the sports world. I recently woke up to an article in which Los Angeles Lakers security guard Alex Caruso was arrested at Easterwood Airport in College Station, Texas for “possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.”

Given that Mr. Caruso is a guardian of the reigning NBA championship team and a Texas A&M alumnus, I assumed his arrest, which would obviously make national headlines, was for an absurd amount of marijuana. I was wrong.

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Mr. Caruso was arrested after the TSA searched his pockets and found a “herb grinder containing marijuana”. The arrest was for possession of “less than two ounces of marijuana.” It was probably well under two ounces of marijuana, considering it was in a herb grinder.

I understand that a professional basketball player being arrested for trying to get on a flight with a federal illegal substance is not a national tragedy. But do you know what is it? The fact that 545,602 Americans were arrested for marijuana offenses in 2019. And that 40,000 Americans were jailed for marijuana offenses in 2020. And that in the extreme case people are still locked up for life for possessing a similar amount of drug marijuana to Mr Caruso.

In total, that’s 545,602 Americans who will find it much harder to find a job because we as a country seem determined to federally declare marijuana an illegal drug for reasons that are either based on false premises or inherently racist. As for the politicians who oppose the national trend towards legalization for social reasons or for “public safety” reasons, these politicians are either stupid or lying.

Here in Harris Bricken’s New York office, we’ve put a lot of thought into “why” recreational marijuana should be legal. We have customers interested in obtaining a license in New York. Whether they are looking to purchase a cultivation license or a retail license, support from the local government is important to long-term success. This means that, as our clients’ advocates, we sometimes have to explain to local government officials why: 1) the introduction of legal recreational marijuana is beneficial for their community; and 2) the acceptance of legal recreational marijuana is not going to destroy the fabric of your community (dramatically, I know).

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Our arguments for legalization apply at the federal level, and frankly, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to reach the inescapable conclusion that there is no valid reason for marijuana to remain an illegal drug.

From a financial point of view, the benefits are obvious. The estimated value of America’s illegal marijuana market is $ 100 billion. Billion with a “B”. That’s $ 100 billion that is currently unregulated and largely untaxed, for the benefit of no one. Conversely, with only 15 states legalizing recreational marijuana in some form (now 16, hello Connecticut!), The estimated value of the legal marijuana market in 2021 is $ 16.1 billion. This is expected to increase to US $ 24 billion by 2022. Here in New York alone, the legal marijuana market is expected to reach $ 3.7 billion by 2025.

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The tax revenue from legal sales is already a boon for many countries. Let’s assume that when state legalization finally happens, it comes with a tax structure sufficient to offset the overnight outflow from IRC § 280E. Why on earth shouldn’t we as a country with a healthy budget deficit not get some of the tax revenue from the other $ 100 billion in sales that flow across the country?

Tax revenue aside, the side income from national marijuana legalization would boost our economy. Banking services, transportation and logistics, software, security, real estate and so on are industries that generate income and thus provide additional employment opportunities. Maintaining the status quo keeps all of these economic benefits on the black market.

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And it’s not just about making more money in a legal industry. The average annual cost of incarceration for a single American is $ 33,274. That’s $ 1,330,960,000 a year spent imprisoning Americans for marijuana offenses. That doesn’t even include the exponentially greater resources that law enforcement agencies use to investigate and prosecute these “crimes” or the lives ruined by such arrests.

But these are all simple statistical arguments that are difficult to disprove with data. The social “harm” of marijuana is what politicians rely on when they claim that legalizing marijuana would be a disaster of epic proportions. We all know the social arguments against legal marijuana: marijuana must be kept away from children; Marijuana is a dangerous gateway drug; and marijuana somehow leads to criminal activity.

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Let’s start with the argument of ease of access. The reality is that minors will find it harder to buy marijuana after it’s legalized. I think I am speaking for a lot of people when I say that in high school it is probably easier to buy marijuana than alcohol. Why? Because you can only buy alcohol from a licensed establishment that will risk their license if they sell alcohol to minors. As far as I know, there are no drug dealers worried about the “license” for selling marijuana to a high school graduate.

That changes immediately when marijuana is legalized. Not only does a retail outlet have to demonstrate that it can prevent sales to minors, but it also risks losing its license if it does not implement systems to prevent sales to minors. These arguments against the arrest and prosecution of marijuana sales become very different (i.e. justified) when aligned with the prosecution of illegal marijuana sales.

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The other reality, of course, is the fact that marijuana is really easy to buy now, even as an illegal substance. I’m relatively sure that almost any American right now could buy marijuana in one phone call. I’m 100% sure that every single American is no more than two phone calls away from buying marijuana. Access can only become more difficult after legalization.

Is Marijuana Dangerous? Possibly. Anyone who claims marijuana is harmless is doing the industry a disservice. Like any other substance, addiction to marijuana can have serious negative effects. I know people who haven’t reached their potential because of marijuana use. But I also know alcohol addicts with equally negative consequences, and the ban movement has been really quiet for a hundred years.

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In terms of marijuana being a gateway drug, I haven’t seen an honest study showing that marijuana use leads directly to drug use. I would argue that we have all seen far more people make bad life decisions while under the influence of alcohol than we did after using marijuana.

But I will not elaborate on the point. The alcohol vs. marijuana argument is widespread and frankly irrelevant. Both should be legal. Both should be regulated. And both need systems to avoid underage consumption.

In terms of the criminal activity of marijuana breeding, it definitely is if it is federally illegal. Aside from the obvious definition argument (it’s criminal activity because we define it as criminal activity), it’s hard to argue that America’s well-developed black market is better than a well-regulated legal market. And organized crime activities in the marijuana black market are well known.

You may ask yourself again: “What has this got to do with Alex Caruso?” Nothing and everything. A single professional athlete arrested for marijuana possession doesn’t actually move the needle, but it’s a public reminder of where we are. With all of the excitement in New York about legalizing recreational marijuana, it’s easy to ignore the fact that federal law still considers marijuana an illegal drug. This means that we as a country will continue to waste life, time and money waging a “battle” against ourselves in which everyone loses for no good reason. At the Canna Law Blog, we hope the tide turns and maybe, just maybe, some more rational arguments will push us over the finish line.

Simon Malinowski is an attorney with Harris Bricken. This story was originally published on the Canna Law Blog and reposted with permission.