California Assemblyman Introduces Legislation To Tax And Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

[Easy Skanking]

Quote:California Assemblyman Introduces Legislation To Tax And Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

Speaking at a landmark press conference today, California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) introduced comprehensive legislation to tax and regulate the commercial production and sale of cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol.

"With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense. This legislation would generate much needed revenue for the state, restrict access to only those over 21, end the environmental damage to our public lands from illicit crops, and improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes", Assemblyman Ammiano said. "California has the opportunity to be the first state in the nation to enact a smart, responsible public policy for the control and regulation of marijuana."

The proposal is the first marijuana legalization bill ever introduced in California.

"It's time for California taxpayers to stop wasting money trying to enforce marijuana prohibition, and to realize the tax benefits from a legal, regulated market instead," said Dale Gieringer, director of California NORML, a sponsor of the bill.

As introduced, Ammiano's measure would allow for the licensed production and sale of cannabis to consumers age 21 and over. Licensed cultivators would pay an excise tax of $50 per ounce of cannabis. In addition, the proposal would impose a sales tax on commercial sales. (Ammiano's proposal would not affect the state's medical marijuana law, allowing patients and caregivers to grow their own medicine.)

If enacted, the measure would raise over $1 billion per year in state revenue, according to an economic analysis by California NORML, available online here: http://www.canorml.org/background/CA_legalization2.html

Ammiano's bill comes at a time of growing public support for legalizing marijuana. A recent Zogby poll reported that nearly six in ten west coast voters support taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol. Faced with a $40 billion budget deficit, other public officials have joined in endorsing Ammiano's bill, including San Francisco Sheriff Mike Hennessy and Betty Yee, a member of the State Board of Equalization, which oversees collection of sales taxes.

Currently, tens of millions of dollars are paid annually in state and local taxes by licensed distributors of medical marijuana. However, these sales only represent a fraction of the overall statewide marijuana market. "The millions of dollars raised each on the sales of medicinal cannabis is only the tip of the iceberg," Gieringer said. "Kudos to Assemblyman Ammiano for proposing a path-breaking bill that would benefit our economy, safety and freedom by making marijuana a winning proposition for California."

[mastermg]

Wait patients can grow their own marijuana for medical purposes in California? I didnt know that.
Thanks for the article ES.

[Easy Skanking]

Here's just a short breakdown of California medical pot laws.

Quote:California

SUMMARY: Fifty-six percent of voters approved Proposition 215 on November 5, 1996. The law took effect the following day. It removes state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess a "written or oral recommendation" from their physician that he or she "would benefit from medical marijuana." Patients diagnosed with any debilitating illness where the medical use of marijuana has been "deemed appropriate and has been recommended by a physician" are afforded legal protection under this act. Conditions typically covered by the law include but are not limited to: arthritis; cachexia; cancer; chronic pain; HIV or AIDS; epilepsy; migraine; and multiple sclerosis. No set limits regarding the amount of marijuana patients may possess and/or cultivate were provided by this act, though the California Legislature adopted guidelines in 2003.

AMENDMENTS: Yes. Senate Bill 420, which was signed into law in October 2003 and took effect on January 1, 2004, imposes statewide guidelines outlining how much medicinal marijuana patients may grow and possess. Under the guidelines, qualified patients and/or their primary caregivers may possess no more than eight ounces of dried marijuana and/or six mature (or 12 immature) marijuana plants. However, S.B. 420 allows patients to possess larger amounts of marijuana when such quantities are recommended by a physician. The legislation also allows counties and municipalities to approve and/or maintain local ordinances permitting patients to possess larger quantities of medicinal pot than allowed under the new state guidelines.

Senate Bill 420 also mandates the California Department of State Health Services to establish a voluntary medicinal marijuana patient registry, and issue identification cards to qualified patients. To date, however, no such registry has been established.

Senate Bill 420 also grants implied legal protection to the state's medicinal marijuana dispensaries, stating, "Qualified patients, persons with valid identification cards, and the designated primary caregivers of qualified patients ... who associate within the state of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes, shall not solely on the basis of that fact be subject to state criminal sanctions."

CONTACT INFORMATION: For more information on California’s medical marijuana law, please contact:

California NORML
2215-R Market Street #278
San Francisco, CA 94144
(415) 563-5858
http://www.canorml.org

For detailed information on county or municipal medical marijuana
guidelines, please visit: http://www.safeaccessnow.net/countyguidelines.htm

For a list of California doctors who recommend medical cannabis, please
visit:
http://www.canorml.org/prop/215physicians.html

For a list of California medical cannabis providers, please visit:
http://www.canorml.org/prop/cbclist.html

http://www.safeaccessnow.net/countyguidelines.htm#420

[mastermg]

Oh alright, new info for me. Thanks

[Hans Olo]

It should be decriminalized, and that's that.

