POT-LUCK: LET'S BRING SOME GREEN TO STATE

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has made a proposal that could bring a lot
more green to California's future, and I don't just mean money.

Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has proposed a bill that would legalize and
tax recreational marijuana. The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and
Education Act would legalize the selling and consuming of marijuana to
people ages 21 and over.

According to Board of Equalization estimates, legalizing and taxing
marijuana could generate around $1.3 billion per year from marijuana
sales, $990 million from retailer fees and $349 million in sales taxes.

"With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move
towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense,"
Ammiano said in a press release.

The opposing arguments to this proposal are trite and naive. This bill
will not make marijuana easier for children to obtain. It will not
send a bad message. And it will not portray drugs as being a good thing.

Let's face it: if people want to get high, they will do so regardless
of the law. By legalizing marijuana, we could rebuild our economy and
allow law enforcement to focus on more critical issues.

"A state-sponsored survey of California children in 2007 found that
marijuana had been used by 9 percent of seventh-graders, 25 percent of
high school freshmen, and 42 percent of 11th-graders," according to a
Feb. 24 Sacramento Bee article. Under the current law, children aren't
having any trouble getting their hands on pot.

If anything, this act would make it harder for children to get
marijuana. This new proposal would allow law enforcement to focus more
attention on youth possession of this drug rather then distributing
petty punishments to adults who choose to recreationally smoke weed.

The bill could also use some of the tax revenues from marijuana to
develop substance abuse education and awareness programs.

"Regardless of the economy, it is time to take the next step with
marijuana," said Quintin Mecke, Ammiano's communications director.

Alcohol and tobacco are just as dangerous, if not more harmful than
marijuana, yet both are legal. Keeping marijuana illegal is only
feeding the silly taboo that America has created around this drug.

From an appetite stimulant to a sleep agent, marijuana has already
been legalized for medicinal purposes. Now it is time to legalize it
for recreational use. Keeping marijuana illegal makes no sense.

"Assembly member Ammiano has done the state an enormous service by
breaking the silence on this commonsense solution," said Stephen
Gutwillig, California state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in a
press release.

While decriminalization of marijuana should be the goal for all of
America, we must take one step at a time and be patient.

Whether or not the federal government will acknowledge the state
legalization of recreational weed is unknown. However, if this bill
does pass, state and local officers will be prohibited from enforcing
marijuana laws.

"As far as the feds, it's not my nature and it's not in California's
history to wait around for the feds," Ammiano said in a March 1 San
Francisco Chronicle article.

This bill is working its way through committees and there is no
telling what the final vote will be. Ammiano has certainly made a
large impact by initiating such a simple, yet controversial act. The
reactions to this proposal have been and will continue to be mixed.

I certainly hope that California is mature enough to move past the
juvenile connotations of marijuana and realize that like alcohol, this
substance can be used responsibly. This bill would be a
ground-breaking legislative step and a huge boost for our economy. It
could even be the solution to California's recession.

Marijuana laws have already become the lowest priority of enforcement
in several different cities. With the current economic crisis, it
seems like the perfect time to bring some green into the picture.

"Do we think we have a chance?" Mecke asked. "Certainly."

Toking up could just be the economic stimulus that our state needs.