Across the country, states big and small are facing significant budget gaps.  In California, the worst case by far, candidates for state office are debating how to close a $19 billion budget deficit.  In Florida, meanwhile, another multi-billion dollar budget hole is on the cards, and looks set to grow with oil drilling off the Florida coast now off the table.  Still other states are facing similar situations, if on a less disastrous scale.  While many serving in statehouses nationwide will advocate for spending cuts, as opposed to tax increases, in some states, tax hikes are already being put on the table, with so-called “sin taxes” demonstrating renewed appeal.

Washington State recently increased taxes on beer and cigarettes in an effort to stop its own fiscal bleeding (though left-leaning figures in the state have also been arguing for a state income tax).

In Illinois, a proposal to increase cigarette taxes that went nowhere last year has now been resuscitated.

In Florida, where ongoing budget woes are anticipated, concern exists that legislators could jack up cigarette taxes again.  Last year, the State Senate—including its Republican members, led by Senate President Jeff Atwater and budget committee chief J.D. Alexander—unanimously voted to increase cigarette taxes by $1 a pack.  The House ultimately played ball, too, and Gov. Charlie Crist gave a thumbs up to the tax hike, which was expected to bring in anything from $700 million to $1 billion.

In New York, where cigarettes are already extensively taxed and can sell for as much as $9 per pack, further increases could be on the agenda, too.

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I approach the issue of marijuana legalization as an economic conservative and libertarian. It is an estimated $5 billion underground industry in my home state of New York. I say legalize, regulate and tax it to create new revenues so New York’s more regressive income and property taxes an be cut.

When economic recessions decimate state coffers, politicians usually turn to their traditional streams of revenue to replenish their budgets. In other words, they raise taxes and strain the very system that is already overburdened. Currently, New Yorkers carry one of the highest tax burdens in the country, and city and local budgets all over the state are straining for every dollar. It is clear that New York State has reached critical mass in the taxation of its citizenry. New York needs innovation and recent developments in California can serve as a model for our state.

Californians who use marijuana are asking the government to tax and regulate its use as a potential solution to their current budget crisis. New York should follow suit.

I know talk of legalization of pot immediately sets off a clamor among the anti-drug crowd, but their rhetoric is generally exaggerated, erroneous or plain wrong. They are misinformed and the unfounded fears surrounding marijuana use has stuffed our prisons full of nonviolent people and saddled our state with outlandish incarceration costs for decades. The demonization of marijuana must stop. There is a plethora of scientific opinions that debunk marijuana myths, but the true tragedy is that marijuana criminalization has been an epic failure.

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