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

Thu Jul 16 11:05:16 PDT 2009

Yea!

Keely
http://keely-prevailingwinds.blogspot.com/

> Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:55:03 -0700
> From: lfalen at turbonet.com
> To: kjajmix1 at msn.com; thansen at moscow.com; vision2020 at moscow.com
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Pot Tax Could Amount to $1.3 Billion Annually
> 
> 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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> > 
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