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hide captionThe legalization of marijuana could dry up a revenue stream for police, according to reports. Here, two men share a water pipe underneath the Space Needle shortly after a law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana took effect in Seattle, Wash., in 2012.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
The legalization of marijuana could dry up a revenue stream for police, according to reports. Here, two men share a water pipe underneath the Space Needle shortly after a law legalizing the recreational use of marijuana took effect in Seattle, Wash., in 2012.
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images
Some U.S. states are viewing the legalization of marijuana as a chance to gain new sources of tax revenue. Several states allow its use for medical reasons; Colorado has approved its recreational use, and Washington will follow suit this year.
But the decriminalization of pot also stands to remove a funding source for police: property forfeitures from drug dealers. Such funding is "going up in smoke," The Wall Street Journal reports.
Of the $6.5 billion in asset forfeitures in drug cases from 2002-2012, marijuana accounted for $1 billion, the Journal says, citing data from the U.S. Justice Department.
And while most cash generated from drug-related property forfeitures goes to the law enforcement agency that made the bust, tax money from legal marijuana sales goes to state and local governments. Police may get only a share of that money, or none at all.
In a graphic titled "Money Pot," the Journal lists the 10 states that had the highest amounts of asset forfeitures processed by the U.S. government in that 10-year period. Here's the list:
When compared to other drugs, marijuana offers a unique opportunity to police, The Journal's Zusha Elinson writes. Its distinct odor that aids detection is only part of the equation.
- California - $181.4 million
- New York – $101.3 million
- Florida – $80.5 million
- Texas – $64.3 million
- Ohio – $39.2 million
- Arizona – $36.8 million
- Michigan – $36 million
- North Carolina - $34.9 million
- Georgia – $26.2 million
- Wisconsin – $24.7 million
"The advantage with marijuana is that it's one location, and you can make a lot of money off of one grow," attorney Matthew York, who's worked on drug forfeiture cases in Washington state, tells Elinson. "These other drug dealers, they make a lot of money, but they're harder to find."
