Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World", written in 1931 and published the following year is now fully realized in our midst. Governments sanction and encourage citizens to be stoned as often as possible. As you will see in the news piece below from Washington State, even mayors applaud and participate in the rush to get stupid. Leadership?
(Bloomberg) -- North Bonneville, Washington, has become the
first U.S. town to open its own recreational marijuana store, in
an experiment that could serve as a model for cash-strapped
cities looking for ways to generate revenue.
The city of almost 1,000 on the Oregon border opened
Cannabis Corner on Saturday to a line of about 30 people.
Officials estimate the store will produce about $3.5 million in
revenue in the first year, some of which will be steered to
police and public-health expenses.
“This city has a hard time paying its bills and so this,
if it turns out to be a good operation, will be a financial boon
to our community,” said Steven Hasson, the city administrator.
“If we’re successful, other cities here in Washington and
around the country will look at it as a possible option.”
North Bonneville, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) east of
Portland, Oregon, opened the store three years after residents
in Washington and Colorado voted to legalize recreational
marijuana use. Oregon and Alaska followed last year.
The city, nestled in a gorge surrounded by evergreen-lined
cliffs, had a budget of $1.2 million last year and ran a
shortfall ranging from $30,000 to $60,000, Hasson said.
The city used about $280,000 in private loans to renovate
and stock the store without dipping into taxpayer dollars, said
Tim Dudley, president and chairman of the five-member North
Bonneville Public Development Authority, created by the city to
run the business. Initial profits will go toward repaying the
loans, with an estimated $100,000 in revenue steered to the city
in its first year and double that in the second year, he said.
$108 Million
Statewide, recreational marijuana stores generated $108
million in marijuana sales and $27 million in taxes since they
began operating in July, according to data from the Washington
State Liquor Control Board, which regulates the industry.
North Bonneville was the only city in Washington to apply
for an application to run its own store, according to board
spokesman Mikhail Carpenter. The liquor board has issued 124
other licenses for privately run stores in Washington, he said.
The store, which is housed in a 1,400-square-foot renovated
concrete company maintenance shop, has 11 employees who qualify
for state retirement benefits, Dudley said.
About 60 percent of customers were locals and the rest
tourists, Dudley said. The nearest marijuana stores are about 40
miles away, he said.
‘Constant Flow’
“It’s been a constant flow of people,” Dudley said. “So
far the sales have exceeded our initial expectations.”
If all goes as planned, marijuana-derived funds will pay
for animal control and turning on street lights that were dimmed
for budget reasons, said Hasson, the city administrator.
“There are just a variety of things that are basic
services that people expect that they’re not getting that this
will help pay for,” Hasson said.
Bob Bianchi, a North Bonneville city council member, said
he opposed the store because it would encourage drug use. The
five-member city council agreed, on a 3-1 vote, to create the
Public Development Authority, with Bianchi on vacation and
council member Mike Hamilton voting against it.
“I don’t believe we need another habitual drug added to
society,” Bianchi said. “We already have alcohol, tobacco,
cigarettes.”
Mayor Don Stevens backed the store and was met with
applause when he became the first to buy marijuana there on
Saturday.
The publicly run store isn’t subject to federal income
taxes and Washington is an income tax-free state, allowing the
store to charge less for marijuana, Hasson said.
“You have a quality product and you keep the cost down and
you don’t have a lot of competition, which we don’t, then you’re
pretty much in the financial driver’s seat,” he said.
Consumers visiting from other states, including Oregon, are
required to consume their purchases in Washington, he said.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Alison Vekshin in San Francisco at
avekshin@bloomberg.net
