In 1996, California became the first start to legalize medical marijuana. As cash-strapped as the state is, all bets are off. Assembly Bill AB 390 would legalize --- and tax --- marijuana sales in California.Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation Monday. If approved by the California Legislature and signed by the governor, it would effectively do what many have wanted: make pot the same as alcohol, in terms of legalities, anyway.
AB 390 has been endorsed by some law enforcement officials and would tax all pot sales at a rate of $50 per ounce.
At a news conference at the state building on Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco, Ammiano said:
"With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense. California has the opportunity to be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana."Besides that, of course, it would add, according to Ammiano, $1.3 billion in tax revenue annually.
Ammiano added:
"We could in fact have the political will to do something, and certainly in the meantime this is a public policy call and I think it's worth the discussion. I think the outcome would be very healthy for California and California's economy."Even if California were to pass this, federal law still prohibits marijuana use. That fact has gotten some medical marijuana users and growers into trouble, and AB 390 would just exacerbate that problem.
6 comments:
Perhaps this will be a step in the right direction and other states will follow suit. Of course, the federal gov. still needs to jump on the bandwagon so there is not the case of mom saying yes but daddy saying no and still punishing marijuana users.
But $50 in tax an ounce?!! Goodness, what a toll. Only worth it if it's legal on all fronts.
Good. To bad it took a financial collapse bought on by Mexicans to get the state to attempt to legalize weed.
As to the Fed's, I always felt the individual States were sovereign to the Federal Government. But somewhere this has to be addressed. The Fed cannot run it's own show, and does not have jurisdiction over any State.
The south lost the Civil War, remember? And the Articles of Confederation failed miserably. What the hell are you talking about?
What a wonderful idea. Us old hippies know the good uses of marijuana. What a great way to help with the economy. It was legal until proabition.
I am all for it!
Vote Craig X Rubin Mayor of Los Angeles! March 3, 2009
The Fed cannot run it's own show, and does not have jurisdiction over any State.
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