• The Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis 2010 ballot measure, (taxcannabis2010.org)

    On March 24, The California Secretary of State announced that the Initiative to Control and Tax cannabis has qualified for the November ballot.  Reflecting the Initiative’s broad and diverse support, the Secretary of State revealed that vastly more than enough signatures were submitted from voters from across the state in near-record time.  In December, proponents filed 700,000 signatures, far more than the nearly 434,000 needed to qualify the measure for the 2010 ballot.
    In 11 pages, the measure adds Section 11300 to Article 5 of Chapter 5 of Division 10 of the state Health and Safety Code declaring it lawful for  any person over 21 years of age to possess, share or transport not more than one ounce of cannaabis solely for their personal consumption, not for sale; to cultivate cannabis for personal consumption only in an area no greate than 25 square feet per residence or if no residence, a parcel and to possess the harvested crop therein; possess the tools, equipment, products and materials  associated with such activities.

    Similar to the current regulation of alcohol and tobacco, the Initiative will permit local governments to control, regulate and tax commercial production and sale of marijuana to people 21 years old or older.
    The Initiative includes significant safeguards and controls. It prohibits people from possessing marijuana on school grounds, using it in public, smoking it while minors are present, or providing it to anyone under 21 years old. Maintains current prohibitions against driving while impaired. It will increase the penalty for providing marijuana to a minor.
    Studies by the Board of Equalization and the Legislative Analyst Office show that the Initiative will generate billions of dollars in revenue to fund schools and public safety.  Several recent polls have shown the Initiative has the support of a majority of California voters.
    California’s tax regulator, the Board of Equalization, which currently collects alcohol and tobacco taxes, estimates that cannabis taxes could generate $1.4 billion in revenue each year, available to fund schools, law enforcement, and other critical needs.
    The California Legislative Analyst's Office, which provides nonpartisan fiscal and policy advice, states that in addition to generating new tax revenue, the Initiative would allow correctional and law enforcement resources to be redirected to more pressing needs.  The LAO says that in addition to generating “a few hundred millions of dollars annually” it could also save “several tens of millions of dollars annually” and permit the “redirection of court and law enforcement resources.”
    Multiple polls show that a majority of California voters support controlling and taxing cannabis.  California’s widely-respected Field Poll revealed that 56% of voters support the Initiative.
    Private research conducted by the campaign has confirmed the Field Poll’s data showing majority support for the Initiative.  Additionally, the campaign’s research revealed that 80% of voters believe California’s current laws criminalizing cannabis have failed, 69% of voters were more likely to support the Initiative when they learned that it “will not allow cannabis to be sold to minors or near schools,” and 68% are more likely to support it when they hear that it will “take business away from street dealers, breaking their hold on our neighborhoods.”

    Two other California ballot initiatives to legalize and tax cannabis were in the process of being filed. The Jack Herer initiative perennially fails to qualify.
  •  The Common Sense Act of 2010 is a sweeping legalization proposal http://www.grasstax.org/that fits onto one repeal the prohibition on marijuana use, cultivation,, possession, transportation and sale; authorizes federal, state, county and municipal authorities to tax the manufacture, sale and use of marijuana; orders all government entities within California to immediately cease spending any public or private funds for the purpose of enforcing or prosecuting any law prohibiting the use, cultivation, possession, transportation or sale of marijuana; instructs the state legislature to formulate new laws to regulate and tax cultivation, production and sale and/or use of marijuana and cannais products similat to alcohol and tobacco.

It instructs California's Congressional delegation to advocate removing marijuana from the Schedule of Controlled Substances. It does not set an age of consent.

It may or may not have been filed.

            • The Jack Herer Cannabis Hemp Initiative (www/jackherer.com/initiative.html)cleared for circulation, deadline April 19, 2010. Changes California Law to Legalize Marijuana and Release Non-Violent Marijuana Offenders from Jail. Initiative Statute.

Repeals state laws that make it a crime to possess, cultivate, transport, distribute, or use marijuana or hemp. Provides persons convicted or serving time for non-violent marijuana offenses be immediately released from prison, jail, parole, or probation, and have their convictions erased. Authorizes Legislature to adopt laws to license and tax commercial marijuana sales. Allows doctors to prescribe or recommend marijuana to patients, regardless of age. Prohibits testing for marijuana for employment or insurance purposes. Bars state from aiding enforcement of federal marijuana laws. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Savings in the several tens of millions of dollars annually to state and local governments on the costs of incarcerating and supervising certain marijuana offenders. Unknown but potentially major tax and fee revenues to state and local government related to the production and sale of marijuana products. (09-0044.)

State Assemblyman from San Francisco Tom Ammiano

Ammiano Re-introduces
State Decrim Bill

    In February, state assemblyman Tom Ammiano re-submitted his bill to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana in California. The new bill, AB 2254, the Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act of 2010 is identical to its predecessor AB 390, which was approved by the Public Safety Committee in January. Because it was introduced last year, AB 390 ran out of time to be heard on this year's calendar.
    Advocates are hopeful that AB 2254 will move forward this year through the Health Committee, as the legislature has yet to hold hearings on the health aspects of legal marijuana.
    AB 2254 would legalize and regulate marijuana for adults 21 and older in a manner similar to alcohol and to “deprive the criminal market of revenue,” according to the bill's language. It is also hoped that the bill will decrease the violence associated with the criminal market. Fees added to the sale of marijuana would pay for drug education, awareness and rehabilitation.
    Medical marijuana would be excluded from these regulations, according to the bill. The bill would prohibit smoking marijuana in the same places tobacco is currently prohibited.
    In the bill's current language, it would remove all existing civil and criminal penalties for persons at least 21 years of age who were arrested for marijuana-related crimes, except for those laws “proscribing dangerous activities while under the influence of marijuana” or activities that expose minors to the drug.
    The proposed fee would be $50 per ounce of marijuana sold in the state, unless a different fee is determined, according to the bill. The funds would go to the Drug Abuse Prevention Supplemental Funding Account created by the bill to fund drug education, awareness and rehabilitation programs. It is unclear if another tax will be added to the drug if the bill is passed.
    Recent years have seen mounting evidence that marijuana is safer than previously imagined - for example, that it doesn't cause lung cancer and is a minor highway safety hazard compared to other, legal drugs.
    Meanwhile, the state's budget crisis remains an important argument for legalization. The Legislative Analyst has estimated that the Ammiano bill would net the state $1.4 billion, according to Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML.
    For Cal NORML's analysis of the benefits of legalization, see http://www.canorml.org/background/CA_legalization2.html