OAKLAND PROPOSES STATEWIDE SEMI-LEGALIZATION OF POT

Oakland marijuana activists are looking for nearly 434,000 signatures
statewide to support a ballot measure that would allow adults 21 and
over to possess up to an ounce of pot.

Organizers filed the measure with the California Attorney General's
Office Tuesday with the hopes of getting enough signatures to include
the measure -- which would also allow homeowners to grow marijuana
for personal use on garden plots up to 25 square feet -- on the
November 2010 ballot.

The initiative comes on the heels of several initiatives moving
toward legalizing and regulating marijuana, prompting some local
activists and officials to point to California's failing economy and
changing attitudes as impetus.

"Marijuana is California's largest cash crop," said Greg Allen, an
attorney who has been a medical marijuana activist for more than a
decade. Allen said the latest movements toward taxing marijuana will
have significant economic benefits for the state. Legalizing it would
also lower the price of marijuana, possibly leading to less
criminalized behavior associated with the underground marijuana
market, Allen said.

"If marijuana were legalized in the state of California there would
be lower law enforcement costs, pretty much from prosecuting to paper
clips to police officers. And, it would clearly lower incarceration
costs," he said, adding that law enforcement efforts could then be
directed toward other issues of greater concern.

Humboldt County Sheriff Gary Philp said his department already makes
an effort to not go far beyond the necessary boundaries when it comes
to marijuana enforcement.

"We make an overt effort not to deal with people who are meeting the
legal requirements," he said. "We don't enforce the federal laws, so
if people are within legal guidelines, then we move on and are just
dealing with commercial illegal efforts."

Philp said some legislators may see the marijuana industry as "a cash
cow," one they can regulate and make money off of, but it is
difficult to tell how legalization would really play out.

According to numbers released by the state Board of Equalization
earlier this month, marijuana is estimated to be a $14 billion
industry in California. The board estimated that taxation of the drug
could result in nearly $1.4 billion in revenue.

Humboldt County District Attorney Paul Gallegos said the
decriminalization of marijuana would save his department time and resources.

He said while he's not an advocate for a marijuana lifestyle, he
thinks decriminalization would be a positive step for the county
since it could reduce the amount of robberies and other illicit
activities involved in the black market. He estimates that the cost
of marijuana in the county is about $4,000 a pound.

"What you have is a drug that's readily accessible, legal and
completely without regulations," Gallegos said. "There are more
regulations on dog ownership than on medical marijuana. Let's
decriminalize it and move on."

Patricia Welch, local Republican Party chairwoman, said she is
concerned that decriminalization could mean more access for minors.

"Part of it is saying this is OK to have this because adults can,"
she said, adding that she doesn't see how the state can regulate an
industry as large and underground as marijuana.

While some may agree with Welch, it seems that public perception of
marijuana is changing.

A Field Poll earlier this year found that 56 percent of California
voters supported legalizing and taxing marijuana.

Dale Gieringer, coordinator for the California chapter of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said public
polls have taken a dramatic shift this year with a majority of
residents in California and the other Western states saying they
favor legalization.

"There's a lot of enthusiasm now and impatience for changing the law
. . There's an enormous swing in opinion I think partly because of
the administration change, but largely in part due to the economy,"
Gieringer said.

The recent measure's main backer is Oakland medical marijuana
entrepreneur Richard Lee, who helped push a first-of-its-kind tax on
city medical marijuana dispensaries that passed with 80 percent of
the vote last week in Oakland.

Gieringer said this measure will have the financial backing to push
the measure through.

"The one to watch would be this one," he said.

A similar but less restrictive pot legalization initiative was filed
two weeks ago by a group of Northern California criminal defense lawyers.

That one -- the Tax, Regulate and Control Cannabis Act of 2010 --
would set no specific limits on the amount of pot adults could
possess or grow for personal use. The measure would repeal all local
and state marijuana laws and clear the criminal record of anyone
convicted of a pot-related offense.

Both ballot measures would be competing with a bill introduced by
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol.

The San Francisco Democrat is pushing legalization as a way to
generate revenue for the cash-starved state from its massive
marijuana industry. He plans to hold hearings on the legislation this fall.

Ammiano said his bill and the ballot initiatives are all part of a
"perfect storm" that will lead to marijuana legalization.

"All this is beneficial at this stage in the game," he said.

Americans for Safe Access spokesman Kris Hermes said he hopes
attempts to legalize marijuana do not endanger the efforts of medical
marijuana advocates. He said he does not know what kind of fallout
these initiatives may have, but ASA does not support any legislation
for legalization or even additionally taxing medical marijuana.

"We as an organization don't support recreational use," Hermes said.
"We're working to increase protection for patients and expand access
really across the country."

Allen said that legalization can be a positive thing for medical
marijuana, helping to improve its image overall and therefore improve
patient access and its medicinal quality.

"The medical cannabis community can be an example to the marijuana
community in general by doing the right thing -- following the law,
paying their taxes -- being a part the community," he said.