Finally a good idea!
 

Seriously, from a Dem too! I give credit where its due. I think this is a viable soultion!

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.


"The state of California is in a very, very precipitous economic plight. It's in the toilet," says Ammiano. "It looks very, very bleak, with layoffs and foreclosures and schools closing or trying to operate four days a week. We have one of the highest rates of unemployment we've ever had. With any revenue ideas people say you have to think outside of the box, you have to be creative, and I feel that the issue of the decriminalization, regulation and taxation of marijuana fits that bill. It's not new, the idea has been around, and the political will may in fact be there to make something happen."

:smokin:

Ya well while their at it, might as well start growing poppies too,
makes a great cash crop. :rolleyes:

I think thats a great idea.

Now I really think they should figure out a way to tax stupidity out there.
We agree on alot Jimmy but this is insane.

Steve, I hope you're not saying what I think you are...I don't want to get way off target here, however, there is no reason whatsoever marijuana should be illegal in this country, it is absolute bull%$%$%$%$ and I would love to debate that with anyone who says otherwise..under a different thread of course.

Back on topic...I don't see this as a viable solution to California's problems. Have any of you ever heard of Oaksterdam...google it...right now marijuana is as close to legal as you can get in Cali. They issue a little medical card (easy to get) and you can legally purchase any type of marijuana at various "dispensing stations." My point is that this is already going on, they are already collecting millions in taxes off of it. I am sure expanding the operations would generate even more money, but they should focus on the "other" issues affecting the state as well. Too many illegals for one thing...

If booze is legal, why not ganji....

it will be passed
 

the days of the Federal Government
trumping the state laws

will be coming to an END

and don't forget something.........

not to jump the subject of thread over to weed

but....cannabinoids the substance that's in Cannabis
are produced within our own bodies as a natural pain killer

other than vitamin D from sunshine
or melatonin from exposure to daylight

there is nothing more NATURAL .... than MARIJUANA

last time i looked i wasn't pissing beer....
and when i drink Guinness it still comes out clear :humpty:

In theory, it is a great idea. However, I think it is beyond the control of the state, because i'm sure much of the estimated $14B is exported out of the state now. How could a grower or distributor possibly open themselves to federal prosecution by going "on the books?"

I think the Obama admin should take this idea and run with it... It is a great idea, would do a ton of good, and hurt nobody.

legalize it dont criticize it

Not to mention the boon to the snack food industry. If this goes through, I'm buying stock in Doritos.

Right now, the "vendors" at the "dispensories" are in fact paying taxes on their sales...so much that they declined to comment on the exact amount as they didn't want to flaunt it in front of the DEA. It is typical how this is illegal in the eyes of the federal government, yet the feds have no quams when it comes to collecting taxes on the product...

I might be wrong in my previous post...I don't recall if the article was discussing federal or state taxes...or both.

you may not have read this
 

but 150 thousand Mexican soldiers have deserted the Army.

mainly because it's more profitable to be part of the drug cartels
mob of enforcement....than to be a Mexican soldier

just like sex sells.... there's more money in drug smuggling than the
prevention of it...

So now..... you have a large group of trained soldiers that will be
fighting another group of trained soldiers all with ak 47's in
the thousands

Anyone that thinks this isn't going to spill
over the border from Tijuana to Texas somewhere is flashing...

One of the only ways to keep weed from being smuggled
over the border is to replace it with USA grown weed
and take the American people's money away from the cartel.

Why would a Californian buy Mexican bunk weed
when they can get super skunk weed legally in the USA.:smokin:
even with a 50 dollar tax on it..... no problem....

:uhuh:

see this guy
 

he's a billionaire off of American money paid for drugs....

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...illionaire.jpg
the drug war ..............it's not working

Go to Amsterdam, the coffee shops are legal to buy up to 5 grams a day of the finest global product available.

What's the issue here?

what the government thinks is the idea
 

for example the government run FDA food and drug administration
would rather leagalize this electric cigarette that dispenses liquid nicotine to people rather than legalize marijuana which contains NO nicotine.... don't you see how F'd up that is...????

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...ccigarette.jpg

they are trying to control how you think and always have.

Morphine
 

while i do not think heroin is a good drug by any stretch of the imagination

poppies do have to be grown somewhere to make morphine
for the control of extreme pain from gunshot wounds, and other critical injuries to be merciful to the patients....

so technically it cannot be eradicated from the planet and the synthetic substitute doesn't do the job quick enough.

IMH opinion even caffeine is a very serious drug problem in usa
with harmful side effects and there is a crackhouse coffeeshop on every single corner of america causing sleep deprivation problems
for 70% of Americans.... so what do they do?

they give them sleep drugs to counteract the caffeine drug. :doh:

Can we have that debate when your stoned out of your mind:btu:

Taxing vices all SOUNDS good, but the reality is the money never goes to what they claim it will.

Gambling was legalized in Joisey under the auspices of paying down debt,reducing school taxes and helping seniors.

Ya right, after 30 years of what the taxes were supposed to do, the state is ranked #4 in highest taxes ,and close to bankruptcy.

Forget the cost of families ruined by it and GA meetings on every corner.

Give politicians more $$ they'll find a way to use it to buy more votes.

Just what we need, more kids smoking weed while trying to improve the education system.

That Joisey casino deal worked out real good eh. Every time I go down to the house in OC NJ, I can see how far the casino benefit has spread, it stops at Pacific Ave and Marina Bay. There are boarded houses on the way the the AC Aquarium, dealers and hookers, along the way.

Nothing has changed there except the real estate prices.

I actually think this CA thing is a GOOD idea. If DeCoupe would legalize it we could start a plot over in Mansboro.

:hihi::1poke:

I have no issue with the legalization of pot. The notion that it can't be a non-drug cash crop is beyond absurd and booze does far more damage to society.

But I don't think it will fix CA's economic issues. The export comment above is a good one, along with the fact that the underground channels for dope are so well entrenched I doubt the big pushers would take the risk of using them.

I'd wager the guys selling medical marijuana are making a killing in the bay area.

-spence

I don't smoke it, but I am all for it. Perhaps obama' big public works plan is to widen the highways to make an extra slow lane in anticipation of this great event!
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well no worries
 

it will not pass here...

way to conservative for that

I'm so wounded

I also have no issue with legalization of pot. In my youth I recall the use of it by teens to be more of a rebellious activity, forbidden fruit, old people are stupid thing. If it hadn't been so tabooed by Society, it might not have been so attractive. I've even wondered if there was drug money being paid to politicians to keep it illegal.

conservatives will never let it happen as long as their are enough of them in congress.:deadhorse:

Dupont paid a ton to make it illegal when they Invented nylon. Hemp rope was king and the best way to get nylon on the market was to vilify hemp/marinuana
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