Which state will be the last to legalize pot?

It'll be the last state that realizes it can receive more tax revenue from pot smokers than the total tax revenue it spends incarcerating them.

I'm guessing Oklahoma.

 

Unless the Mormons change their minds about mind-altering substances, I'll go Utah.

 

Problem is that them boys from Oklahoma roll their joints all wrong.

 

Just take existing alcohol laws and replace "alcohol" with "marijuana." Tax it a similar amount.

Bada boom, bada bing. Too fucking easy.

You don't see bootleggers these days except on bad reality TV, or (more to my experience) in places that are dry or don't sell on Sundays.

 

My first guess was Utah, but I think they ended statewide alcohol prohibition before Mississippi. You never know.

 

Whichever state it is will see a boom of businesses moving their headquarters there to take advantage of a non-lazy workforce.

 

Some trains never run late.

 

Which state has the highest-percentage of dry counties in 2013? That's your answer.

 

Not that fucking easy, and here's why:

Decriminalizing and then heavily taxing marijuana work at cross purposes if the intent is to end the war on drugs. The local growers and dealers are used to working outside the law; surely they won't line up to have their product taxed. They can up the price of their pot while still undercutting the legal, taxed stuff. Sure, new and casual users won't bother with finding a dealer and just pick up a pack of blunts at the convenience store (which they'll be getting from Philip Morris or RJ Reynolds, since they'll have a huge distribution advantage in the 7-11/supermarket supply circles and almost certainly have production and marketing plans all queued up and ready to roll at first contact with national decriminalization).

But users are going to want to find the best price (and may also be aghast at supporting Big Tobacco). And with the legal barrier down, the taboo will fade. Between word of mouth and crowdsourcing, it'll be easier than ever to find a contact. Pay 10 bucks from the guy peddling out of his mom's basement or 20 bucks for Marlboro Marijuana or Camelbis?

In short, the dealers getting busted for narcotics today will be the ones getting busted for tax evasion down the line.

That's not to argue for or against decriminalization -- I'm for it, but mostly because I don't especially care what you do with your body so long as it doesn't directly hurt someone else. But this idea that it's going to somehow end the War on Drugs or make major strides in that direction is probably a little simple to be true.

Also, moonshiners still get busted. It's not an everyday occurrence, but it'll happen when someone tries to skirt taxes. Plus it takes an awful lot less effort to produce enough marijuana to be a going concern, compared to alcohol or cigarettes (though it's worth mentioning that cigarette trafficking to high-tax areas such as New York and Canada is a problem for law enforcement).

 

I'll guess Kentucky has the most dry counties.

But Utah has some pretty fucked-up liquor laws.