Pubdate: Wed, 6 May 2009
Source: Sacramento Bee (CA)
Page: 1A, Front Page
Copyright: 2009 The Sacramento Bee
Contact:  http://www.sacbee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/376
Author: Kevin Yamamura
Referenced: AB390 http://drugsense.org/url/gwVcxxaW
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topic/AB+390
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?115 (Marijuana - California)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?161 (Marijuana - Regulation)

GOVERNOR ASKS: WHAT IF POT'S LEGAL AND TAXED?

As California struggles to find cash, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said 
Tuesday it's time to study whether to legalize and tax marijuana for 
recreational use.

The Republican governor did not support legalization - and the 
federal government still bans marijuana use - but advocates hailed 
the fact that Schwarzenegger endorsed studying a once-taboo political subject.

"Well, I think it's not time for (legalization), but I think it's 
time for a debate," Schwarzenegger said. "I think all of those ideas 
of creating extra revenues, I'm always for an open debate on it. And 
I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are 
doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did 
it have on those countries?"

Schwarzenegger was at a fire safety event in Davis when he answered a 
question about a recent Field Poll showing 56 percent of registered 
voters support legalizing and taxing marijuana to raise revenue for 
cash-strapped California. Voters in 1996 authorized marijuana for 
medical purposes.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, has written legislation to 
allow the legal sale of marijuana to adults 21 years and older for 
recreational use. His Assembly Bill 390 would charge cannibis 
wholesalers initial and annual flat fees, while retailers would pay 
$50 per ounce to the state.

The proposal would ban cannibis near schools and prohibit smoking 
marijuana in public places.

Marijuana legalization would raise an estimated $1.34 billion 
annually in tax revenue, according to a February estimate by the 
Board of Equalization. That amount could be offset by a reduction in 
cigarette or alcohol sales if consumers use marijuana as a substitute.

Besides raising additional tax revenue, the state could save money on 
law enforcement costs, Ammiano believes. But he shelved the bill 
until next year because it remains controversial in the Capitol, 
according to his spokesman, Quintin Mecke.

"We're certainly in full agreement with the governor," Mecke said. "I 
think it's a great opportunity. I think he's also being very 
realistic about understanding sort of the overall context, not only 
economically but otherwise."

Schwarzenegger previously has shown a casual attitude toward 
marijuana. He was filmed smoking a joint in the 1977 film, "Pumping 
Iron." And he told the British version of GQ in 2007, "That is not a 
drug. It's a leaf." Spokesman Aaron McLear downplayed the governor's 
comment as a joke at the time.

Even if California were to legalize marijuana, the state would hit a 
roadblock with the federal government, which prohibits its use. 
Ammiano hopes for a shift in federal policy, but President Barack 
Obama said in March he doesn't think legalization is a good strategy.

Any study would find plenty of arguments, judging by responses Tuesday.

Assemblyman Chuck DeVore, R-Irvine, said he's open to a study, but he 
remains opposed to legalization. He warned that society could bear 
significant burdens. He downplayed enforcement and incarceration 
savings because he believes drug courts are already effective in 
removing low-level offenders from the system.

"Studies have shown there is impairment with marijuana use," DeVore 
said. "People can get paranoid, can lose some of their initiative to 
work, and we don't live in some idealized libertarian society where 
every person is responsible completely to himself. We live in a 
society where the cost of your poor decisions are borne by your 
fellow taxpayers."

But Bruce Merkin of the Marijuana Policy Project said studies show 
alcohol has worse effects on users than marijuana in terms of 
addiction and long-term effects. His group believes marijuana should 
be regulated and taxed just like alcoholic beverages.

"There are reams of scientific data that show marijuana is less 
harmful than alcohol," Merkin said. "Just look at the brain of an 
alcoholic. In an autopsy, you wouldn't need a microscope to see the 
damage. Marijuana doesn't do anything like that."

Schwarzenegger said he would like to see results from Europe as part 
of a study.

The Austrian parliament last year authorized cultivation of medical 
marijuana. But Schwarzenegger talked with a police officer in his 
hometown of Graz and found the liberalization was not fully 
supported, McLear said.

"It could very well be that everyone is happy with that decision and 
then we could move to that," Schwarzenegger said. "If not, we 
shouldn't do it. But just because of raising revenues ... we have to 
be careful not to make mistakes at the same time." 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake