A pair of legislators in the state of Washington have submitted a marijuana legalization bill much like the one introduced by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D- San Francisco, back in February. The bill was introduced by state Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson, with Rep. Roger Goodman as the principal coauthor. The two Democrats represent Seattle-area districts. Four other legislators have also signed onto the bill. Goodman was scheduled to join Ammiano on a conference call with reporters Thursday morning. While there have been numerous bills to decriminalize marijuana, advocates say these bills represent the first two times a full legalization bill has introduced in a state legislature. Ammiano's bill, which would not only remove criminal penalties but set up a regulatory and tax structure for pot sales, was the first such bill to get a full committee hearing, according to Stephen Gullwig, California state director with the drug policy alliance. [continues 434 words]
Dear Editor: California voters are in no mood to approve the usual tactics of borrowing and increasing sales taxes to mend the state's budget mess. Recent Field Poll data not only predicts that Propositions 1A through 1E are destined for defeat; it looks like voters are strongly opposed to most other traditional revenue enhancement proposals (Field Polls released April 29 and April 30, 2009). There is one idea that resonates with a clear majority of California voters: taxing and regulating marijuana. That's right, 56 percent of voters support legally taxing the sales of marijuana to help raise revenue for state programs -- that's more than twice the support for increasing sales or gas taxes. [continues 137 words]
