MARIJUANA BUSTS DRIVE UP PRICES, DO NOTHING TO REDUCE DEMAND

Congratulations to the Michigan State Police for their Christmas Day
raid on a basement marijuana patch. Their unflagging work in hunting
down home gardens accomplishes what generations of alchemists could not.

They turn a common, easy to grow plant into pure gold. The more
marijuana seized, the higher the price goes, drawing even more
gardeners into the mix. More growers, more police, more raids. A
perpetuating machine, never ending, never slowing down.

Alchemy and perpetual motion sound good in principle, but they cannot
succeed. They violate basic laws of nature. Prohibition is no
different. Prohibition drives up prices and it violates the law. As
value goes up, suppliers are drawn into the market. It is impossible
to eradicate something by making it more valuable. That's Econ 101.

Michigan cannot afford to continue funding this folly. It's a big
state and there are a lot of basements. We could bleed the treasury
dry and hire every unemployed worker in the state to join in the
search, but there is no way we'll stop those so inclined from growing
marijuana.

It is time for the federal government to step forward and take on the
responsibility for marijuana prohibition. We're broke here in
Michigan; we can't afford it. Passing this burden to the federal
government where it more properly belongs makes good sense.

Or at least it makes more sense than paying state troopers overtime
to pull up weeds on Christmas Day.

Greg Francisco/Paw Paw