Taxing pot could become a political toking point
An Assemblyman from San Francisco argues that it’s time to tax and regulate the state’s biggest cash crop in the same manner as alcohol. Opponents say it would create new costs for society.
By Eric Bailey
Hat tip: The LA Times
February 24, 2009
Buoyed by the widely held belief that cannabis is California’s biggest cash crop, Assemblyman Tom Ammiano contends it is time to reap some state revenue from that harvest while putting a damper on drug use by teens, cutting police costs and even helping Mother Nature.
“I know the jokes are going to be coming, but this is not a frivolous issue,” said Ammiano, a Democrat elected in November after more than a dozen years as a San Francisco supervisor. “California always takes the lead — on gay marriage, the sanctuary movement, medical marijuana.”
Anti-drug groups are anything but amused by the idea of California collecting a windfall from the leafy herb that remains illegal under federal law.
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