Pubdate: Mon, 09 Mar 2009 Source: Ukiah Daily Journal, The (CA) Copyright: 2009 The Ukiah Daily Journal Contact: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/feedback Website: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/581 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) LEGALIZATION NOT THE SIMPLE ANSWER A bill to legalize and tax marijuana is getting lots of attention not only here in California but across the nation where people are wondering if it's finally time to put marijuana in the same category as wine, beer and liquor. Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, (D-San Francisco) who introduced AB 390 to legalize pot smoking for those over 21 and allow commercial farming of the drug and tax it at $50 per ounce, says it would raise about $1 billion a year for state coffers. For a lot of people - including a lot of people in Mendocino County - legalizing pot has always seemed like a logical idea. But, as we saw in Mendocino County when pot was all but legal under our former local Measure G combined with legalized medical marijuana, there are a host of problems that come with letting just anyone grow marijuana. Mr. Ammiano's bill talks about "commercial" marijuana growing, but we know where a lot that commercial growing will take place: right here in Mendocino County. The people living in LA and San Francisco might think legalizing marijuana is a great idea and they'd love to be able to stop by the corner store and buy their pack of joints, but what about the people who live in the agricultural areas where all that pot will be raised? While we don't think Mr. Ammiano's bill has a chance of passing, (for one thing, even if passed, it appears to depend on federal legalization for much of it to take effect) we think that while the conversation about legalizing the growing of marijuana in the state is under way, there are several points that need to be addressed: Like having, say, a liquor still in the back yard, would marijuana growing be prohibited at home? No. Under Mr. Ammiano's bill anyone 21 years of age can grow up to 10 plants in the back yard. However, that provision provides 10 plants to anyone in the household who is of age. That means two people, 20 plants, 3 people, 30 plants and so on. Citizens of Ukiah know what having someone next door with 20 plants in the backyard smells like and what an attraction it is to teenagers. This bill would make it all legal. Will local communities be allowed to regulate the growing of marijuana both commercially and individually? Like, say, a pig farm, which can stink up a whole neighborhood, will cities and townships be allowed to prohibit growing any marijuana in residential areas or allow it only within certain zoning areas? No. The bill also states that defying the cultivation laws is an infraction with a fine of $100. How is that a deterrent? How will the safety and quality of the marijuana be regulated? Will there be requirements that all marijuana grown commercially be grown organically? Who will oversee the quality and the safety of the product? We may save money on some law enforcement aspects, but what about all the agricultural inspectors and tax collectors we'll need to make sure we're creating a product safe for the public as well as getting our money's worth, so to speak. The bill does not address the quality of the marijuana or its safety. If marijuana growing becomes legal, there's certainly no reason to continue prohibiting commercial hemp growing. How will the state regulate the inevitable conflicts between hemp and marijuana growers whose crops are not mutually compatible (industrial hemp plants can cross pollinate marijuana and weaken its potency). The bill does not address this. What will the state do about regulating the undisputed health problems associated with smoking - marijuana is bad for your lungs too. Will second hand marijuana smoke be regulated in the same way as second hand cigarette smoke? The bill only states that smoking or ingesting marijuana in "public" is an infraction. The bill also strikes the section of law prohibiting selling or providing marijuana to minors but does not reinstitute it elsewhere except to the extent that disobeying marijuana regulations is an infraction. The bill provides that the $50 per ounce tax be spent solely on drug education programs. How does that help the budget crisis? The bill strikes the current provision in law in which marijuana is treated the same as an open container of alcohol for the purposes of having the substance in your car with you. How will law enforcement be able to tell if you are driving high and police marijuana smoking while driving? The bill provides for mandated security systems at all marijuana growing and processing places as well as at etail outlets, and background checks on employees therein. That certainly implies acknowledgment that this is still a valuable and dangerous commodity. How many growers will pass background checks and how many will instead go the "unregulated" route? Even if the bill is moot without federal marijuana legalization, how does the state deal with the tens of thousands of people who will move to California from the rest of the nation to grow marijuana anyway, simply because it is "legal" in California? Many of them will try to do it without paying the taxes, without obeying any local regulations, without being part of the "system." The price of marijuana may drop in California (although it hasn't dropped much even with legal medical marijuana in place here and several other states already) but it will still be well worth growing for the folks in Chicago, New York, Boston and Miami just to name a few large cities which will depend on "legal" California pot growing. How will the state handle the lawsuits from those states when they claim that California is exporting its drug to their areas? How much law enforcement will be needed to keep the pot within the state's borders? We don't think frankly that the state will save all that much on law enforcement when the rest of the nation's pot growers spark California's 21st Century Gold Rush. For years, people have argued about whether marijuana smoking is on a par with wine drinking and whether our legal and prison systems should be tied up with marijuana cases. Whichever side of those arguments you reside, it is clear that legalization is not a simple solution. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin