[Vision2020] Pot Tax Could Amount to $1.3 Billion Annually

[Tom Hansen]

Courtesy of today's (July 16, 2009) San Francisco Chronicle at:

http://tinyurl.com/atlumc

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Ammiano wants to make marijuana legal in state
Wyatt Buchanan, Chronicle Staff Writer

California would become the first state in the nation to legalize
marijuana for recreational use under a bill introduced Monday by
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco.

The proposal would regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21
years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which
is barred by federal law.

Ammiano, a Democrat in his third month as a state lawmaker, said taxes and
other fees associated with regulation could put more than a billion
dollars a year into state coffers at a time when revenues continue to
decline.

He said he thinks the federal government could soften its stance on
marijuana under the Obama administration.

"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," Ammiano said. "I think the outcome would be very healthy for
California and California's economy."

A spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Agency in Washington, D.C.,
declined to comment on the proposal. A White House spokesman referred to a
statement on a question-and-answer section of an Obama transition team
blog that says the president "is not in favor of the legalization of
marijuana."

While Californians have shown some tolerance for marijuana, such as use
for medical conditions with voters' passage of Proposition 215 in 1996,
the proposal will face tough opposition in Sacramento.

A lobbyist for key police associations in the state called it "a bad idea
whose time has not come."

"The last thing our society needs is yet more legal intoxicants," said
John Lovell, who represents the California Peace Officers' Association,
California Police Chiefs Association and California Narcotic Officers'
Association. "We've got enough social problems now when people aren't in
charge of all five of their senses."

But Ammiano's proposal has the support of San Francisco Sheriff Michael
Hennessey, who said the idea "should be the subject of legislative and
public debate."

It also has the backing of Betty Yee, who chairs the state Board of
Equalization, which collects taxes in California. An analysis by the
agency concluded the state would collect $1.3 billion a year from tax
revenues and a $50-an-ounce levy on retail sales if marijuana were legal.

The analysis also concluded that legalizing marijuana would drop its
street value by 50 percent and increase consumption of the substance by 40
percent.

A spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project, which advocates for reform
in marijuana laws and is backing Ammiano's proposal, said any expected
increase in consumption is a "false notion."

"They are making an intuitive assumption that a lot of people make that
really does not have that much evidence behind it," said Bruce Mirken, the
group's spokesman, who predicted it could take up to two years before the
idea wins legislative approval.

"Don't tell me that doing something like (this) proposal is going to
introduce another drug into society. That's a load of bull."

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Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco

http://tinyurl.com/TomAmmiano

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ammiano

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown