Ammiano: Legalize It

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introudces legislation to legalize marijuana in the Golden State

Marijuana would be grown and sold openly to adults 21 and older under legislation introduced this morning by a San Francisco lawmaker.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said the cash-starved state could generate more than a billion dollars by taxing pot growers and sellers.

Ammiano predicted that the public would support loosening marijuana laws that require substantial public funds to enforce.

"I think there's a mentality throughout the state and the country that this isn't the highest priority," he said. "And that maybe we should start to reassess."

Besides the fact that it's just wrong that marijuana is illegal in the first place, our state could really use the cash right now. By some estimates marijuana is the states largest cash crop. It seems to me that if people are going to be growing the stuff anyways, we might as well take advantage and make the best of the situation.

Obviously the taxes generated and the savings in enforcement costs would be significant. There are also the tourism dollars that should be taken into account.

With the logging jobs disappearing over the last few decades, there are whole towns that are only just surviving with the help of a black market marijuana economy. The energy and revenue generated from a new Marijuana tourism industry could really breath new life into Northern California.