Pubdate: Wed, 29 Jul 2015
Source: Press Democrat, The (Santa Rosa, CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Press Democrat
Contact:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/348

GETTING AHEAD OF POT LEGALIZATION

But if public opinion polls, election results in other states and 
people toking casually on California streets are a barometer, 
legalization may be inevitable. At a minimum, it's increasingly 
likely to return to the ballot in 2016.

So if the state wants to avoid a repeat of the legal and legislative 
chaos produced by Proposition 215, the medical marijuana initiative, 
policymakers better get ready.

A new report by Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom's blue-ribbon commission on 
marijuana identifies some considerations that are almost certain to 
sprout up if Mendocino Gold joins Miller Lite and Marlboros on the 
list of legally sanctioned vices.

The watchword is caution.

As the Newsom report points out, "the legalization of marijuana would 
not be an event that happens in one election. Rather it would be a 
process that unfolds over many years, requiring sustained attention 
to implementation."

Among the issues to consider are these: The conflict with federal law 
will remain firmly in place for the foreseeable future. So will the 
black market as long as marijuana remains illegal - and, in turn, 
more expensive - in nearby states. What happens if they sue, as 
Colorado's neighbors have?

As for finances, will banks do business with marijuana growers and 
retailers if there's a risk of federal prosecution?

With research showing more teens smoking pot than cigarettes, what's 
the appropriate age to legally partake? What's the best way to keep 
marijuana away from children and out of schools?

When is someone too high to drive? And how should that be assessed?

Who will be responsible for quality assurance and other consumer protections?

None of these issues is trivial. Few, if any, are likely to be 
settled by a ballot initiative.

Newsom's commission made 58 recommendations, regulating the market 
from seed-to-sale and directing tax revenue to education programs and 
impacted communities. The panel also sought to tamp down any visions 
of a tax windfall, warning that it's unlikely and, perhaps, unwise.

"While promising to fund other government programs through cannabis 
tax revenue may be a popular selling point for legalization 
proponents," the report says, "we do not believe that making 
government dependent on cannabis taxes makes for sound public policy, 
nor do we believe cannabis tax revenue will be very large in relation 
to the total budgets of state and local government."

Steep taxes could become an incentive for more people to abuse 
California's anything-goes medical marijuana market or to stick with 
black market suppliers. Moreover, if government agencies become 
dependent on revenue from pot farming or retail sales, they could 
encourage excessive production, just as sales-tax dependence has 
driven land-use decisions in some communities.

In 2010, California voters wisely rejected a poorly crafted 
initiative to legalize marijuana. At least a half-dozen groups are 
working on pot initiatives for next year's general election.

If they want to clear the air up front, they should carefully 
consider the recommendations made by Newsom's blue-ribbon commission.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom