CONN. LAWMAKER: LET TOWNS TAX MARIJUANA

HARTFORD (AP) -- A Connecticut legislator says it's high time to pass
a law allowing cities and towns to tax illegal marijuana sales.

Republican state Sen. Robert Kane of Watertown says his legislation,
which he also proposed last year, would give cash-strapped
municipalities another way to raise revenue while penalizing drug dealers.

Kane is looking to take advantage of a 1991 state law that allows
state government to tax illegal marijuana sales.

State police reported seizing nearly 1,400 kilograms of marijuana
during the fiscal year that ended last June 30. At a tax rate of
$3.50 a gram, that could have generated more than $4.8 million in tax
revenue. But state government collected only $60,000 two years ago,
according to the most recent figures available.

Kane's bill is pending.