Legalizing Pot: Saving California from Cash Crunch
by BUCE MIRKEN (ALTERNET)
(February 25, 2009) California state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has announced the introduction of legislation to 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) -- in spite of massive "eradication" efforts that wipe out an average of nearly 36,000 cultivation sites per year without making a dent in this underground industry.
Ammiano introduced the measure at a San Francisco press conference this morning, saying, "With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense.
