Pubdate: Thu, 5 Mar 2009
Source: Daily Sundial, The (CA Edu)
Copyright: Daily Sundial 2009
Contact:  http://sundial.csun.edu/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2731
Author: Matt Villa, Staff Reporter
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)

WEEDING OUT THE BAD SEEDS OF LEGISLATION

If Marijuana Is Legalized in California, Taxing It Could Potentially 
Benefit the State's Budget

Last week's proposal by California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San 
Francisco) to decriminalize the possession and sale of marijuana 
under state law and to set up a system to tax it couldn't have come 
at a better time.

The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act (AB 390) would 
look to exploit California's number one cash crop which is estimated 
to have a $14 billion industry, leading to a potential $1.3 billion 
increase in annual tax revenue for the state of California, which 
according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will reach a $41.8 billion 
budget deficit in June 2010.

Of course Schwarzenegger is no stranger to smoking joints, but 
whether or not marijuana could be a solution to California's growing 
deficit is up to our state's ability to turn a profit on scorned habits.

The 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health found the inevitable: 
Marijuana is by far the most frequently used illicit drug in the 
United States. Of course the majority of users reside in California, 
totaling 3.3 million, many of which fall into the college-age crowd.

A 2006 U.S. Justice Department survey reported that 16.3 percent of 
college-age respondents said they had used the drug within the last 
week that they were surveyed. However, the data could also be a 
dramatic understatement to just how many students actually use.

These percentages have fueled our current administration on 
re-evaluating our drug laws and war on drugs.  According to FBI 
Uniform Crime Reports, the government spent about $41.8 million on 
law enforcement for more than 800,000 marijuana arrests in 2007.

Under the 1970 Controlled Substances Act, cannabis is a Schedule 1 
drug, meaning it is similar to crack, meth and LSD. It has no medical 
use and cannot be prescribed by a physician.

The fear of marijuana by the feds surpasses the fear of harder 
substances such as cocaine and amphetamines, which are surprisingly 
Schedule 2 drugs.  The real kicker is the fact that the active 
ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can be sold in pill form as a 
Schedule 3 drug. So how heinous is the plant?

According to the FBI's annual UCR, it's dangerous enough to arrest 
approximately six million Americans on marijuana charges since 1992. 
That's greater than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the 
District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont 
and Wyoming combined.

Former President Jimmy Carter told Congress in 1977 that "penalties 
against a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the 
use of the drug itself." Ammiano's proposed bill calls for a portion 
of tax revenue to fund drug-education programs, ones that even the 
sons of politicians could benefit from.

The son of Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.), a congressman who advocated 
the death penalty for drug dealers, was convicted for possession of 
400 pounds of marijuana. The son of former Vice President Al Gore was 
caught smoking what appeared to be marijuana by school authorities at 
St. Alban's School.

And who can forget our Olympic champion Michael Phelps, who recently 
had to apologize about his "misconduct" after photos surfaced of him 
using his super-human lung strength to consume weed out of a glass bong.

Proponents of the war on drugs, marijuana in particular, have tried 
to sway our society into thinking that marijuana makes your brain 
soft and your feet fall off. In actuality, many people from all walks 
of life who have experienced the effects of marijuana have been able 
to move on and succeed in life--Barrack Obama, Bill Clinton, Cheech 
and Chong, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and many others.

However, there are still the vast majority of college-age pot users 
who will continue to take up room on their parent's couch while 
eating cereal and watching cartoons. Marijuana usage should be a 
health issue, rather than a criminal one.

As adults, we can go home tonight and drink 10 martinis and smoke two 
packs of cigarettes. It's not a healthy thing to do, but it's not 
illegal.  Whether or not you think marijuana is the killer of 
America's youth, or it's the best thing since sliced bread, one can't 
deny the urgency our state is in to find the proper resources to fund 
an adequate budget.

For more information on The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and 
Education Act (AB 390), visit these Web sites:

www.leginfo.ca.gov : The California Legislature's official site with 
information on AB 390 and other bills.

www.canorml.org : A Web site dedicated to informing the public and 
legalization of marijuana.

www.oas.samhsa.gov : The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration, Office of Applied Studies Web site includes 
information from surveys showing the frequency of marijuana users. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake