BILL FILED TO LEGALIZE, TAX POT

Local Petitioner Highlights Revenue

A bill to legalize and tax marijuana in Massachusetts has been
introduced to both the House and Senate, after a request by a
Northampton man.

State Rep. Ellen Story, D-Amherst, and state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg,
D-Amherst, each filed the bill by request from petitioner and
Northampton resident Dick M. Evans.

Officials from both of the legislators' offices said they generally
file all petitions they receive, which may be submitted by
individuals, and said this is not necessarily an endorsement or
sponsorship of a bill's content.

Evans, 65, an attorney, filed the bill as a private citizen and said
the money generated through placing a sales tax on marijuana could be
in the millions. According to Rosenberg's chief of staff Nick Puleo,
the senator does not believe the bill has the support to pass through
the Senate right now.

A similar bill to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana was recently
introduced in California. The California Board of Equalization, which
collects taxes, estimated California's potential revenue from doing so
at $1.3 billion per year.

During an online town hall-style meeting from the White House
Thursday, President Barack Obama said one of the most popular
questions submitted was whether legalization of marijuana would help
the country's economy. Obama answered by saying he didn't think that
it was a good economic policy, according to The Associated Press.

Besides being an attempt to earn the state more money, Evans said, the
bill is meant "to prompt an open and honest debate about the wisdom
and efficacy of marijuana prohibition."

"I'm not trying to legalize it; I'm trying to talk about it," said
Evans. "I'm trying to open the door to discussion."

Rosenberg does not necessarily support the bill, said Puleo, but his
decision on whether he would approve a vote on the bill in the Senate
would depend on what the final draft looks like. Bills often change
before reaching the Senate floor.

Evans was optimistic during a March 25 interview with the National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, where he once worked on
the group's board of directors.

"I'm confident that there will be widespread support for regulation
and taxation," he said at the time. "I don't know anyone that opposes
it, frankly."

Under Senate Bill 1801 and House Bill 2929, both filed on Jan. 16 and
titled "An Act to Regulate and Tax the Cannabis Industry," possession
or cultivation of cannabis by a person, over 21 years old, for
personal use would be made legal.

Treated Like Alcohol

The legislation would also allow for marijuana to be sold. Selling
marijuana would be taxed and legal to only licensed individuals and is
modeled after Chapter 138 of the Massachusetts General Laws, the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, which regulates the selling and
taxation of alcohol.

There is no set timetable yet on bill's next step, being reviewed by
committee.

Cannabis grown for personal use would not be taxed. Marijuana grown or
distributed for a profit would be divided into three taxation classes
based on how much tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive
component of marijuana, each contained.

Cannabis with more than 1 percent but less than 5 percent THC would be
Class C and taxed $150 per ounce. Marijuana with 5 percent or more but
less than 10 percent THC would be taxed $200 per ounce as Class B.
Class A, containing 10 percent or more THC, would be taxed $250 per
ounce.

The percentages of THC would be determined by comparing the THC
content to dry weight, without seeds.

The state-run Cannabis Control Authority would be created to supervise
"the conduct of the business of cultivating, possessing, distributing,
sale at retail and wholesale and importing cannabis, and also of the
quality, purity and grade thereof."

Revenue generated by taxation would cover the costs associated with
the authority, and excess funds would go to the commonwealth.

The authority would receive $2.5 million in initial funding from the
state and would be responsible for licensing retailers, importers,
farmers, processors and traders, and wholesale distributors. The cost
of each license ranges from $1,000 annually for a processing license
up to $3,000 for a trader license.

The bill comes at a time when dozens of towns in the state, including
Springfield, are trying to increase the penalties for marijuana use,
which were reduced statewide when nearly two-thirds of voters approved
decriminalization legislation via a ballot question in November.

Meanwhile, bills looking to legalize growing marijuana for medicinal
purposes are also under consideration by state legislators.

UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition said the group supports the idea of
regulation and taxation, but currently is putting its focus on
legalizing medicinal marijuana, according to CRC treasurer Alex Arsenault.

Medical Might Make More Sense

"We did just pass Question 2 a few months ago," said Arsenault, who
said that passing a bill for legalization might be tough because
decriminalization was approved so recently. "The next logical step is
legalizing medicinal marijuana."

"No living person is responsible for the prohibition laws," said Evans
on a Web site, www.cantaxreg.com [1], that he created about the bill.
"They were conceived three generations ago in a cultural and racial
climate very different from our own, and very different from that to
which we aspire. They are now, if anything, obsolete."

Evans said public officials who support continued prohibition efforts
should explain how many more people need to be arrested, how much that
will cost and where the money will come from.

"Absent any good answers to those questions, a productive discussion
necessarily turns from whether to replace prohibition to how to
replace it," he said.

Evans said states are not allowed to act on their own to create a
system of taxation and regulation unless federal law allows it.
However, states can repeal prohibition laws and leave enforcement up
to federal - not state - officials.

"That would surely get the attention of Congress," said
Evans.

Laws concerning the operation of a motor vehicle while under the
influence of marijuana would not be changed. The crime is punishable
of a fine of up to $1,000 or imprisonment up to two years, or both,
and may result in the loss of an offender's driver's license.

The current bill was first filed in the Massachusetts House in 1981,
following a citizen petition. It was slightly modified and
reintroduced this year.