SAVING GULFPORT’S ECONOMY
As told to Dogfish
The other day I was sitting in a downtown Gulfport bistro and I overheard two of our citizens talking about how they had a plan that would save Gulfport’s economy from the ravages of the country’s economic decline.
Naturally being part of and affected by the local economy I was interested. I sat down and listened to their plan. They went on to explain that a wave of change is crossing the planet. “What change?” I enquired.
They went on “Recently two of the counties south of our border have relaxed the draconian drug laws that have contributed to an increase of violence world wide.” Both Argentina and Mexico have moved to make the use of Cannabis, Marijuana as we know it, a minor offense with a move towards treatment, rather then incarceration. Thirteen of these United States have passed laws that allow their citizens to use marijuana medically and they continued “another fifteen states are in the process of doing so”.
“So how will this help Gulfport?” I enquired. “Surely the days of Gulfport being a smuggling center is long past, how would legalizing medical marijuana in Florida help out Gulfport?”
“No” they both said in harmony, Gulfport needs to be ahead of the curve.
The slender of the two went on. “Many states are in financial crisis. California being the most in need of some forward economic thinking. California has always been ahead of the curve, like pollution laws much more stringent then the rest of the country. Other states follow California’s lead in many policies.”
Recently Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, floated the idea, an idea that has been promoted by Marijuana advocates for years, that instead of spending billions of dollars attempting to limit the use of Marijuana, that the possibility of making it legal and taxing it would help solve the states fiscal crisis.
”How can that possibly help Gulfport?” I broke in.
“If California makes Marijuana legal and taxes it” it won’t be long before other states follow suit. Florida probably being one of the last to realize the potential economic benefit, it becomes essential for the citizens to take matters into their own hands.
“Ok you got my attention, explain on.” This reporter dug for answers.
Here’s how the program was described to me.
The city of Gulfport declares Gulfport a bust free zone for the use of Cannabis. What this means that the police would not arrest, harass or even bother with the casual Cannabis smoker. As word gets out, Gulfport becomes a destination for people seeking a new residence where they can enjoy their vice the same as tobacco and alcohol enthusiasts enjoy theirs.
Since our city is plagued with vacancies, both in the rental and owner occupied homes, this would create a demand by new residents seeking the freedom to use cannabis. With the increased demand would come increased rents, providing landlords now suffering from lack of cash flow with needed revenues needed to pay taxes, Fully rented properties are worth more and therefore the city’s tax base would increase, the city’s revenues would increase. Likewise in the home ownership arena, people moving to Gulfport to take advantage of a less restrictive lifestyle will fill unused homes and create a demand and a climate where Gulfport residences increase in value long before the economy rebounds in the rest of the county.
Hotels will fill up as people come to visit. Rooms can be rented out for extra income. With an increased population, the eateries in our town will have increased business, not only from sheer volume of population, but because it is rumored that cannabis users have the “munchies” Every business should improve, more residents, more visitors equals more money.
Likewise the city’s proposed mooring field would fill with those boaters who like to supplement their alcohol use with cannabis use, but can’t because of the restrictive laws found elsewhere. The increased population will be able to support a major supermarket in the east end of the city.
I was sober when I heard this conversation and it still made sense.
Additional Comments:
I thought a little research on the subject was in order before I presented the readers of the Watchdog this “out of the Ordinary” plan for economic survival in these hard times.
It is estimated that this country spends $13.5 billion in marijuana prohibition-related law enforcement costs. These law enforcement costs could be shifted to benefit other areas of our society. Our overcrowded prison system would have less of a strain on them and their $40,000+ a year prisoner cost would be lessened to the taxpayers.
The Supreme Court of Argentina opened a path a few weeks ago to decriminalizing the private consumption of illicit drugs, becoming the latest Latin American country to reject punitive policies toward drug use. The unanimous decision by the Argentine court, which declared unconstitutional the arrest of five youths for possession of a few marijuana cigarettes in 2006, came just days after Mexico’s Congress voted to end the practice of prosecuting people found to be carrying small amounts of illicit drugs, including marijuana. Brazil, which has some of the stiffest sentences in the region for drug traffickers, essentially decriminalized drug consumption in 2006 when it eliminated prison sentences for users in favor of treatment and community service.
