Question

in 300 words, Consider this statement. Government should implement a policy that sees the tax levied on smokeable forms of cannabis be priced higher/taxed heavier than edibles or other non-smokeable forms. is this a reasonable policy? Why or why not?

Answer 1

I do not support the statement and strongly believe that government should not implement a policy that sees the tax levied on smokeable forms of cannabis be priced higher/taxed heavier than edibles or other non-smokeable forms. This is because if higher taxes are levied and imposed on smokable forms of cannabis then the consumers will tend to consume more of edible form of cannabis as the edible form of cannabis will be cheaper because of the lower amount of tax imposed on them.

Scientifically both forms of consuming cannabis – i.e. smoking cannabis or consuming cannabis in its edible form – are equally bad for a person’s health. It should also be noted that both ingesting cannabis as well as smoking cannabis will have equal chances of giving the individual some side effects as well besides being injurious to health.

As such when government imposes a policy that levies more tax on smokable forms of cannabis then people will tend to start consuming more and more of edibles and this will not serve the underlying objective or goal of taxing cannabis products. It should also be noted that it is risky to buy edible form of cannabis as there is no real way of knowing whether the company making the edible cannabis products is abiding by the basic food handling guidelines or not. Another important aspect is that in case of edible cannabis products there is generally a lag after which the impact of consumption hits the human body. As such the individual who is consuming the edible cannabis product does not know when he has consumed enough of the product.

To conclude the policy of levying higher taxes on smokeable forms of cannabis does not make sense at all as it promotes one form of evil by discouraging another form of evil.

(301 words)