Here is some recent news from California:
Assembly committee votes to legalize, tax marijuana
Wes Woods II, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/12/2010 06:23:58 PM PST
SACRAMENTO - History was made Tuesday after the California Assembly's Public Safety Committee passed a marijuana legalization and taxation bill in a 4-3 vote, with the headed to the health committee next.
Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, who voted no, described the bill after the vote "as the worst piece of legislation to come out of this committee so far."
Hagman, committee vice chair, said the bill was "very detrimental" and "does not protect our child at all."
Joining Hagman against the bill in the vote were fellow Republicans Danny D. Gilmore and Democrat Warren T. Furutani.
In February, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco introduced the bill that would legalize and tax most uses of marijuana except medical marijuana.
There would be a $50 per ounce tax on the retail sale and production of marijuana for adults 21 years of age and older that would raise nearly $1.4 billion in annual revenue, according to the California Board of Equalization.
The bill, which committee chair Ammiano voted for, allows for the legalization and taxation of marijuana in a manner similar to how alcohol is regulated.
Those for the proposal said the hearing marked the first time California's legislature has considered repealing marijuana prohibition, which has been in place since 1913.
This was the first time in U.S. history that a legislative committee decided to make marijuana legal, taxed and regulated,proponents said
Aaron Smith, the Marijuana Policy Project policy director, said after the vote that "definitely this is a historic milestone."
"We didn't know going into this what the vote would be but we had a positive outlook. The important thing is this will be debated now that it's out of the public safety committee."
The bill's next stop would be the health committee to discuss health issues but from talking to Ammiano's office deadlines might kill the bill, Smith said.
"But he's talking about introducing a second bill," Smith said.
Smith described the process as "normal in Sacramento. A bill with any amount of controversy takes several years to become law. I still see this as a clear victory."
Smith said he could not understand why law enforcement came out against the bill.
"Are they afraid if we regulate marijuana somehow they won't spend their days arresting people for low level offenses?" Smith said. "I have no idea why they would do that."
Hagman said there was "only" a $100 infraction fine to sell marijuana to minors, when there was a much tougher law for tobacco and alcohol, which Ammiano disagreed with during
Tuesday's meeting and said existing law would be followed.
After the meeting, when asked about the different views on the fine, Hagman said "they're wrong."
Hagman said he was afraid bus drivers, teachers or adults could use the drug and "do we want our kids exposed to this at such an early age before they grow?"
Hagman also said marijuana potency is much higher now than it was 10 or 20 years ago.
If passed there is no rules and regulations for overseas marijuana producers, such as South American countries, that use pesticide which is "much more harmful" and is in 90 percent of medical marijuana dispensaries, Hagman said.
He also disagreed with proponents who argued drug cartels would be run out of business with the legalization of marijuana.
"You will always have a black market selling it," Hagman said. "And they will not regulate it, it will not be safe for consumption."
There were also statistics in the meeting about how in Alaska and Europe marijuana legalization had failed "we should take not of that in California."
Hagman believes a possible marijuana taxation and legalization ballot initiative, which was brought up as a reason to pass the bill, "will fail once people start studying it."
Smith dismissed the opposing views at Tuesday's hearing, which included Hagman's.
"Just about everything they said was a lie or distorted statistics," Smith said.
Before the vote Paul Chabot, the co-founder of the Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition who is running for the Republication nomination in the 63rd Assembly District this year,
spoke out against the bill.Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition spokesman Nathan A. Miller also spoke out against the bill.
Ultimately, Hagman said, "regardless of what California decides, it's still an illegal law (federally). It's a false sense to residents that this is OK. Secondly, you can be arrested by the feds.
We're not protecting our society at all."
Hagman blamed the passage on "how far left this legislation has gone. It's run by Democrats and it's become more and more liberal. We as a society pay for it."
http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_14175497
