California to legalize??????

[TheHighClub]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - California tax officials say a state proposal to tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol would generate nearly $1.4 billion in revenue.

A State Board of Equalization report released Wednesday estimates marijuana retail sales would bring $990 million from a $50-per-ounce fee and $392 million in sales taxes. The bill introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano in February would allow adults to legally possess, grow and sell marijuana.

Ammiano has promoted the bill as a way to help bridge the state's $26.3 billion budget shortfall.
As the bill is written, the state could not begin collecting taxes under the bill until the federal government legalizes marijuana. A spokesman says Ammiano plans to amend the bill to remove that provision.

 

[ford442]

woooooo!
i can't wait!!
we may have a vote at the end of next year - everyone must participate!!!

 

[Dan Kone]

woooooo!
i can't wait!!
we may have a vote at the end of next year - everyone must participate!!!

Read the bill carefully. It bans people from growing any more than one 5x5 trey. It is not worded in the same way California medical marijuana bills are which give counties the right to allow larger grows.

Any thing larger than a 5x5 growing area will require a commercial permit. Want to guess how much those will cost?

This bill was written by the pharmaceutical lobby IMO. It's going to take marijuana farming away from Californians and give it to corporations. I'll be voting no. I like the system we have now.

 

[bluewavexx]

i say go ahead let the pill factories pay for the bill they are naieve to think that once they legalize that they can regulate and monitor a million plus grows. It would be like trying to stop piracy furthermore it would be no different than trying to regulate tomatoes or any other plant. there is no way for the authorities to have the resources or money to bust everyone. It takes a million people two watch a million people right?

 

[strictly seedleSs]

I think things are fine in california now. Its a medical thing, and should stay a medical thing.

 

[OregonMeds]

The laws the way they are now support boatloads of small time growers, take that away and look for a second economic collapse.

Any new laws should heavily favor small house sized growers over corporations. Fuck pharma and tobacco companies the last thing we need is for them to take this industry over.

 

[more4u2c]

Read the bill carefully. It bans people from growing any more than one 5x5 trey. It is not worded in the same way California medical marijuana bills are which give counties the right to allow larger grows.

Any thing larger than a 5x5 growing area will require a commercial permit. Want to guess how much those will cost?

This bill was written by the pharmaceutical lobby IMO. It's going to take marijuana farming away from Californians and give it to corporations. I'll be voting no. I like the system we have now.

yea but you need to read the bill because it is exempt from medical operations the tax the grow limits all of this bill is for people without medical issues. this bill should create a system where the medical side will be cheaper than the recreational side where its heavily taxed and regulated. And the commercial permit I think its 10,000 a year. wow that's allot of money NOT!! that's what 2 or 3 pounds depending where you sale it. Just read the bill the medical system that's already in place is not effected by it. As far as you saying that its going to take it away from farmers and corporations will grow it???????? Umm no! I think that if it does pass and become law it will be more of a wine country type of thing with the emerald triangle being the hot spot. With little private farms that allow you to taste the buds before you by. yes there will be a mass produced side of it but, true pot connoisseurs would go the more prestige route like a pot country tour. you don't like this bill because your a drug dealer and it would kill your profits sorry bro you got to think of your common man and not your greedy pocket.

 

[more4u2c]

you can go here to read the whole bill and to help some of you here is line 6H:

h) To exclude from the fees and regulations imposed by this
act marijuana that is for uses other than smoking or ingestion, and
to exclude medicinal marijuana from fees under these provisions.

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_0351-0400/ab_390_bill_20090223_introduced.pdf


you know its really not hard proving stupid people wrong.

 

[bluewavexx]

yea but you need to read the bill because it is exempt from medical operations the tax the grow limits all of this bill is for people without medical issues. this bill should create a system where the medical side will be cheaper than the recreational side where its heavily taxed and regulated. And the commercial permit I think its 10,000 a year. wow that's allot of money NOT!! that's what 2 or 3 pounds depending where you sale it. Just read the bill the medical system that's already in place is not effected by it. As far as you saying that its going to take it away from farmers and corporations will grow it???????? Umm no! I think that if it does pass and become law it will be more of a wine country type of thing with the emerald triangle being the hot spot. With little private farms that allow you to taste the buds before you by. yes there will be a mass produced side of it but, true pot connoisseurs would go the more prestige route like a pot country tour. you don't like this bill because your a drug dealer and it would kill your profits sorry bro you got to think of your common man and not your greedy pocket.

I hear you there aint that the truth the price of good green will never go down unless you live right in growing country in which case its inevitable.

 

[heathaa]

i think its a step towards legalizing it nationwide. cali is always the first to try something then is followed by other states. once they legalize it for recreational use and other states realizes the revenue being produced they will follow suit; forcing the federal government to legalize it to collect on state funds. well we got about another 30 yrs before its legal everywhere keep pushing guys

 

[doobnVA]

i think its a step towards legalizing it nationwide. cali is always the first to try something then is followed by other states. once they legalize it for recreational use and other states realizes the revenue being produced they will follow suit; forcing the federal government to legalize it to collect on state funds. well we got about another 30 yrs before its legal everywhere keep pushing guys

I think it'll happen much sooner than 30 years from now, won't be federal legalization because there are treaties that keep us from doing that at this time, but I see nationwide decriminalization in the pretty near future. Of course, what it takes if for just ONE state to throw federal drug policy out the window. Whether it's CA or some other state (there's been talk in SC, RI, and other places this year about going full-on legal), other states will no doubt follow, in time.

Once enough states jump on the bandwagon, the federal gov't will have little or no choice but to change federal laws. Personally, I'd like to see the federal laws go away FIRST, mostly because so many states are currently unwilling to go against federal law as they pertain to medical marijuana because it's technically still illegal federally. I think if the federal laws were the first to go, more states would be open to changing their laws sooner than they would if some individual states loosened up their drug policies while the federal laws remain in place.

 

[strictly seedleSs]

you don't like this bill because your a drug dealer and it would kill your profits sorry bro you got to think of your common man and not your greedy pocket.

Wow....thats harsh. My friends and I prefer the term "Pharmacutical Vendor" over DRUG DEALER. When you grow it for medical purposes it no longer becomes a drug. And Im sorry if I dont have compassion for the common man, because Im too busy being compasionate towards the sick and injured. This bill wouldnt "kill" my profits, my profits are the nugs in my mason jar, and the price of herb wouldnt drop that much if it was legalized...if any.

 

[Dan Kone]

yea but you need to read the bill because it is exempt from medical operations the tax the grow limits all of this bill is for people without medical issues. this bill should create a system where the medical side will be cheaper than the recreational side where its heavily taxed and regulated. And the commercial permit I think its 10,000 a year. wow that's allot of money NOT!! that's what 2 or 3 pounds depending where you sale it. Just read the bill the medical system that's already in place is not effected by it. As far as you saying that its going to take it away from farmers and corporations will grow it???????? Umm no! I think that if it does pass and become law it will be more of a wine country type of thing with the emerald triangle being the hot spot. With little private farms that allow you to taste the buds before you by. yes there will be a mass produced side of it but, true pot connoisseurs would go the more prestige route like a pot country tour.

What can I say. I was wrong, you are correct. What I read before was not the full bill, it was an abridged version. The version I read before did not mention medical use or permit costs. I just read the full bill and it looks a lot better than what I read before.

You've changed my mind. I'll vote yes and I'm now cautiously optimistic about it.

you don't like this bill because your a drug dealer and it would kill your profits sorry bro you got to think of your common man and not your greedy pocket.

You might want to get off your high horse there. There is nothing immoral about providing people with marijuana. It's an honest way to make a living IMO.

 

[Gooch1025]

They'll do anything they can to make money.

 

[h.h.]

Money and control would be taken away from the mom and pop "drug dealers" and given to the corporate and state drug dealers in exchange for protection from arrest. We've come a long ways.

 

[katwoman2012]

Here's quote from AP today: "A proposed ballot measure filed with the California attorney general's office would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to an ounce of pot. Homeowners could grow marijuana for personal use on garden plots up to 25 square feet." 434,000 sigs needed. Petition out in Sept. for Nov. 09 ballot!!!

I don't care about taxes, profits, etc. If most of the state of CA is high it will be one weird, entertaining world. We'll have a gold rush and anyways the weed is uncontrollable. They'll never prove where anyone got anything. The black market will still sell the killer shit, not to worry.

As goes California, so goes the United States!

 

[GanjaAL]

So will this end the atorney generals guidlines as they are now?

 

[jh127876]

won't be federal legalization because there are treaties that keep us from doing that at this time.

Yeah treaties that we force on other countries. Canada thought about legalizing untill we(u.s.a) threw a shit fit. If we legalized then the WORLD would follow....exept for the Islam world

 

[Justinlc]

I don't care about taxes, profits, etc. If most of the state of CA is high it will be one weird, entertaining world. We'll have a gold rush and anyways the weed is uncontrollable. They'll never prove where anyone got anything. The black market will still sell the killer shit, not to worry.

As goes California, so goes the United States!

If the legalization goes over well in Cali it will naturally move to the other states that have legalized medical marijuana, or at least I hope so! The rest of the nation usually follows Cali's example.

Being a med mar patient, I understand the concerns, but you could always grow the crop you wanted for yourself, and then you wouldn't have to pay any taxes on it, just on the sale of it. Sounds like making it a more legitamate business to me.

It will have an impact on comercial growers, but all legitamate business has competition. What is really comes down to is that people that distrubute crap weed at full market value just because of supply shortage would lose their customers. The mom and pop grows would still survive, if not prosper if they are selling a good product. Think of how popular the micro-brews are in the beer world. Major beer like budweiser and mgd are okay, but the true beer enthusiast will go for the better product produced by micro-grows.

At least that is what I hope happens, who can say what will happen, but it will be interesting to sit back and watch it unfold.

 

[jh127876]

Yeah treaties that we force on other countries. Canada thought about legalizing untill we(u.s.a) threw a shit fit. If we legalized then the WORLD would follow....exept for the Islam world

It just came to my attention that many Islam countries allow cannabis...imagine that….I just assumed if you get your dick cut off for consuming alcohol (exaggeration) then they would bust your ass for cannabis…guess not….
P.S like Iran…are enemy lets people smoke and grow….but Sadi Arabia very bad to smoke dope there… I never understand why we hate Iran but are allied with the Saudies (well I know because of oil)… Iran allows there women to read and write and get educations, Sadi does not, Iran allows there women to not where burkas…Saudis don’t.