美科羅拉多州 開賣大麻
摘錄自：天下雜誌 經濟學人電子報 2013/1/17
2014-01-09 Web only 作者：經濟學人
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| 圖片來源：flickr.com/photos/elpablo/ |
1月1日，美國科羅拉多州正式合法銷售大麻，距離之前公民投票通過大麻合法化後已經是420天，科羅拉多約有37間大麻商店開張，也成為全球第一個大麻合法化的地區（華盛頓特區和20個州允許病人在醫生的建議下購買大麻）。部分顧客遭到商店拒絕，部分商店也被迫暫停營業以補充庫存，但大致來看，這個「綠色星期三」可說是非常成功。科羅拉多的大麻市場究竟如何運作？
於2012年11月獲得55％選民支持的64號修正案，為科羅拉多的大麻管制設下了限制，包括最高稅率、市郡有權拒絕轄區內設立大麻商店等；官員和議員則在2013年訂出了細節。科羅拉多的藥用大麻管制系統十分完善，這不但讓選民更願意支持大麻合法化，也為休閒用大麻產業奠定了基礎。10月之前，唯有領有執照、資格完備的藥局可以販售大麻；科羅拉多的「垂直整合」系統也會維持至10月，亦即零售商必須自行種植大部分它們販售的大麻。
挑戰之一，就是將價格訂在恰到好處的水準；價格太低會鼓勵過量使用和出口，太高則會讓非法販售者有機會生存。市場尚未穩定，但目前的高品質大麻每盎斯約250～300美元；價格高出藥用大麻許多，主因在於沉重的稅負。超過21歲的人，才能在科羅拉多購買、持有和使用大麻，且必須在私人不動產內、獲得主人同意後才能使用，也不可以將大麻攜至州界之外。居民每次可購買1盎斯，非科羅拉多州民則為四分之一盎斯；找地方抽大麻也不容易，因為科羅拉多禁止阿姆斯特丹式的「咖啡店」。
實施這些規定已非易事，但科羅拉多官員還得讓聯邦政府滿意才行，因為1970年的藥物管制法案仍舊將大麻列為非法。8月時，副司法部長柯爾（James
Cole）發佈備忘錄，顯示聯邦政府會允許科羅拉多和華盛頓的試驗，只要它們不妨礙販售給未成年人、販售至州外等8項「優先執法事項」即可。不過，鄰近地區現在已經出現源自科羅拉多的大麻了。如果科羅拉多和華盛頓能成功推行大麻合法化，勢必會有更多州跟進；但如果情況完全失控，大麻合法化也將煙消雲散。（黃維德譯）
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2014
The Economist
The Economist explains
How does
Colorado's marijuana market work?
By The Economist
From The Economist
Published: January 09, 2014
Jan 6th 2014, 23:50 by T.N. | DENVER
ON JANUARY 1st, 420 days after the citizens of Colorado voted to
legalise marijuana, around 37 pot shops across the state opened their doors to
all-comers. Stoners in Denver and other cities braved freezing temperatures and
two-hour queues to be part of this historic moment, for Colorado has become the
first jurisdiction anywhere in the world to oversee a legal, regulated market
for recreational marijuana (20 states plus Washington, DC, allow patients with
doctors' recommendations to buy the stuff). Some customers were turned away,
some shops have been forced temporarily to close while they replenish stocks,
but "Green Wednesday", as it was inevitably dubbed, was generally
considered a big success. How exactly does Colorado's marijuana market function?
Amendment 64, the measure approved by 55% of voters in November 2012,
set certain parameters for Colorado's marijuana regime, including maximum tax
rates and the rights of cities and counties to exclude pot shops from their
jurisdictions. But the details were worked out by officials and legislators
over the course of 2013. Unlike many states (including Washington, which has
also legalised marijuana but not yet licensed recreational outlets) Colorado's
medical-marijuana system is well regulated; not only did that make full
legalisation an easier sell to voters, it provided a foundation for the
recreational industry. Until October only licensed medical outlets "in
good standing" can serve recreational customers, which is why lots of the
shops that opened on January 1sthave names like Citi-Med and Medicine Man.
Colorado's system of "vertical integration", under which retailers
must cultivate most of the stuff they sell themselves, will also remain in
place until October; this makes monitoring easier for the state, even if one
irritated observer likens it to a supermarket owning apple orchards.
One challenge is to set prices at what Mark Kleiman, an analyst, calls
the "Goldilocks point": too low and you encourage excessive
consumption and out-of-state exports; too high and you leave room for illicit
dealers. The market has not settled in yet, but prices for recreational
marijuana, currently around $250-$300 for an ounce of good weed, will be
significantly higher than the medical stuff, thanks to hefty taxes: a 15% excise
tax levied on "average market rate" and a special 10% sales tax (the
state's general 2.9% sales tax will also apply). Only those aged over 21 may
buy, possess and use marijuana in Colorado; they may consume it only on private
property with the consent of the property-owner, and they may not transfer it
across state lines. Residents may purchase up to an ounce at a time;
out-of-staters are limited to a quarter-ounce, and, if buying weed rather than
edibles, face the extra challenge of finding somewhere to smoke it:
Amsterdam-style "coffee shops" are banned. Locals can grow up to six
plants at home, and give away (but not sell) the proceeds. (The full
rulebook extends to 136 pages.)
Implementing all this will be hard enough. But Colorado's officials must
also keep the federal government happy. Marijuana remains illegal under the
1970 Controlled Substances Act, and the feds have been more than willing to
crack down on some medical-marijuana operators in recent years. In August James
Cole, the deputy attorney-general, issued a memosuggesting that the federal
government will allow the experiments in Colorado and Washington to proceed so
long as they do not impede eight "enforcement priorities", including
the diversion of marijuana to minors and to other states. But that is not a
foregone conclusion: Colorado-sourced medical marijuana has been turning upin
neighbouring states. The American public is beginning to rejectprohibition and
its attendant injustices. If Colorado and Washington manage not to screw things
up, more states will surely follow them in legalising—including California,
probably in 2016. But if it all goes wrong, as it may, the whole thing could go
up in smoke.
©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2014
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