# The Drug War: This Time It Gets Stupid **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 29, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163 "2004-12-29T22:36:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/1 "2004-12-29T22:36:53Z")
[State of Tennessee to tax illegal drug sales.](http://www.tennessean.com/government/archives/04/12/63433882.shtml?Element_ID=63433882) > [@](#): > > Drug peddlers will be required to pay state excise taxes on illegal substances — from marijuana to moonshine, from cocaine to the often illegally obtained prescription painkiller OxyContin — under a new law that goes into effect Saturday. Oh yeah, I can really see this stopping drug sales. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/2 "2004-12-29T22:42:24Z")
I could be wrong, but I think the goal is to be able to charge drug dealers with additional crimes (i.e., tax evasion). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/3 "2004-12-29T22:44:08Z")
This has been done by other states for years. They don’t really expect anyone to pay the tax, or that the law will discourage people from trafficking – it’s just there to facilitate asset seizure. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/4 "2004-12-29T22:53:40Z")
It has a long and proud tradition. There’s a Federal rap to go with it, failure to buy a Marijuana Tax Stamp. When Timothy Leary was busted, this is what they nailed him for, because they wanted a Federal beef, not some piddling state thing. Also, they had all these expenses from Feebs tailing him everywhere, and, shit, they had to have _something!_ What is it, Lassie? Is it Timmy? Has he fallen into the well? Have the Feds got him? ---
**Author:** ![Arwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Arwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arwin)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/5 "2004-12-29T22:55:18Z")
One of the few issues that makes the world-civilian in me become temporarily nationalistic - just temporarily though, as it doesn’t work as good without the rest of the world cooperating. 😃 (yes, I’m Dutch) ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/6 "2004-12-29T23:04:06Z")
Reading the Reuters \*Oddly Enough \* book (a collection of their goofy articles), there has been at least one case where money the gov’t. seized from a drug dealer was returned (tho’ this was in Australia). I can’t wait to see what the courts get clogged with in this. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/7 "2004-12-29T23:09:26Z")
On a [brighter note](http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2969260), a Texas lawmaker wants to eliminate jail time for people caught with small amounts of marijuana. We’ll have to see if it passes though, I don’t know how many of our legislators are bright enough to figure out that locking up Joe Stoner for a month for posession of a joint is expensive overkill. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/8 "2004-12-29T23:18:30Z")
Whaddya mean “this time”? ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/9 "2004-12-29T23:53:31Z")
I just read that in _The Tennessean_ today, **Tuckerfan**. I just know the two offices they set up for tax collection purposes will be swamped on January 1. I liked it that the NORML representative suggested that if people are expected to pay tax on marijuana, they should expect it to be legal. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/10 "2004-12-30T00:09:43Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > It has a long and proud tradition. There’s a Federal rap to go with it, failure to buy a Marijuana Tax Stamp. When Timothy Leary was busted, this is what they nailed him for, because they wanted a Federal beef, not some piddling state thing. Also, they had all these expenses from Feebs tailing him everywhere, and, shit, they had to have _something!_ Didn’t Leary actually beat this rap, based on the fact that it was nonsensical to enforce the law requiring you to buy the tax stamp when possession and distribution were already completely illegal in every state? Did the Federal Government ever actually make and sell Marijuana Tax Stamps? ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/11 "2004-12-30T00:18:32Z")
It was a variety of this law that finally nail Capine, I seem to recall. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/12 "2004-12-30T00:19:11Z")
That’s how they got Al Capone…income tax evasion. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/13 "2004-12-30T00:20:20Z")
Curses, **JC**! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/14 "2004-12-30T03:51:16Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > This has been done by other states for years. > > They don’t really expect anyone to pay the tax, or that the law will discourage people from trafficking – it’s just there to facilitate asset seizure. Yeah, I know, so why the hell don’t they just come out and _say_ that? Oh wait, I forgot, laws are made by politicians, and most of them couldn’t tell the truth if their life depended upon it. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/15 "2004-12-30T04:08:44Z")
Wait, so you’re saying that if I pay taxes on the 17 kilos of coke in my trunk right now by the 31st of December, I can’t get in trouble for it? I love The Dope. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/16 "2004-12-30T04:49:33Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > It was a variety of this law that finally nail Capine, I seem to recall. Income tax evasion seems somewhat different - the rule is you pay tax on all your income, whatever its source. I know it has been used against people involved in the illegal aspects of the sex industry when no other charges could be made to stick. This is more problematic, though, as it charges a tax on possession of something you are not allowed to possess. I don’t know Tennessee’s asset seizure laws, but it would not surprise me if federal seizures had priority over state ones, but state tax claims had priority over both. This could then be a way of ensuring the state got to keep some of the dealer’s assets, rather than seeing it go to Uncle Sam. ---
**Author:** ![TonyF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@TonyF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonyF)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/17 "2004-12-30T05:56:40Z")
It’d be cool if, like, the law passes. But then, like, it turns out that you can’t tax things that are illegal. So, like, drugs are made legal implicitly by some judge, and then all the talking heads over at Fox will explode with indignation. Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/18 "2004-12-30T06:33:28Z")
I don’t know how Tennessee is planning to operate the law, but in at least some of the states where such taxes exist, there’s been an effort made to allow people to purchase the tax stamp without automatically incriminating themselves. I don’t know that it works very well, in convincing the dealers to buy the tax stamps, but… ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/19 "2004-12-30T08:26:29Z")
Y’know, I don’t really like this idea that much, but anyone dumb enough to go out and pay taxes on their illegal drug deals deserves whatever they get. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2004, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163/20 "2004-12-30T08:55:06Z")
> [@OtakuLoki](#): > > I don’t know how Tennessee is planning to operate the law, but in at least some of the states where such taxes exist, there’s been an effort made to allow people to purchase the tax stamp without automatically incriminating themselves. I don’t know that it works very well, in convincing the dealers to buy the tax stamps, but… According to the Tennessean, privacy laws prevent the information being given to the police. Of course, given that as we all know dugs fund terrorism, I am sure it can be given to the Department of Homeland Security some how. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-drug-war-this-time-it-gets-stupid/282163.md?page=2)