California Regulate, Control And Tax Cannabis Act: The First Part
Last night the Californian Secretary of state confirmed to everyone that the voter initiative to legalize marijuana received about 523,531 signatures-more than 433,971 signatures were needed to get on the November ballot. The California legalization initiative has supporters that argue pot legalization will not only save the cash-strapped California economy money, but will bring in the instant cash of tax revenue. Many of the people who don’t support the bill argue that legalizing the drug will end in more crime and great health impacts. Other people suggest that legalizing gray-market marijuana will make the marijuana quality go down and will significantly hurt the budding marijuana industry. {Part 1 of this article covers the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act in California and the arguments for its passage. Part 2: Arguments against Marijuana Legalization in California covers the arguments against marijuana legalization in California}.
Legalization of marijuana in California history.
The first law in the state criminalizing marijuana in the US was passed in California in 1913. Other states quickly followed suit. By 1937, federal law made possession or transfer of “Marihuana” illegal for everything except medical and industrial uses.
In 1969 this act was declared unconstitutional; however, the US Federal government kept marijuana in the controlled substance act of 1970. The national debate was reignited when California legalize medical marijuana with proposition 215 in 1996. The federal government still considers marijuana an illegal Schedule I narcotic and considers it to have “no valid medical use.”
California measures to legalize marijuana.
The Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act, or the Californian initiative to legalize marijuana, has limitations on the way to legally use marijuana. All those who are 21 or older would be allowed to “possess, cultivate or transport marijuana for personal use.” Governments though all of California would be able to tax and regulate commercial sale or production of marijuana. It would be illegal to smoke marijuana while minors are present, to provide it to any underage person, to smoke the marijuana in public, to have the drug while on school grounds, or to drive while under the influence of the drug.
The cost-savings argument for marijuana legalization
Supporters of the Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act argue that the legalization of marijuana would save the State of California a significant amount of money. Because California has a huge budget deficit, they have been using payday cash advances on the state to cover budget costs.
Estimates for these savings range from $ 156 million to $ 1 billion. Supporters claim that once the already-stretched-thin law-enforcement system stops prosecuting individuals for growing, possessing or selling marijuana, they can focus on crimes and criminals that are more violent or dangerous. Many of the proponents point out that few deaths in California are due to marijuana while alcohol is the contributor of hundreds of deaths every year.
The taxation argument for cannabis legalization.
The Regulate, Control, and Tax act will give the government the ability to tax marijuana as while as saving California millions of dollars in law enforcement. $ 15 billion worth of gray-market and black-market marijuana is sold in California each year as estimated by proponents of the act.
Just one excise tax on the retail sales of marijuana would bring in about $ 1.3 billion a year or even more. Many of the cities and counties in the California state tax medical marijuana currently. These county and city taxes make as much as $ 350,000 per dispensary.
Job arguments in legalizing pot
Some areas of California, such as Humboldt County, already have a thriving marijuana tourism industry. The area brings in millions of dollars a year in tourism revenue through services from medical marijuana dispensaries to schools that focus on growing marijuana. Supporters of legalizing cannabis point out that if the marijuana tourism industry in California grows to just one-third the size of the wine industry, it would create more than 50,000 jobs. If marijuana were legalized, it would also become legal to produce hemp in the state, which could add to the agricultural base of California.
On the November ballot the California Regulate, Control and Tax Cannabis Act should be placed. If you want to see arguments against the legalization of marijuana in California, feel free to see Part 2: Arguments against Marijuana Legalization in California.
Sources:
The Associated Press
Business Week
Seattle Times
Time Magazine
CNN
California NORML