IT'S NOT EASY BEING GREEN

Even in the greenest state in the union, marijuana is still considered
a taboo subject.

A pro-marijuana group launched a television advertisement Wednesday in
California advocating legalization and taxation of the drug as a
potential solution to the state's $26.3 billion budget deficit.

Four TV stations, including two in Los Angeles, one in San Francisco
and another in San Jose refused to run the ad sponsored by the
Marijuana Policy Project.

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco introduced a bill
that would tax the potent plant the same as tobacco and alcohol.

Bill supporters claim California's pot industry, home to a third of
the controversial crop, would yield $1 billion in tax revenue if the
drug was taxed $50 per ounce.

This is all assuming the numbers (which no doubt are provided by the
marijuana lobby) of a $14 billion crop in California are correct.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has asked for massive changes for
California's public employee pension system, welfare programs, and
Medi-Cal as the state tries to find an answer for its budget deficit.
The situation appears to be worsening, as the state's credit rating
has fallen to its lowest level in five years.

The Golden State is already the only state in the union to allow the
sale of marijuana through medical dispensaries for buyers with a
doctor's prescription, but don't expect to see Ammiano's bill to
successfully navigate its way to Schwarzenegger's desk in Sacramento.

The decision of the TV stations not to run the ad shows there is still
plenty of anti-marijuana sentiment. Three of the four stations came
from two of the most seemingly liberal cities in the nation.

The 30-second spot features a medical marijuana patient of three years
saying the state leaders "are ignoring millions of Californians who
want to pay taxes."

If the taxation of marijuana is a legitimate source of much-needed tax
money, it deserves to at least be talked about at the dinner table.

Generations of Americans still associate the ills of marijuana with
the propaganda style "Reefer Madness" era, when, in all actuality,
most pot users are more likely to sit on the couch rather than be of
any harm to themselves or anyone else.

A Marijuana Policy Project spokesman said the intention of the ad was
not to promote pot use, but merely spark discussion.

Although it is the politically correct answer, there just might be
some truth to it.