No government legalization, with taxes and all that. The government should leave you alone, period.

[Guest]

Quote:(Ammiano's proposal would not affect the state's medical marijuana law, allowing patients and caregivers to grow their own medicine.)

If you're sick you grow, if healthy you buy?

What about equality under the law?

[Easy Skanking]

Quote:It should be decriminalized, and that's that.

No government legalization, with taxes and all that. The government should leave you alone, period.

That's my viewpoint. Whenever anyone puts it to the test, the Feds get mad and come and arrest you. I'm so fucking sick of the "system" in this country that I need a medi-pot prescription. :a_joint:

[mastermg]

New Jersey bill passed

A N.J. bill allows use of prescription marijuana for those suffering debilitating illnesses

HACKENSACK, N.J. — Patients suffering from cancer, AIDS and other chronic or debilitating illnesses could use marijuana medicinally under a bill passed by the state Senate on Monday.

New Jersey would become the 14th state to have a medical marijuana law, which would allow patients to keep six marijuana plants and 1 ounce for personal use

State Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, said the legislation he sponsored was as “an avenue of last resort” for patients suffering from nausea, chronic pain, wasting syndrome, seizures and other ailments.

“This is not the legalization of marijuana for recreational use,” said Scutari, a lawyer and municipal prosecutor. “We’re not talking about thrill-seekers and drug addicts here.”

Under the proposed measure, patients would have to be diagnosed by their physicians as having a debilitating medical condition. The patient would then obtain a photo registry card issued by the state Department of Health and Senior Services so they could obtain marijuana from an alternative medicine center without fear of arrest or prosecution.

Supporters of the bill, including Sen. Bill Baroni, R-Mercer, offered passionate testimony about suffering patients, including a 37-year-old man, the father of three young children, plagued by multiple sclerosis who found relief from medical marijuana, not Oxycontin, sleeping aids or other prescription painkillers.

State Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Cresskill, was among several Republicans who opposed the bill, claiming it was written too broadly. Cardinale said he didn’t object to the concept, but said that “a very small percentage” of users in states that allow medical marijuana are patients the law is intended to aid.

Cardinale cited an analysis of medical marijuana patient records reviewed by the San Diego County, Calif., district attorney, which revealed that less than 3 percent of patients were suffering from AIDS, glaucoma or cancer. Additionally, more than half of those permitted to use medical marijuana were under age 30 and research indicates the substance is harmful.

“Moderate use of marijuana causes brain cells to die,” Cardinale said. “That’s why the federal government made marijuana forbidden.”

After the vote Monday, state Sen. Loretta Weinberg, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said she supported it because it could give relief to chronically ill patients who were not benefiting from pain-relief prescriptions.

Weinberg noted that this weekend was the 10th anniversary of her husband’s death following a long illness. Hospice nurses provided morphine, but her husband wasn’t able to remain conscious, said Weinberg, D-Teaneck.

“To get relief and still be able to communicate would have been much better,” she said.

Stephen Cuspilich, 46, of Burlington County, N.J., lobbied lawmakers in support of the measure before the vote Monday. Using a cane and carrying a plastic bottle with more than a dozen prescription pain medications to ease suffering from Crohn’s disease, he said marijuana had alleviated severe pain in his hips and back and stopped his vomiting.

“It’s a social issue, not a criminal issue,” said the father of three, a union pipefitter who can no longer work due to his disability.

Opponents of the measure, including John Tomicki, executive director of the League of the American Families, vowed to fight the proposal when it is considered in the Assembly. Each member would be polled by his organization to determine their vote prior to the election, he said. “They are going to be called and asked ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ ” he said.

David Evans, executive director of the Drug Free Schools Coalition, cited the lack of scientific evidence on marijuana use and noted that several law enforcement organizations and anti-drug groups — including the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence of New Jersey — oppose the bill.

“The majority of people who are getting it are using it for back pain, insomnia and other minor problems,” Evans said. “The standards for who gets it are very loose.”

However, the public typically supports legalizing marijuana for chronically ill patients, said Roseanne Scotti, director of Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey.

“It’s polled as high as 86 percent in favor,” Scotti said. “Everybody understands ‘This could be me, my loved one.’ It’s the option everybody would want.”

The bill passed 22-16, mostly along partisan lines. Five Republicans voted for it. Two Essex County senators abstained from voting. It was unclear Monday when the Assembly might consider the legislation.


http://www.ajc.com/services/content/health...new_jersey.html

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Quote:“This is not the legalization of marijuana for recreational use,” said Scutari, a lawyer and municipal prosecutor. “We’re not talking about thrill-seekers and drug addicts here.”

:hitler: :LOL: