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

[lfalen]

Keely, Tom and Ted
I think that we all agree on this.
Roger
-----Original message-----
From: keely emerinemix kjajmix1 at msn.com
Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:09:24 -0700
To: Tom Hansen thansen at moscow.com,  vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Pot Tax Could Amount to $1.3 Billion Annually

> 
> This just seems so obvious to me, perhaps more so as a someone who endures chronic pain for which marijuana could be helpful.  It seems absurd that someone smoking a joint on a Friday night, at home listening to NPR, Cat Stevens, or Wilco, ought to even be on law enforcement's radar screen.
> 
> Legalize it, regulate it, control it, tax it, and solve a few problems while moving on to issue a lot less clear.  
> 
> Keely
> http://keely-prevailingwinds.blogspot.com/
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:37:33 -0700
> > From: thansen at moscow.com
> > To: vision2020 at moscow.com
> > Subject: [Vision2020] Pot Tax Could Amount to $1.3 Billion Annually
> > 
> > Courtesy of today's (July 16, 2009) San Francisco Chronicle at:
> > 
> > http://tinyurl.com/atlumc
> > 
> > -------------------------------------------------
> > 
> > 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."
> > 
> > ---------------
> > 
> > Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco
> > 
> > http://tinyurl.com/TomAmmiano
> > 
> > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Ammiano
> > 
> > -------------------------------------------------
> > 
> > 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
> > 
> > 
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