As far as money is concerned, I don't see how people can argue that this won't create revenue and jobs. It takes a significant work force to grow, package and distribute tobacco; that same size work force would be needed to grow marijuana, and instead of existing under the table would now become legal and thus contribute to social security, income taxes, etc. The tax on the marijuana itself, as long as it isn't so high as to encourage people to continue to use the black market to purchase it, would create more revenue for a government that we can all agree is sorely in need of it.
That all looks good on paper and makes sense when looking at it through an entry level college business course but there are many more issues that go into the equation.
I can only speak from the point of view of Washington State. For years, as long as I can remember liquor in this state was sold only through State run Liquor Stores. The State owned and operated the entire Liquor Sales, they also set prices and regulated what was sold. Just recently the State voted to privatize Liquor sales, the overriding factor in this vote was to take the State out of the Liquor business. The money spent by the state operating the liquor sales off set what they brought in with the taxes.
I fear that setting up a new department within the Liquor Control Board to monitor and run State stores that will be allowed to sell the Pot will off set a lot of the money that is brought in.
The state has already stated they will tax each phase starting with the growers, then the distributors, then the sales. When you factor it the costs of growing the pot legitimately, wages, equipment, and overhead costs, the price of 1 oz. of Pot will not go down in price, not when compared to the cost of what is brought into the country illegally. While some jobs may be created in the private and public sector, I don't think the states are going to see the windfall from the sales of pot that the campaigns claimed, not when you factor in the costs to regulate and monitor the new industry.
Add to this the new situation local law enforcement will have to handle. While they no longer will be going after the casual user, they will now be tasked to stop the blackmarket sales, this will add to the state's budget, not reduce it. The fight to keep illegal Pot out of the state will not go away, the trafficers are not just going to say "Well it's legal now, let's take our ball and go home" Law enforcement officers will still be involved in the dangerous job of keeping the illegal Pot out of the state. The only real benefit of all this is that the illegal Pot may cost less then the State approved Pot sales after all the taxes that have been proposed are added.
This is new territory for the States, it won't be like the medical use sales, it will be a whole new frontier for them. It will be inetersting to see how it all looks in a year or so, that is if the Feds don't sue the states to repeal the new law.