MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION COULD AID LOCAL SHOPS

State Ballot Initiative to Legalize, Tax Cannabis May Provide
Additional Business to Local Shops

In a city known for its marijuana culture, a statewide initiative
that would legalize recreational marijuana use slated for the
November ballot could potentially benefit businesses and
dispensaries in Berkeley.

If passed, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of
2010-approved for the ballot March 24-would decriminalize marijuana
for adults over the age of 21, which could diminish the presence of
the local black market and boost tax revenues through the potential
increase in the number of organizations selling marijuana.

"If you legalize something and tax it, there's less of a reason for
people to buy it illegally," said Berkeley City Councilmember Kriss
Worthington.

The black market could take a dip if sellers begin to legally
distribute marijuana and abide by potential taxes and regulations
imposed on the drug.

"Some of the people in the Northern California black market are
making business plans to become legitimate as we speak," said UC
Berkeley professor of law and public policy Robert MacCoun.

Existing businesses in Berkeley, such as smoke shops, could see
increased business opportunities if the initiative passes, according
to Sam Raz, a sales representative at Gypsy Trader, a smoke shop in Berkeley.

"I think it would actually help business," Raz said. "If they
legalize cannabis, there will be brands manufacturing marijuana cigarettes."

The legalization of marijuana would offer businesses another product
to sell, according to Raz.

Jimi Devine, patient outreach coordinator of the Cannabis Buyers
Club of Berkeley, said it is unclear how the initiative's passage
would impact marijuana dispensaries, but added, "It's a fair
estimate that some places selling medical cannabis (could)
dispense to a larger population.

"I feel the regulations on the numbers (of dispensaries) would stay
the same," Devine said. "Here (in Berkeley) we are already tightly regulated."

Devine added that thousands of people die as a result of violence
surrounding cartels in Mexico that supply drugs to the United States
and that the U.S. government expends significant resources in
keeping marijuana illegal.

However, he said that as a nonprofit organization, the Cannabis
Buyers Club is not concerned with whether or not they can sell the
drug for profit.

In 1996, California Proposition 215 legalized the sale of marijuana
for medical use to those holding identification cards. Should the
measure pass in November, California will become the first state to
legalize marijuana.