Has anybody read the Harper's article (I believe it was May '03, sorry not 100% sure) about that southern state that passed a law requiring drug dealers to purchase tax stamps to be affixed on their goods? Apparently dealers are able to buy tax stamps anonymously and put the required amount of stamps on the drug depending on what kind of drug it is and the amount. I think this was ingenious because now if they arrest a dealer, not only can they charge them as dealers but also with tax evasion. Do you really think any dealer would abide by this law?

This is quite ironic, the government is expecting criminals to pay a tax on illegal drugs.

Where has the common sense gone?

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“Good leaders abhor wrongdoing of all kinds; sound leadership has a moral foundation.”

-Proverbs 16:12

I don' think the feds expect the dealers to pay the tax. I don't think it was primary reason, however can't they charge them with tax evasion if they bust a dealer with no stamps on his goods?

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"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."
-Abraham Lincoln

Yeah, this sounds like just something else they can tack onto another charge.

Reminds me of the laws, here in Missouri. We have the "armed criminal action." Basically, if you commit a crime, and you have any sort of weapon in your possession, it's just yet another crime they can pin you on.

So, I see this as whatever drug-related charge PLUS tax evasion. Just another needle to stick in them (pardon the pun).

This is brilliant.

Think about it. This makes much more sense to me than the RICO laws.

Jeez, finally a State with a brain - not to worry, it's happening out here too. The city of Los Angeles is into the act now, the city attorney is preparing a lawsuit against the feds - and the State of California already has one going, and the city of San Francisco has like six of 'em (what did you expect ) -

Well, all I can tell you is, I recently had to get the "medical marijuana" thing 'cause of cancer, and it really did work, and I got to see two interesting things: one is, there's a whole lot of really screwed up people walking around out there, like with auto-immune disorders, and intractable bursitis, and even vets with Agent Orange exposure and stuff like that.... And the second thing is, that free enterprise really works, I mean, you wouldn't believe what some of these folks come up with - soda pop, and honey, and this stuff they call "ear wax" that's like the next closest thing to something snortable, I mean, some of these guys are real geniuses that way... The only thing "I" really like is the bakery stuff, last time I actually did the deal my favorite place was this ritzy little bakery in Beverly Hills, and they'd like make anything for you - you could order a freakin' strawberry moose pie with fresh strawberries and whipped cream and big wedges of chocolate all in the top and stuff, and one of those'd be enough for like forty people (grin)....

But yeah, your tolerance goes up "real quick", 'cause the medical dosage is higher than just smoking a joint, so pretty soon you're up there into the thirty dollar a day range, and that's kinda like borderline addiction, right? I mean, I could be doing heroin for only seventy dollars more, right?

So yeah, I'm in favor of legalization and taxation. Of pot. The rest of that stuff is different. Pot isn't dangerous though. It's actually quite a benign herb, all things considered. It has positive effects on the digestion, and on emotional equilibrium, and all kinds of other stuff too - and I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen if you smoke too much pot? You fall asleep (after raiding the fridge)? Yeah, it's not like you'd be out robbing banks to get your "pot fix", right?

Oops, brain fart (just a little one though) -

So, here's the point I was really trying to make.....

(see what happens when you smoke pot? you forget stuff....)

Yeah, so the brilliance of this thing - is that they can go after drug dealers for tax evasion. Kinda like Al Capone, right? They couldn't get him on anything else, so they finally got him for tax evasion.

Let me tell you what that means though, 'cause if you've been following my posts over in "Political Opinions" you'll know all about this "conflict between federal and state/local laws", right?

Tax evasion is the one legitimate, Constitutional, club that the feds could rightfully use against a "trafficker" in a situation where said trafficker is protected by a local law. 'Cause all this other stuff they're trying, is un-Constitutional in one way or another - like, for instance, the federal money thing, and the RICO laws, and all the rest - I mean, I don't see how that ever passed muster in the Supreme Court, do you? Siezing your assets without due process? That's a new one one me - let's see, how is that Constitutional again?

(You gotta go back and read that decision, that's a really good one - if you want to see an example of the effects of killer weed on a Supreme Court Justice, go read that one).....

Actually, by purchasing tax stamps, they are complying with tax law. It has long been known that the government can tax illegal drugs and get the drug dealers for tax evasion. This practice has been in place at least since Prohibition times.

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Theodore Lamar Heiks
BA, History/Political Science, Western State College, 1984
MBA, Entrepreneurship/Marketing, City University, 1993