Calif. lawmaker proposes legalizing marijuana

[Xicano]

Source: USA Today

A California legislator today proposed making the state the first to legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

The legislation, by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a Democrat from San Francisco, would allow people 21 and older to grow, buy, sell and possess pot. It would be sold, regulated and taxed similar to alcohol. The state would collect $50 an ounce from sellers, and growers, too, would be taxed.

He estimates that the cash-strapped state could reap more than $1 billion a year.

Read more: http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2009/02/calif-lawmaker.html

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:smoke:

[DUlover2909]

1. But that sounds too much like the right thing to do.

It makes too much sense, so it will be struck down somehow, probably because politicians don't want to appear "soft on drugs".

I DON'T SMOKE WEED. But, I used to.

LEGALIZE IT for crying out loud. GEEZ. And let offenders out of jail, off probation, and off parole. It's fuggin ridiculous.

[midnight]

9. Excellent. This in the face of the medically needy

who are being treated like the taliban needs to end.

[Jamastiene]

2. More power to him.

:hippie:

[PassingFair]

3. Even the republicans I know support legalizing, or at least...

de-criminalizing marijuana.

It is the only truly bi-partisan belief
that I know of.

[Rebubula]

21. Heck...

...most of the Cops that I know (brother is a cop in Lexington, KY) support legalizing it.

Anyone with a brain can see that this prohibition is nothing more than human oppression and control by the few.

[jody]

4. If recreational use of marijuana is OK for Clinton, Bush, & Obama, it's OK for all. n/t

[hollowdweller]

5. We elected a black president

So we overcame as a country that old bugaboo of racisim. Maybe there's hope for herb as well.

[jody]

6. I sincerely hope so. That should reduce crime substantially. n/t

[lame54]

7. That's the way to do it...

appeal to their greed

[fob]

38. Except that a potential $1 billion isn't that much compared to a $47

billion deficit. Tom should have said the state would get $50 or $100 billion, that's more their greed level.

[riverdeep]

47. But there's also profit, to some, in locking people up.

And that's the problem. Whoever is more powerful and which group gets more rich often wins. Right and wrong have little to do with it. I don't see the cops wanting to turn away the money gained from seizure laws. I don't see the prison complex wanting to build less prisons because we don't need them anymore.

[Le Taz Hot]

8. But if it passes, I have my doubts

as to whether the Gropenator will sign it. Remember, the Leg. passed legislation to lift the ban on commercial hemp and Ahnie vetoed it. We'll probably have to wait until we have Democratic governor.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

11. Uh...

[Le Taz Hot]

12. I know.

I've seen it (that and the one with him in the nude) but he is a Republican and therefore a hypocrite. I'd love to be wrong but in that he vetoed the industrial hemp legislation I have my doubts as to whether he'd sign this one. Trust me, this pothead would LOVE to feel safe about growing my own.

[IDFbunny]

39. Has he stifled medical MJ?

[Le Taz Hot]

46. That was a referendum on the ballot

and the people of California approved it. He has no veto power over a referendum.

[hobbit709]

19. Then they should show that video clip

of the gropenator smoking pot.

[progressoid]

10. Then they'll have to overcome the strong-armed Federal govt. n/t

[CubicleGuy]

28. Say bye-bye to our matching federal highway funds.

[RaleighNCDUer]

37. The tax income from legal pot, and the reduced law enforcement

costs, would MORE than make up for lost federal revenue.

And there's always cocaine and meth to keep the feds happy.

[mopinko]

13. depending on the meaning of legal

it used to be legal there, and i thought still was in alaska. maybe it is a matter of decriminalized vs legal. but up to an ounce used to be "legal". got a couple sibs that live there, and 20 years ago, you could grow it, and walk down the street with a doobie in your hand.
iirc, the law in alaska at that time was even looser. thought it was still, but who knows what those wingnuts have done up there.

[Tyler Generation]

34. Alaska

Doesn't enforce any sort of jail time or even fines for an ounce and under. So I don't know if legal is the right word, but it's close!

[happygoluckytoyou]

14. and in San Francisco.... they have determined that the pot at the end of the rainbow...is..well..POT

[happygoluckytoyou]

16. ...though.... i for one.... prefer the rainbow at the end of the pot...

[Qutzupalotl]

42. Those are northern lights. nt

[Greyskye]

45. I saw 'Northern Lights' for sale in a 'coffee shop' in Amsterdam once.

:smoke:

[Wizard777]

15. How much tax do Californians pay on tomatoes grown in their yard?

I oppose taxation based on growing for personal use. Now if it's grown by a commercial venture for sale. Then I'm not opposed to taxing corporate assets.

[nichomachus]

23. Bingo

Why should I have to pay a tax to grow a plant?

I'd rather see them charge homeowners an annual tax of $10 per square foot of lawn. That way we would have the money to deal with the looming water crisis.

[xxqqqzme]

26. I oppose it as well but if this is what it takes

(buy a 'growers' license from your city for $10 and enjoy the harvest) then I'm all for it.

[montanto]

29. I'b be all for buying a growers license for a few bucks.

[haele]

31. Produce doesn't get taxed in the supermarkets -

The proposal as stated in the article indicates that MJ would be taxed the same as alcohol is in the state.
So not taxing the bumper crop victory garden tomatoes you sell at the side of road (other than having to pay for a business license and food handling certification if you do it regularly - or get caught) isn't the same as taxing alcohol, which you can also make for personal use in your home distillery. They can only tax you if you have sell your excess crop of the bud - or if you're a home grower producing above a certain amount (how many plants would be allowed for personal use?) which would qualify as a commercial business. Above personal amount, you'll be required to have all your certification and licenses as a commercial business in hand as well.
Basically, they're going to be handling this the same as a micro-brewery set-up - you don't get taxed for the beer you make for yourself and your friends, but if you have enough production to bottle enough to start selling at the local Quik-e-mart or street fair, you have to get your commercial license in order and pay all the state and federal fees and taxes on Alcohol.
This according to a friend who now sells his brew up in Oregon, as soon as he expanded his equipment past the corner of his parent's garage and went over a certain liquid gallon amount per month, the state informed him that he needed to get a license to continue his operation, whether he was selling or not.

Haele

[happygoluckytoyou]

35. i didn't read this as taxed on homegrown.... unless sold.... would be similar to veges

[Wizard777]

43. I'm not against taxing sales at any level. But I also oppose special taxes.

I mean we wouldn't want to recreate the already failed and overturned Marijuana Tax Stamp Act. I also don't think that taxing marijuana grown for personal use presents a valid tax opportunity. I would just subject it to already existing taxes like sales tax and other business and corporate taxes.

[Ganja Ninja]

17. It's going to be way more than $1 billion a year.

Especially if the other states are slow to legalize. Marijuana will be shipped all over the country no matter what it's legal status is. And California will reap the tax dollars from the illegal trade in other states.

[xchrom]

18. god knows we need the money -- taxes for the state. nt

[defendandprotect]

20. ...and we also need restrictions on growing hemp lifted --!!

End this aggressive and invasive drug war!!

[Deep13]

22. Yup, we can't afford the same old shit anymore.

Now if only the Feds would lighten up.

[toymachines]

24. interesting

I wonder what this would do to prices? I am sure the legalization would drop prices greatly, but then you have this new tax, for those that would actually pay it... Good move in anycase.

[aquamarina]

25. Ah, common sense legislation - who woulda thunk

[akwapez]

$50/oz for the state?

How much does an oz go for in CA? Here, the price only ranges from 125-200 (or so I hear....cough...cough..). That's a big percentage.

[Sivafae]

33. Let's see, it's $40 an eighth, 40*8=320, 320+50=370 an ounce.

Or so I hear.

[CubicleGuy]

27. The state would collect $50 an ounce from sellers

I don't know a darn thing about the regular street cost of this stuff, but it seems to me that this wouldn't leave a lot of money for the grower/seller once the state takes "its share" of the proceeds.

If the state is really determined to make money hand over fist, why don't they just go into the ink jet printer ink sales business? I read just recently that it works out to about $5000 per gallon of ink jet printer ink at current prices.

[Ticonderoga]

30. $50.00 per ounce

for taxes seems way too steep. $50.00 per year per growing "permit" seems much more reasonable.

[The Wizard]

32. But it's a gateway drug

and people will start growing their own tobacco (that should give Mitch McConnell Saint Vitus Dance), and who knows what else. This will cause a revenue gap. Oh the humanity. :evilgrin: :sarcasm:

[happygoluckytoyou]

36. if you count how much $$$$ is in prisons... and prisoners... and enforcement....

EVEN IF THEY NEVER GET A SINGLE DOLLAR FROM TAXING THE SALE...... THE STATE WILL BE ABLE TO TIGHTEN ENFORCEMENT ON REAL CRIME..... LESS STOOPID DRUG BUSTS...... AND BEST OF ALL.... MORE I M P O T A N T THAN ANYTHING ELSE...... IT WILL REALLY PISS OFF THE RIGHT-WING, PROP 8, NARROW-MINDED, PEOPLE........................AND FOR THAT ALONE I WOULD PAY

[Zhade]

40. YES! It's time to end the war on this proven-beneficial plant!

NT!

[FVZA_Colonel]

41. I doubt this will jive with Federal regulations, but God I hope this passes.

How the hell has it taken so long for this to become a viable issue?

[DebbieCDC]

44. I've been saying this for years

Legalize pot, put a fed/state tax on it like booze & cigarettes -- no more budget problems, no more sending teenages to jail for a joint, no more stupid effing "war on drugs". This is win/win/win. Oh wait, gotta placate the fundies y'know.

[riverdeep]

48. I'm not in favor of taxing homegrown,

getting a license for it also seems silly. Do you need a license to grow basil? It sets up a bad precedent. Taxing a business should be taxed like any other business.

The problem is a Faustian bargain will need to be made; there is probably no way lawmakers will do this if taxes of all kinds are in the picture. You could say, sure let's let them tax it and then once it's established work to repeal the tax, but how many taxes get successfully repealed? Government is loath to end revenue streams once established.

And $50 an ounce seems way high (no pun intended). The prices would shoot down rapidly and $50 would be a huge chunk of the price. But even if something like this passed exactly as proposed, it would still be a vast improvement over what currently exists.

One thing not mentioned is the tourist trade. If Cali were the only state to do this, it would be definitely be a tourist bumper.

[w4rma]

49. Good. Pot isn't even chemically addictive. (nt)