AN EASY, AND REALISTIC IDEA FOR SMOKING OUR DEFICIT

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, may be ridiculed for his
idea, but it's worth considering if only for its novelty.

Instead of keeping it illegal to sell marijuana, legalize its sale to
those over 21 years old, and tax it.

This idea of creating another "sin tax" is not new. We already do it
with cigarettes and tobacco, but have shied away from going after
what is considered a "narcotic," like marijuana -- probably because
law enforcement and growers like the money that comes their way. Law
enforcement would have to redirect their anti-drug teams against real
crimes, and growers would see their enormous profits taxed.

However, the time may have come to consider Ammiano's idea
officially. His Assembly Bill 390 would charge cannabis wholesalers
$5,000 initially and $2,500 annually for the right to distribute
weed. Retail outlets would pay fees of $50 per ounce of cannabis to
generate revenue for drug education programs statewide. The bill
would prohibit cannabis near schools. It also would ban smoking it in
public places or growing it in public view. Millions in revenue could
be used by the state for health programs -- and more.

We should have learned our lesson years ago when the nation tried to
prohibit the sale of alcohol. As a result we saw a growth in
organized crime. The same thing has occurred with the criminalization
of minor drugs such as marijuana, which is a lot less harmful than
some of the pills popped by those suffering back pain.

"Marijuana already plays a huge role in the California economy,"
Stephen Gutwillig, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance was
quoted as saying this week. "It's a revenue opportunity we literally
can't afford to ignore any longer."

Let's admit our present drug policy is a failure and try something
new. Let's tax the state's largest cash crop.