Drug Use Tennessee: Tennessee’s Crack Tax Goes Up in Smoke

Politicians love to spend money and states work hard to come up with it. A recent ruling on an inventive Tennessee drug tax shows just how far they are willing to go.

Like just about every state, Tennessee has tried many different ways to generate new tax revenues. They offer incentives to businesses to come to the state. They create beautiful relocation brochures to attract individuals. Oh, and they try to tax the illegal drugs being sold in their state!

One of the arguments for legalizing recreational drugs is the massive amount of tax revenues that can be generated. Well, Tennessee decided to jump the gun. Who needs to legalize the drugs? We can just tax them anyway, but how?

The answer for Tennessee was the drug stamp. Tennessee asserted that people with illicit drugs were required to pay a fee in exchange for the stamp of approval. The fee was not cheap. $ 50 for a gram of cocaine and $ 3.50 for a gram of marijuana.

Ah, but what fool would actually go to the state office to have his or her drugs stamped? Wouldn’t they be arrested? Nope. The state promised this would not happen, but who could guess what would happen later.

As you can imagine, the Tennessee law was actually passed for a different reason. Nobody really expected dealers to come down and get their drugs stamped. Instead, the law was used to hammer people arrested for drugs. Not only did they face jail, but they would also get hit with “back taxes” on their drugs. Throw penalties and interest into the pot and the state had a windfall.

This nasty little law has been challenged in the courts and you can imagine the judges rolling their eyes. Yes, the law has been ruled unconstitutional and invalidated. Why? The justices ruled that Tennessee cannot profit by taxing illegal activity. In short, the state cannot have its cake and eat it too.

Shinedown – Brent and Barry about Brent’s drug addiction – Watch the whole interview on htpp://www.faceculture.com . Video interview with singer Brent Smith and drummer Barry Kerch from hard rock band Shinedown at Pinkpop 2009. FaceCulture spoke to Brent Smith and Berry Kerch about Pinkpop, constant dissatisfaction, the audience, leaving something behind, stand the test of time, a lifesaving son, drug addiction, being alive, Sound Of Madness, rehab, the next album and more.

Titans WR Kenny Britt Arrested For DUI

Filed under: Drug Use Tennessee

Details about the arrest are hazy at the moment. According 104.5 The Zone, Britt was arrested for driving under the influence while he was returning to Fort Campbell, which is on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee, with teammate Tommie Campbell and …
Read more on The Inquisitr

Drug task force audit shows no problems

Filed under: Drug Use Tennessee

The 171-page report from Comptroller Justin P. Wilson reviews funds administered by the district attorneys' general offices and the drug task forces in the 31 districts in Tennessee for the year ended June 30, 2011. The 17th … In the 18th District …
Read more on Marshall County Tribune

Poll: Russians see drug abuse as a top problem

Filed under: Drug Use Tennessee

FOR STORY POLL DRUG ABUSE IN RUSSIA – This photo dated Thursday, July 5, 2012, showing Nikolai Leonov, a 36-year old resident of a southeastern Moscow suburb, walks with his daughter near the spot where just days earlier the two-year-old found a …
Read more on Charlotte Observer