Good post.
What is your opinion of the so-called stupidity tax, the disproportionate increase in "the poor" using pot?
I can disagree with most of what the govt. spends our money on, but the fact is, govt. needs tax money to fund things that are mutually beneficial to all of us. Schools, roads, etc. I see no problem with putting a tax on it. I think laws should allow people to grow their own, but for those who don't want to or don't have the means, a modest tax shouldn't be a big deal. That being said, if the govt. tries to tax it
too much, that could cause the black market to take over (again). Call it a "stupidity tax" or simply a "tax" (because we don't call a cigarette or alcohol tax a "stupidity tax"), I'm okay with it. Those stoners are padding govt. coffers and paying for new schools, new roads, etc.
As far as poor people using marijuana, I don't think they suddenly started using it when it became legal. I'm sure they used some sort of vice in order to distance themselves from their poor life choices/decisions or the situation they are in. Whether it be marijuana or alcohol or cigarettes or gambling.
One particular passage stood out to me:
..."despite the popular stereotype of marijuana users as well-off and well-educated . . . they lag behind national averages” on both income and schooling.
For instance, people who have a household income of less than $20,000 a year comprise 19 percent of the population but make up 28 percent of marijuana users. And even though those who earn more than $75,000 make up 33 percent of the population, 25 percent of them are marijuana users. Having more education also seems to make it less likely that you are a user. College graduates make up 27 percent of the population but only 19 percent of marijuana users.
I always assumed the popular stereotype of a marijuana user was an unmotivated person living in mom's basement not doing much. Not they are lawyers and doctors.
But the poor, who already have a hard time holding down jobs and taking care of their families, are more frequently using a drug that makes it harder for them to focus, to remember things and to behave responsibly.
How is this the case? While a slightly higher percentage of a minority uses marijuana, a much larger group of well-off people was just pointed out to use it as well. If 25% of 33% of the population, including college grads, use marijuana, maybe it's not living up to the other popular stereotype that it "makes it harder for them to focus, to remember things and to behave responsibly"?
The new study, which looked at use rates between 1992 and 2013, also found that the intensity of use had increased in this time. The proportion of users who smoke daily or near daily has increased from 1 in 9 to 1 in 3. As Davenport tells me, “This dispels the idea that the typical user is someone on weekends who has a casual habit.”
I question if this is simply because of the lax laws that came in the latter parts of the study. Were people really not daily users back in, say, 1998 when only 2 states legalized it for medical purposes or did they simply not want to say so for a study?
If it is truly the case, and that many more people are smoking daily, it coincides with an ever-increasing number of states liberalizing their marijuana laws. We've also seen the economy grow, tank, and recover in that time period. We've also seen a major decrease in violent crime from around 1994 until now to the tune of 45% between the early 90's until now.
in it. 
