SCHWARZENEGGER SAYS IT'S TIME TO TAKE A NEW LOOK AT POT LAWS

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that California
should study other nations' experiences in legalizing and taxing
marijuana, although he is not supporting the idea.

He said it's time to debate proposals such as a bill introduced in
the Legislature earlier this year that would treat marijuana like alcohol.

State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a San Francisco Democrat, said
legalizing marijuana for adults over age 21 and taxing it at $50 an
ounce would help the state as it faces annual budget deficits.
Ammiano cited a California Board of Equalization estimate that the
tax could bring in $1.3 billion a year, depending on various assumptions.

"It's time for debate. ... I'm always for an open debate on it,"
Schwarzenegger said in response to a question during a news
conference. He was in Davis, a university town west of the state
capital, to promote wildfire safety.

He also cautioned that some other nations have had negative experiences.

"I think we want to look at all that," the governor said. "Just
because of raising revenues, we have to be very careful not to make
mistakes at the same time."

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear later said the governor was
drawing on his conversations with officials in Europe, including a
police officer in his hometown of Graz, Austria.

"He's talked to some folks over in Europe," McLear said. "It hasn't
worked out so well for them."

Ammiano spokesman Quintin Mecke said he is unaware of any negative
consequences from taxing marijuana. He cited studies that show
treating the drug as a regulated commodity reduced consumption among
young users.

"We would welcome the debate. The debate is long overdue," Mecke said
Tuesday. "Not only as a state but as a country, it's time to have a
rational drug policy."

Ammiano's bill is on hold in the state Legislature. He delayed
seeking approval until next year.

California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana,
doing so in 1996.

Schwarzenegger previously has shown a casual attitude toward
marijuana. He was filmed smoking a joint in the 1977 film, "Pumping
Iron." And he told the British version of GQ in 2007, "That is not a
drug. It's a leaf." McLear downplayed the governor's comment as a
joke at the time.