Dear Editor,

It was announced two years ago that California is profiting handsomely from marijuana sales. The United States media story goes:

“California is collecting between $50 million and $100 million a year in sales taxes from medical marijuana, according to the California Board of Equalisation… The state’s retail market for medical marijuana has surpassed $1 billion per year, according to California NORML https://www.canorml.org estimates, with a total adult use market of $6 billion.

An initiative https://www.taxcannabis2010.org to legalise and tax cannabis for adult use will be on this November’s ballot in the Golden State.”

Pot is California’s biggest cash crop, responsible for US$14 billion a year in sales, dwarfing the state’s second largest agricultural commodity – milk and cream.

Meanwhile, in poor Jamaica the Observer newspaper reported a year after the US anouncement, December 11, 2011:

“POLICE attached to the Narcotics Division destroyed more than 10,000 pounds of ganja during an operation at a narcotics-burning site in Kingston yesterday.

The ganja – 13,033 pounds – formed exhibits in 96 cases that have been disposed of, and had an estimated street value of just over $65 million.

The contraband was destroyed about 2:30 pm in the presence of a Justice of the Peace and other relevant personnel.” And we continue to burn the stuff.

What a difference between the conduct of the rich and powerful and the poor and powerless! Different strokes for different folks.

Kenneth Jones

kensjones2002@yahoo.com