Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy?

Dantheman62 · 03-13-2009, 04:50 PM

Could marijuana be the answer to the economic misery facing California? Democratic State Assembly member Tom Ammiano thinks so. Ammiano introduced legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale - a move that could mean billions for the cash-strapped state.

Pot is, after all, California's biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion in annual sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity - milk and cream - which brings in $7.3 billion annually, according to the most recent USDA statistics. The state's tax collectors estimate the bill would bring in about $1.3 billion in much-needed revenue a year, offsetting some of the billions in service cuts and spending reductions outlined in the recently approved state budget.

Ammiano may be right. A few days after he introduced the bill, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that states should be able to make their own rules on medical marijuana and that federal raids on pot dispensaries in California would cease. The move signaled a softening of the hard-line approach previous administrations have had to medicinal pot use. The nomination of Gil Kerlikowske as the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy may also signal a softer federal line on marijuana. If he is confirmed as the so-called Drug Czar, Kerlikowske will bring with him experience as police chief of Seattle, where he made it clear that going after people for posessing marijuana was not a priority of his force.

California was one of the first states in the nation to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. Currently, $200 million in medical marijuana sales are subject to sales tax. If passed, the Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act (AB 390) would give California control of pot in a manner similar to alcohol, while prohibiting its purchase to citizens under age 21. (The bill has been referred to the California State Assembly's Public Safety and Health Committees; Ammiano says it could take up to a year before it comes to a vote for passage.) State revenues would be derived from a $50 per ounce levy on retail sales of marijuana and sales taxes. By adopting the law, California could become a model for other states. As Ammiano put it: "How California goes, the country goes."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2009031...08599188495600

BROOK · 03-13-2009, 05:12 PM

Dan...does that mean you are deffinately coming to California

Dantheman62 · 03-13-2009, 05:29 PM

HaHa, maybe, but you know if it's 14 billion worth of annual sales in CA alone imagine what it would do for the whole country!

Machinamentum · 03-13-2009, 06:36 PM

I have a theory!

If everybody started growing drugs of various sorts, it would bypass this rut we are in and the GDP would skyrocket! Saving the economy and in the process, creating a new currency an edible-smokeable currency. That would make us immune to the IMF and federal reserve.

Humble Janitor · 03-14-2009, 08:36 PM

Yeah!

There needs to be the legalization of marijuana for more reasons than bringing in revenue.

03-13-2009, 04:50 PM	#1
Dantheman62 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: So. Cal. U.S. Posts: 4,205	Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy? Could marijuana be the answer to the economic misery facing California? Democratic State Assembly member Tom Ammiano thinks so. Ammiano introduced legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale - a move that could mean billions for the cash-strapped state. Pot is, after all, California's biggest cash crop, responsible for $14 billion in annual sales, dwarfing the state's second largest agricultural commodity - milk and cream - which brings in $7.3 billion annually, according to the most recent USDA statistics. The state's tax collectors estimate the bill would bring in about $1.3 billion in much-needed revenue a year, offsetting some of the billions in service cuts and spending reductions outlined in the recently approved state budget. Ammiano may be right. A few days after he introduced the bill, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that states should be able to make their own rules on medical marijuana and that federal raids on pot dispensaries in California would cease. The move signaled a softening of the hard-line approach previous administrations have had to medicinal pot use. The nomination of Gil Kerlikowske as the head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy may also signal a softer federal line on marijuana. If he is confirmed as the so-called Drug Czar, Kerlikowske will bring with him experience as police chief of Seattle, where he made it clear that going after people for posessing marijuana was not a priority of his force. California was one of the first states in the nation to legalize medical marijuana in 1996. Currently, $200 million in medical marijuana sales are subject to sales tax. If passed, the Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act (AB 390) would give California control of pot in a manner similar to alcohol, while prohibiting its purchase to citizens under age 21. (The bill has been referred to the California State Assembly's Public Safety and Health Committees; Ammiano says it could take up to a year before it comes to a vote for passage.) State revenues would be derived from a $50 per ounce levy on retail sales of marijuana and sales taxes. By adopting the law, California could become a model for other states. As Ammiano put it: "How California goes, the country goes." http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2009031...08599188495600

03-13-2009, 05:12 PM	#2
BROOK Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 3,117	Re: Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy? *Dan...does that mean you are deffinately coming to California*

03-13-2009, 05:29 PM	#3
Dantheman62 Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: So. Cal. U.S. Posts: 4,205	Re: Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy? HaHa, maybe, but you know if it's 14 billion worth of annual sales in CA alone imagine what it would do for the whole country!

03-13-2009, 06:36 PM	#4
Machinamentum Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 413	Re: Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy? I have a theory! If everybody started growing drugs of various sorts, it would bypass this rut we are in and the GDP would skyrocket! Saving the economy and in the process, creating a new currency an edible-smokeable currency. That would make us immune to the IMF and federal reserve.

03-14-2009, 08:36 PM	#5
Humble Janitor Avalon Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 3,201	Re: Can Marijuana Help Rescue California's Economy? Yeah! There needs to be the legalization of marijuana for more reasons than bringing in revenue.