Voters will face a familiar, burning issue on the March 8 city ballot: Marijuana. In contrast with last November's failed California proposition to legalize recreational pot use, Los Angeles' more complicated Measure M asks if the city should impose a hefty tax on medical-marijuana dispensaries. Proponents say requiring dispensary operators to "pay their fair share" - in this case, 5percent of gross receipts - could raise $10million a year for the city's deficit-plagued general fund. Opponents claim the proposal won't fly because medicine and the nonprofit organizations that dispense it cannot be taxed, and they worry that if the city makes revenue from dispensaries, it will be encouraged to allow more of them. [continues 483 words]
Word that a California voter initiative to legalize marijuana for recreational use has qualified for the November ballot had people taking a deep breath Wednesday, even people who had never inhaled before. "Terrible!" Bill Spiegel, a 77-year-old grandfather who lives in Woodland Hills, said after hearing the news at a local shopping center. "I think it's foolish," Spiegel said. "I think it's sickening. We have too many problems ... as it is." But the initiative to legalize pot - and potentially tax it - sounded OK to Andrea Cobby, a 41-year-old stay-at-home mother of two from Tarzana. [continues 676 words]