“If Marijuana was legalized in Gulfport, my friend Helen would move here from Connecticut” one resident I talked the article over with emphasized.
Wow, Dogfish-Your friends sure think outside the box…way outside the box! Of course we cannot expect our police officers to ignore the law of the land so the proposed method for improving Gulfport’s economy is probably hypothetical. However, two important issues are raised by the piece.
Starting with the local issue: the necessity of finding new sources of revenue to fund the continuing operations of our city when we have been a “built out city” since the 60′s. Our citizens have clearly spoken in survey after survey; we want the city to maintain its character and stay pretty much as it is. We also want to pay as little as possible in taxes as evidenced by the recent ruckus on the tax rate. Paying for rising costs of services in this environment will certainly require some heavy outside the box thinking.
Decriminalization of “soft” drugs is certainly an issue that is receiving lots of world attention. While we cannot solve all the issues surrounding decriminalization and change state and national laws accordingly, we can certainly re-asses our priorities when it comes to law enforcement. We can bring our voices to bear on “changing the mission” in the world-wide War on Drugs if we would only begin to think outside the box on this important issue.
One would need to envision a pot smoker as a standard. S/He would only use the allowed drug and not another. Not a highbred, a concoction of this, that and the other all rolled up in a neat little package. Then..only used in the confines of their home or designation place…similar to an opium den.
One would have to imagine that the industry that has developed to counter drug use would go away without a fight. That would include the police on the street, the courts, attorneys and prison system.
If there one thing that I have discovered in my 58 years on this planet it would be that, if a person wants to escape reality by altering their chemistry, they will use whatever chemical is available to satisfy their hunger.
I for one do not want a person with a sycophantic personality moving next to me. Today s/he is all smiles and tomorrow desperate for another fix, sorry charley “not in my back yard”.
If someone needs to alter their state of mind try changing their diet, exercising to increase blood flow to the brain so they can come to a realization that even pot is a no brainer. Certainly there are people who would only smoke pot, and never drank alcohol, would never do crank, junk, coke, or whatever, but they are not the standard. The standard are people who want to escape on any rocket leaving reality.
One would need to regulate this new tolerance, and be able to control the homegrown pot from the taxed pot. That would add to the responsibility of government, and it would require high-end test equipment or markers in the taxed pot so it could be identified.
Now, what could be the downside? I don’t want to get into a airplane when the pilot is high on pot, nor have him operate on me, take my kid to school in a bus, patrol the streets, fight fires, manage the government, operate a carnival ride, as a matter of fact if I had a choice, I would not choose a stoned service provider over a straight service provider for any of my needs. They are not an asset to society.
If Gulfport became Stoned-Hedge many people would leave, not wanting to be associated with the stigma or irresponsibility.
Now you may think that I’m an anti-drug dumb-ars for making these points, but I happen to have lived in Oregon when they had the 1 ounce rule and saw how that turned out. Being a product of the 60′s I have seen many people ruin or loose their lives on drugs. I’m nether neive nor inexperienced on this issue, having to watch people on pot drive their cars into others, fall asleep at the wheel, forget to feed their children after getting high. Buying unhealthy food for their family because shopping while high gave the cravings and dounuts was the only thing they could think of.
Try volunteering in a Crisis Center for a week in humboldt county ca and I’ll bet you may rethink your proposition.
my 2 ¢
Interesting article.
First, let me say that I am not a supporter of this idea. Especially since it only addresses economic gain for government in the legalization. I also doubt that it would relieve the prisons of some of their inhabitants, since the majority of cannabis smokers will only get there for far more serious offenses.
But let’s look at this a different way…
If drugs were legalized, who would sell them? It certainly would not be the usual suspects (parden the pun). Your dope dealers will be replaced with Walgreens or some other corporate seller. The sold product would be regulated like cigarettes. The big picture from this is with no dope dealer, no dope buyer, and fewer dope dealers battling it out for territory, money and product, you have no dope violence. Fewer drug related murders, robberies and other related offenses that go hand in hand with the drug trade. (In theory).
This was talked about in a class I took about a year ago. Not a cop class but a graduate level course. On the face of this argument, why not legalize all drugs and get ride of the violence that comes with the illegal drug trade???
The answer…I have no idea. Of course there are some guesses. First, think of all the people that would be unemployed by the government. Second, government entities would no longer have the ability to use seized assets from the drug trade to supplement funding (And were talking billions of dollars nationwide). Finally, could you imagine all the stoned people that would be walking around?
I agree with the current laws we have enacted which prohibit the use, sale, possession of “controlled substances”. The abuse of such drugs and the selling of them destroys too many lives and families. In law enforcement, you get to see just how damaging drug abuse can be. I have seen many a lifeless body as a result. This destruction would only continue if they were legalized. The use of it’s proceeds, even by government, would only make the government an evil drug dealer, just with a larger corner to sell it from.
ps…tell Helen to stay in Conneticut, please.
Big dog, dogfish, watchman do you have an example City that Gulfport could use as a template to build a vision of the possibilities? What other City have done when they’ve built out and wanted to retain their charm? Would it be helpful to add examples of redeveloped Cities from around the nation to inspire and motivate?
A small city with a natural asset, like the water, that has a university. I don’t know if restricting the example to bedroom towns would add to the stimulation or not.
For example the central attraction of Roanoke Virginia is the Mountain range. It has a university and isn’t large. Many points along the Blue Ridge can access the mountain range so they don’t have an exclusive, or a captive audience. It was built-out long ago, retains its historical charm but always seems well kept and energetic. They have a different tax structure but they don’t have the high concentration of residential areas that Gulfport uses for their revenue stream.
A City of similar size with an attraction would be Sedona Az. the natural attraction is the Red Rocks, they have a university, and they were built-out many times and retain a following of repeated visitors only surpassed by the national park system. It’s an expensive place to visit, full of activities and art. Pristine preserved structures many hundreds of years old.
Old Sacramento, a City within a City, very similar to our arrangement with St. Pete, the River is the attraction, old steam paddleboats and boardwalks with preserved buildings from the gold rush days. Built-out 150 years ago, but retains its charm.
These are just a few that come to mind who have faced similar circumstances and have managed to overcome the obstacles and attract large populations of visitors year-round.
If the point of this article is to establish a plan for revitalization while preserving the history, wouldn’t examples of success stories with the outline of plans help, not only the leadership but the population to envision what quality redevelopment could be?
I am for decriminalizing marijuana and all drug use, using our limited funds to offer prevention education and treatment options. But we should still go after the sellers, putting them away for a long time.
Just as with the alcohol abusers, we will always have drug abusers, but the crimes associated with the drug trade would go done, since the money machine would not be as lucative for the druglords, and all the judges, politicians and law enforement folks who have their hand on the lever, too.
You will never stop the abuse, but maybe we can control it a lot better than we do now.
People have more trouble getting a narcotic or asthma prescription filled than getting dangerous drugs on the street.
Open your eyes!
The cannabis clubs work very well in California and Colorado. I don’t know about other states, but I do know for a fact they work in those two and have for many years. Members, police, non-users and users alike are pleased with the results. You don’t go to Walgreens, you go to open and monitored clubs that are safe to visit. The medicine is grown by locals who have permits and supply the clubs. The local growers buy their supplies from local stores. They spend their money in local establishments. The members of the clubs do not visit gangsters and illegal drug dealers anymore. They do not risk smoking chemicals or poisons when they partake of the medicine. They know the growers, they know the clubs.
Or they legally grow their own and do not participate in the clubs (even though the clubs are a nice place to socialize).
Cancer and AIDS patients are able to legally use a medicine that works for them. It is absurd to keep that from them in any state.
It is also absurd to think for a minute that Gulfport, like every other town in America, does not have a high percentage of pot smokers already. You would be surprised if you only knew. And there is a good chance that it is in your backyard already. Anyone in America at any age can easily buy marijuana. That is a fact. There is no shortage. Many people who you know and hang out with smoke and you do not even know it. That is another fact. If you think otherwise, you are a fool. (No offense.)
Myself, I would much rather have my neighbors illegally smoking pot in their homes or yards than have them legally drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels. It would be the latter that would cause me concern. Yes the pot smokers might have more cookies or Doritoes than a non-smoker, but at least that is the biggest physical harm from it. They wouldn’t be beating their spouses or children, nor would they become verbally or emotionally abusive to anyone. Alcohol often leads to those issues. Just ask a cop when was the last time they got called out on a domestic violence call triggered by someone smoking a joint. Or at least ask him what the ratio would be between alcohol and marijuana related domestic violence calls.
I gave up the herb about ten years ago after smoking 30 years. I did it without withdrawal, any kind of cancer, brain damage, or other serious side effects. I will say my mind did sharpen and my focus improved dramatically, but I was never forgetting to feed my kids (or dogs for that matter) or falling asleep at the wheel.
I was a member of the Oakland, Berkeley, and SF cannabis clubs and was a grower. I had been involved with the clubs in California since the mid 90s. They are still going stronger than ever.
I would love to be able to grow in Gulfport and take that out of the hands of the gangs. I would find it rewarding to help as many cancer and AIDS patients as I could here in Gulfport. Those who would move away have other issues I am afraid that I do not understand.
Manitou Springs, Colorado is a town much like Gulfport. It has Pikes Peak and old eclectic shops and an artist community. There is a great mix of old-timers and new blood in the neat little mountain town. And it is legal to grow your own pot. I think 6 plants and up to 2 pounds of marijuana is the limit. Manitou Springs has had no known negative effects from legalizing the medicine. I doubt many people moved away in fear or disgust. The ecomony has strengthened and you won’t find many illegal pot dealers around charging ridiculous prices for Mexican or Colombian pot. No need for them.
Fool here..
Folks on pot are easy to spot.
I worked at Cheyenne Mt. and lived in Manitou twice. The second time for bicycle training at the Broadmoor. Played in the Garden and the Cave, rock climbed, peddled a bicycle and road my harley up on Pike’s. Partied with a Band member around a campfire up at Cripple Creek after a concert at the Buffalo Rose. Would hit to local slopes when time allowed or took a ride down the river. A few citizens of Gulfport, on returning trips, have joined me now and again. I’m no stranger to the Rockies.
I’ve just finished eating off plates that I purchased in China Town on a visit to S.F. I’m no stranger to the Left Coast, S.F or the Haight.
Florida used to allow legal government issued pot in the late 70′s for medical purposes, but that is not what this article is all about.
A person using pot for medical purposes is not likely to grab a beer, some Jack, or do a line with their weed. The article suggests pot be sold for tax revenue and cost reduction to the public at large.
Let’s not confuse the issue shall we.
Fool me once….over and out.
If only we could bring a few of them mountains to Gulfport…
Perhaps you have been on Gold Camp Road from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek?
Well as for being a fool, I know many times in my life I have seen what I thought to be the straightest people I knew load a bong or pass a joint. And I will say I am certain I have thought people to be totally stoned when they might have been that way without any substance.
I still think Gulfport would be a perfectly natural center for legal cannabis. Marijuana is here anyway, might as well bring it into the above ground economy and gain some benefits from it. The MJ prohibition has not worked.
Rob Said:
“”"Perhaps you have been on Gold Camp Road from Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek?”"”
Sure, I’ve bicycled it many times. It was a train route for gold that carried Teddy Roosevelt at the turn of the 20th century.
A dear friend whose lifestyle and projects were included in the Whole Earth Catalog and Howard Rheingold Whole Earth magazine had one child and tried for years for more, no luck. A job forced one to quit smoking pot, so the other did the same. They couldn’t stop the kids for popping out after the pot was gone. The only change was their pot habit. There is some evidence out there that emphasize this issue on a medical and biological front and is also accepted by most of the scientific community.
A commune is an ideal setting for this experiment perhaps, but I hardly think that a City with an average age of 50 years old would qualify.
First, a drug user could loose their medical insurance, Medicare and social security. A City that allowed it would be suspect in everything that occurred. Imagine a 70 year old falling down and the first question from the EMT is, are you on pot? Or your insurance company having you tested for drugs after every incident.
One of the reasons the pot can be issued to terminal patients is because they wave their rights to treatment for the side effects of experimental drugs. Legal Pot is classified as such.
The issue is complicated in our tangled society, where one change affects many issues and investments. I do not suspect that the property value in Gulfport will increase as a result of an open house on pot; I do suspect it will have the reverse effect.
It won’t make the population healthier, it won’t add to the security of pot smoker’s jobs. It won’t make them better parents or teachers. It might make the parties shorter as smokers fall asleep with a beer in one hand and munchies in the other. It could increase convenient store patronage.
In an age when we’re regulating alcohol and tobacco it would be counter productive to deregulate other form of chemical stimuli. At the end of the day we want sharp minds and responsible, law abiding citizens, not wired, and not susceptible to being arrested for breaking the law. If you had an employee that you depended on and s/he was reckless and got caught with drugs, their habit would cost you production losses and your reputation as a reliable service provider who employs druggies.
Given the choice I would choose a straight guy over a stoned guy to work for me… if folks want to rely on drug users that’s their business. So since there are so many pot users in Gulfport now, would it be advantageous to anyone wanting services to look outside the city limits?
Whew that would be a tough bicycle ride up Gold Camp Road!!
2iview said:
Did you know the HS graduation years 1976 through 1980 had the highest percentage of pot smokers in America’s history. In 1978, 37% of high school seniors reported smoking pot regularly which is the highest percentage of all. By 1980 that declined quickly due to several factors, including Hollywood and television backing off from glamourizing it so much. Remember 1978? Cheech-n-Chong were top 40 radio, Saturday Night Live was doing all kinds of ganja skits, Barney Miller cops eating hash brownies, Mary Hartman smoking a joint, songs like Ray Stevens’ “Wildwood Flower” and Black Sabbath’s “Sweeet Leaf” were very popular. etc. In my school, atheletes, hippies, and teachers smoked together at keg parties every weekend. Cops would bust us kids and take our pot or dump it out and we’d never even get in trouble. For all practical purposes in many towns it was decriminalized unless you were selling large quantities.
And you know what? We did not have the gang problems we have now partly because the free market atmosphere made it so there was not as much profit in it. Funny, the highest percentage of people using it which you would think would cause a higher demand, and yet the profits were not big enough for street dealers to worry about guns or territories.
Now all of us old burnouts have mostly moved on from the pot years and are the 50 years olds you speak of. It’s the younger people who grew up in the Nancy Reagon “Just Say No” years that have a sour taste in their mouths about marijuana use and the senior citizens who were out of HS and college by the 70s. It was during the 80s that the laws got tougher and of course the natural result was the same as when alcohol was made illegal. The gangs got rich and started carrying guns and here we are today. Kids are killing each other and that is largely due to the rise of gang violence as a result of drug prohibition.
Of course everyone would rather have a non-stoned person do work for them than a stoned person. Even a stoned person would say that. But I’d rather a person stoned on pot work for me than a person drunk on booze. Or even a conscientious dedicated stoned person than an apathetic careless non-stoned person. But all that is a non-argument really because we usually don’t even know what someone does behind their closed doors. Right now legal prescribed pharmaceutical drugs are killing and doping up more Americans (including kids) than illegal drugs by a very huge difference. That is scary to me.
So go ahead and do business with us Gulfportians who are average age 50. Many of us smoked pot and lived as if we were Cheech and Chong ourselves during the 70s and 80s, and even into the 90s.
“Faaaaar out man.”
“WOW! That’s the BIGGEST joint I’ve ever seen!!!”
“Dave’s not here…”
Oh this makes me nostalgic! Silly stoned memories galore. All those years. Oh my. I am sure I’d be rich by now if I stayed straight, but what the heck, I’ll get rich now that I am. I wonder if my non-aggressive and peaceful attitude is a by product of those years. “Peace, man.”
I know I won’t change any minds, humans get set in their ways. But I will still say that Gulfport would be a great place to legalize (medical) MJ. I doubt that will ever happen, so don’t worry.
Did you know that thujones found in culinary sage and absinthe which is legal to buy attaches to the THC receptors in our brains. Same effects as pot, slightly more dangerous and proven neurotoxic, and yet legal. You know why? Blacks and mexicans did not smoke culinary sage.
Did you know Walmart and Home Depot sell San Pedro cactus which has more mescaline than peyote? You know why it is legal and peyote is not? Native Americans used peyote and not San Pedro.
You know why morphine is legal and opium is not? Chinese used opium and whites used morphine.
Our drug laws have a very racist history. They are not based on public health and never have been. Funny huh?
Rob F said:
“”" Whew that would be a tough bicycle ride up Gold Camp Road!!”"”
It’s 17 miles…about an hour and a half without breaking a sweat.
It’s not nearly as tough as Pike’s Peak.
I understand that a Police State has been built around Nancy’s planetary readings, and that there are perceived racial reasons behind the laws. I’m also cognizant of the perceived dumbing-down of the public educational system after the social upheaval in the 70′s. I didn’t need to Steal Abbie’s Book, I could observe it while it was being written. The writer lived a few blocks down the street and I cut his fathers lawn.
And again the article requests that we legalize pot, it doesn’t restrict the legalization to a medical application. No one could make a reasoned argument that using pot in the confines of ones home, at the end of life’s journey is a threat to society, but that’s not the issue before us. When that issue comes up I’ll vote yes.
It’s an interesting read but I haven’t seen an argument to justify the legalization nor what benefit it would be to Gulfport. There would have to be a compelling argument made, beyond crop circles in the carpet, to have Gulfport even consider the issue. But we can play Lennon’s Imagine just for nostalgia sake.
The stage is open for anyone to make an appeal; in the meantime Sam Adam’s is offering his Oktoberfest so I’ll try to find a watering hole in Gulfport that might carry it and maybe I’ll see you there?
Some cities in California have declared that they will not enforce immigration laws or cooperate with the federal government in chasing down illegals. I don’t see why Gulfport couldn’t do the same thing with pot, and would much prefer the potheads over the illegal aliens. This despite the fact that I find most people on pot to be annoying. Now, don’t get your feelings hurt, I think most drunks are annoying too. Actually, anyone taking a drug that makes him dull or obnoxious annoys me. As few likable people as there are in this world, they tend to be the unaltered ones.
2iview says:
“There would have to be a compelling argument made, beyond crop circles in the carpet, to have Gulfport even consider the issue.”
I suppose the biggest thing for Gulfport, and America for that matter, is to take this beautiful plant out of the hands of criminals who make a ton of money, do not pay taxes on it, kill each other, and then we should allow those who would be happy to pay taxes and follow the laws to take it over. The same people who smoke it now would smoke it then, but have more money for their bills and rent and other above ground stuff. Plus they would not have to support the gangs.
David said:
“As few likable people as there are in this world, they tend to be the unaltered ones.”
Unaltered? You mean newborns?
TV is one of the most powerful mind altering forces in our society today. As is a good book. Running releases enough endorphines in our brains to alter even the most stubborn brains. I expect that riding a bike up Gold Camp Road is more mind altering for 2iview than sitting on a rock half way up the same road smoking a fatty would be for me.
I question whether there is such a thing as an unaltered mind. Mine alters many times every day without any substance at all.
Hmmm, Octoberfest, eh? I do like beer.
Morton’s Fork
Speaking of Octoberfest; The Knights of Columbus is a hate group. Under the leadership of Carl Anderson the KOC have fought civil rights with money and influence. Yes, they also do some charity work, so does the KKK and the NOI.
PianoGuy…
Megacool Blog indeed!… if anyone else has anything it would be much appreciated. Great website Enjoy!…
Marijuana stops cancer cells from growing, and tumors from spreading. California where im from has the lowest DUI fatalities in the nation! Florida the Highest! If a person wants to drink,their choice, smoke cigarettes and die, their choice, marijuana should be a choice. It does not cause cancer. The U.S. GOVERNEMNT HAS A 2 ACRE FACILITY IN MISSISSIPPI, NEXT TO UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI, THEY GROW MARIJUANA, AND TEST IT ON PEOPLE. They found no harmful effects period! So when a 19 year old girl is dead here in Gulfport, which she was killed by a stinking drunk, i blame YOU, the anti pot people! Marijuana has almost the same molecular structure cells as in the human body. Hey ciagarette smokers, you get cancer and die like Patrick Swayze, no pitty for me, never. Your choice. Just tell me one thing, can any police officer, DEA, FBI CIA, stop this from coming in the US, NO. Sell it, tax it, and use the money to find those child molesters, rapists, murderers and thugs on the street. That’s all folks!