Legalized Pot would save money

Of course, we know this, but it’s fun to see it in a newspaper now and then.
From the Bellingham Herald (Washington): Another view: Legalized pot would save money, by Dick Startz.

Washington state would save about $105 million a year if we legalized marijuana. …

The $105 million figure comes from a study by Boston University economist Jeff Miron. Miron put together two numbers: the savings to government from not locking people up for marijuana-related offenses, and the increased revenue from taxes we could collect if marijuana were treated just like coffee or chocolate. …

An extra $100-plus million would be nice for the state budget. But an even better economic argument for legalizing marijuana is that it would move the legal line, so that relatively safe drugs like caffeine, alcohol and marijuana are all on one side of the law and the truly dangerous drugs, such as crack and meth, are on the other.