CA Bill to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Introduced
February 23, 2009
Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) Introduces Historic Legislation in Wake of State Fiscal Crisis
(San Francisco, C.A.) Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) today announced the introduction of legislation that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcoholic beverages. The bill, the first of its kind ever introduced in California, would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.
Estimates based on federal government statistics have shown marijuana to be California’s top cash crop, valued at approximately $14 billion in 2006 — nearly twice the combined value of the state’s number two and three crops, vegetables ($5.7 billion) and grapes ($2.6 billion). Massive “eradication” efforts, wiping out an average of nearly 36,000 cultivation sites per year, have failed to make a dent in this underground industry.
“It is simply nonsensical that California’s largest agricultural industry is completely unregulated and untaxed,” said Marijuana Policy Project California policy director Aaron Smith, who appeared with Ammiano and other officials at a San Francisco news conference to announce the legislation. “With our state in an ongoing fiscal crisis — and no one believes the new budget is the end of California’s financial woes — it’s time to bring this major piece of our economy into the light of day.”
Independent experts from around the world, from President Nixon’s National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse in 1972 to a Canadian Senate special committee in 2002, have long contended that criminalizing marijuana users makes little sense, given that marijuana is less addictive, much less toxic and far less likely to induce aggression or violence than alcohol. For example, in an article in the December 2008 Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Australian researcher Stephen Kisely noted that “penalties bear little relation to the actual harm associated with cannabis.”
With more than 26,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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Posted by News LI Editor · Filed Under Society
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9 Responses to “CA Bill to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Introduced”
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YES!!!! Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of the war on drugs.
- Posted by: buffalobill70
California has been trying to increase tourism, well this will do it.
If it passes, Time for that CA. Vacation.
- Posted by: Williebee
ABOUT TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and to all the parents saying “Oh my goodness! Now are kids are being exposed to this, thinking its good!”… WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!!! Truth of the matter is, your kids are exposed to more dangerous, KILLING drugs everyday. ALCOHOL & TOBACCO.
stop lying to the children. its time we move past this “reefer maddness” era, and tell them the TRUTH about cannabis. (that you cannot die from it, like you can from alcohol. and that it is perfectly normal to use it responsibly when you are an adult, like alcohol)
ONE LOVE PEOPLE!
- Posted by: peter
It would be great if this passed. The state would greatly benefit from it and California could be a trend setter. Marijuana isn’t a gateway drug. It’s the people that have addictive personalities to begin with who use it and then move on to other substances. They would begin to use those even if weed didn’t exist. A responsible person can use marijuana with no trouble and never move to harder drugs. I, for one, have no desire to move on to heroin or coke. It’s the personality and traits of the user that determine what the person ends up using–it’s not the weed itself.
- Posted by: Sean
Makes perfect sense. Legalize it and tax the hell out of it. Call this the “Smoke Out of Debt Program” and tax it to the tune of $20.00 for a pack of joints = $1.00 a joint. Fair price for it being legal plus ~$17.00 of every pack sold goes to the state to balance the budget and help schools. GREAT IDEA!!!
- Posted by: bob
END GLOBAL WARMING…GROW WEED EVERYWHERE!!!
- Posted by: K
wow! I was stunned when i heard about this. I think it would be a miracle if it was made legal. I wish it was on the news so i could follow the story more closely. I honestly think marijuana will SAVE california. and our planet. Seriously, if you guys do not know how great this herb is, do some research. It’s amazing.
- Posted by: megan
yes.. they do not even speak of the Medicinal Benfits of MJ.. it is unbelieveable that they were so ignorant.. in not legalizing pot and med mj.. taxing it heavily like they do Alcohol and taking off the criminal liabilities.. of course cops/law enforcement do not like this. why? cause it may cut out a few jobs in their departments…but the benefits will be enourmous…
j terry jr
guadalupe, CA
retired fed gov’t civil service vafb..
- Posted by: joe terry jr
if this passed cali would be regular vacation stop for me. i believe the tax revenue that this bill would generate is way underestimated. not mention the jobs that would be generated as well
- Posted by: bob a booey