In this desperate economy, some argue that legalizing and taxing marijuana could plug multibillion-dollar holes in federal and state coffers. By John Dyer, MSN Money Daniel Stein says the salvation of US taxpayers could be marijuana. As Washington breaks the bank on Wall Street bailouts, President Barack Obama’s stimulus package and other spend-now, pay-later measures, most observers agree that politicians will eventually need to increase revenue or cut spending to cover the federal government's debts. Stein believes Washington could begin to balance its books now if politicians would take a serious look at his industry. The owner of two retail outlets that he claims generate $1 million in revenue annually, Stein says he pays around $80000 a year in sales taxes to the state of California. But the federal government, which does not acknowledge Stein's sales as legitimate commerce, gets nothing from his business. Sound odd? Not if you know that Stein sells marijuana. See inside a cannabis dispensary In fact, because federal authorities have spent time trying to close his and other medical-marijuana clubs, Washington is losing money on him. Imagine how much the feds would save if they stopped cracking down on sellers, Stein says. Lawyer: Why US should legalize pot "Cannabis is good for the economy," he said. "It's been here the whole time, but it's had a bad rap the entire time." As more people begin to see the merits in Stein's logic, that bad rap is changing. While <b>...</b>