MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION PROPOSED AT CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY

Proposed Bill Claims Huge Tax Benefits For State

California Assemblymember Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, announced
legislation on Feb. 23 that would make California the first state to
legalize marijuana for recreational use.

The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education act, also known as AB
390, would make it legal for anyone over the age of 21 to grow, buy,
possess and sell marijuana. AB 390 would levy a tax of $50 per ounce
of marijuana, which would help to stabilize the California budget by
raising about $1 billion annually in tax revenue, according to
Ammiano. California lawmakers voted to close the state's $42 billion
budget deficit on Feb. 20.

The marijuana industry in California brings in an estimated $14
billion each year, making it easily the most profitable crop in the
state, more than both grapes and vegetables combined.

California is no stranger to marijuana legislation, being the first
state to legalize medicinal use of marijuana in 1996. This is the
first bill that has ever been introduced to legalize marijuana, however.

John Lovell, legislative counsel for the California Narcotics
Officers' Association, doesn't see legalizing marijuana as realistic.

"This is one of those bills that get a lot of press," said Lovell.
"But at the end of the day, we don't think it's going to pass."

Lovell said the $50 tax on marijuana will be ineffective because legal
taxable marijuana will not be competitive with the illegal trade. AB
390 does not address this issue.

"If you're going to buy coffee at Starbucks," he said, "and all of the
sudden there's a $50 surcharge, and another place doesn't have that
charge, guess where you'll buy your coffee?"

Lovell also claims that AB 390 would affect the chances California
would have in attaining federal business grants, which call for a
drug-free working environment. With marijuana legalized, a drug-free
environment cannot be feasibly enforced, he said.

According to Allen St. Pierre, executive director of the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), California is
already reaping the benefits of medicinal marijuana.

"If cannabis was made legal proper, the state would see tens of
millions a day in new tax revenue," said St. Pierre in an e-mail
interview. "The only thing stopping the taxing and legally controlling
of one of the state's most valuable cash crops is political
leadership."

Legalizing marijuana would allow law enforcement to focus on harder
drugs such as methamphetamine, St. Pierre said. AB 390 would also
allow for the cultivation of hemp for industrial and manufacturing
purposes.

Ammiano is in only his third month as a state assemblyman. Geoffrey
Wandesforde-Smith, professor emeritus of political science at UC
Davis, said he sees the bill as a way for Ammiano to get attention.

"Mr. Ammiano was looking for an opportunity to make a statement," he
said in an e-mail interview. "And a simple Google search shows that he
attracted a great deal of attention."

Lovell remains unconvinced of the benefits of marijuana
legalization.

"The last thing we need in our community is another mind-altering
substance," he said.