Robert Celt
New Member
Legalizing marijuana means going green, in more ways than one.
Colorado hauled in $76.2 million from taxes on marijuana sales and license fees in 2014. That windfall leaped nearly 71 percent — to about $130 million — in 2015.
Washington state pulled in $41.4 million in taxes and fees in its first 16 months of legal pot sales and is on track to reap at least $60 million in new tax dollars in the fiscal year that ends in June.
Oregon's legal marijuana sales began in October. The state's bean counters estimated new tax revenue would reach $10.7 million in the first two years. Pot sales that very first week surged past $11 million — and those in the cannabis business believe Oregon will take in three to four times its sober projection when receipts are finally tallied.
All this makes dollar signs shine in the eyes of some Golden State officials. In November, California is likely to follow the lead of Colorado, Washington and Oregon, with several marijuana legalization initiatives vying for the ballot.
Support is lining up behind one initiative in particular, which would pump tax revenue "ranging from the high hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually" into California public coffers, while slashing the cost of prosecuting marijuana cases by some $100 million a year, according to the state Legislative Analyst's Office.
"This is it — this will be the year that California, and the United States of America, repeal marijuana prohibition," declared retired Superior Court Judge Jim Gray, who shocked his Republican brethren by declaring the war on drugs a failure and calling for legalization back in the 1990s.
"Marijuana is the largest cash crop in California, larger even than grapes," Gray said. "It will bring in a lot of revenue to the state and take away a lot of revenue from street gangs and lots of really bad dudes. What's to miss here?"
Riverside residents have long held conservative views on marijuana, and the City Council has reflected that, Councilman John Burnard said. But a successful statewide legalization measure might force officials to discuss whether they want to refuse a potentially large source of revenue, he said.
The city bans medical marijuana dispensaries and has fought to close them down, but this month the council voted to allow patients to grow up to eight plants for their own use, a move Burnard supported.
"Even if we outlaw every dispensary possible and ban every possible growing facility, these people (marijuana users) are just going to come back home from Jurupa Valley or Rubidoux or San Bernardino and still do it," he said. "The neighboring cities will end up with that revenue."
Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said he's not aware of any internal discussions regarding the financial effect of legal pot on the county. "I anticipate that most of the revenues will come from the state with specific spending restrictions related to health and public safety services," he said.
"If the voters approve legalizing, I suspect our early challenges will be land-use issues, code enforcement issues and young kids bringing Mom and Dad's pot to school," he said. "Of course we will also be dealing with oversized green signs being put up at every intersection near a dispensary."
Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez said he has not taken a stance on the proposed marijuana legalization measures. He said he'd like to see more information about what the impact could be first.
"I've heard both sides," Gutierrez said. "There could be some potential revenue from it. I also think we need to look at what some of the ramifications of it could be."
Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar said there are plenty of ways for the state to generate revenue without creating a new cash crop.
"I don't think we need to delve into the marijuana market to make ends meet," he said.
Legalized pot's $1 billion bounty would boost California's general fund by almost 1 percent, just like that.
California would join the three renegade Western states, as well as Alaska and the District of Columbia, in legalizing marijuana for recreational use. And, as America's biggest contender, California would force the issue onto the national stage in a way that could no longer be ignored in Washington, D.C.
"If California votes for legalization — and Massachusetts is another big one people are looking at right now — we'll have something like one-third of the country saying marijuana is legal for all adults," said Sam Kamin, a professor specializing in marijuana law at the University of Denver who has been watching the Colorado experiment unfold. "That would put a lot of pressure on the federal government to finally change."
The problem: Despite state laws saying marijuana is legal, it remains verboten under federal law. Cannabis is a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, lumped with heroin and LSD as a highly addictive drug that has "no currently accepted medical use."
Despite that, more than 20 states — including California — have passed medical marijuana laws on the belief that it does, indeed, have medical efficacy. California kicked it all off in 1996 when voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, with 56 percent in favor.
The past 20 years of implementation, regulation and enforcement have been extremely problematic and uneven from one end of the Golden State to the other. But recent efforts to standardize the regulation of medical marijuana would be drafted into service by the passing of a state initiative legalizing recreational use of marijuana.
The last time Californians voted on marijuana legalization — in 2010 — they said no, with 53.5 percent voting against.
Critics then and now fear that the drug will get into the hands of minors and lead to more driving under the influence.
Times have changed, and legalization now stands a solid chance of passing, with 55 percent of likely voters saying that marijuana should be legal, according to a poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, released last April.
In 2010, only 49 percent of likely voters said the same in pre-election polling. That's a sizable six-point increase.
"Majority support for marijuana legalization is a consistent finding in our recent polls, and a change from a few years ago that coincides with legalization in other states," said Mark Baldassare, the Public Policy Institute's president and chief executive.
"The fact that marijuana legalization could be a major source of revenue growth and cost savings will be important to fiscally conservative California voters," Baldassare said. "Still, there will be many questions about how to implement a new law in the current state and federal context."
Supporters need to gather about 366,000 signatures to qualify the initiative for the November ballot, a task made easier by the half-million dollars that former Facebook President Sean Parker has tossed into the kitty.
It costs about $2 million to $3 million to gather the requisite signatures.
"There are lots of good reasons to legalize, but money isn't necessarily one of them," said Kamin, the University of Colorado law professor. "It's not going to make you rich, and you don't want the government to become dependent on people smoking pot for revenue.
"I just happen to be one of those people who has concluded that the costs of marijuana prohibition are higher than the costs of legalization."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: ELECTION 2016: Legalized Pot Could Bring In $1 Billion, Analysis Finds
Author: Teri Sforza
Contact: The Press Enterprise
Photo Credit: David Zalubowski
Website: The Press Enterprise
Colorado hauled in $76.2 million from taxes on marijuana sales and license fees in 2014. That windfall leaped nearly 71 percent — to about $130 million — in 2015.
Washington state pulled in $41.4 million in taxes and fees in its first 16 months of legal pot sales and is on track to reap at least $60 million in new tax dollars in the fiscal year that ends in June.
Oregon's legal marijuana sales began in October. The state's bean counters estimated new tax revenue would reach $10.7 million in the first two years. Pot sales that very first week surged past $11 million — and those in the cannabis business believe Oregon will take in three to four times its sober projection when receipts are finally tallied.
All this makes dollar signs shine in the eyes of some Golden State officials. In November, California is likely to follow the lead of Colorado, Washington and Oregon, with several marijuana legalization initiatives vying for the ballot.
Support is lining up behind one initiative in particular, which would pump tax revenue "ranging from the high hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually" into California public coffers, while slashing the cost of prosecuting marijuana cases by some $100 million a year, according to the state Legislative Analyst's Office.
"This is it — this will be the year that California, and the United States of America, repeal marijuana prohibition," declared retired Superior Court Judge Jim Gray, who shocked his Republican brethren by declaring the war on drugs a failure and calling for legalization back in the 1990s.
"Marijuana is the largest cash crop in California, larger even than grapes," Gray said. "It will bring in a lot of revenue to the state and take away a lot of revenue from street gangs and lots of really bad dudes. What's to miss here?"
Riverside residents have long held conservative views on marijuana, and the City Council has reflected that, Councilman John Burnard said. But a successful statewide legalization measure might force officials to discuss whether they want to refuse a potentially large source of revenue, he said.
The city bans medical marijuana dispensaries and has fought to close them down, but this month the council voted to allow patients to grow up to eight plants for their own use, a move Burnard supported.
"Even if we outlaw every dispensary possible and ban every possible growing facility, these people (marijuana users) are just going to come back home from Jurupa Valley or Rubidoux or San Bernardino and still do it," he said. "The neighboring cities will end up with that revenue."
Riverside County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said he's not aware of any internal discussions regarding the financial effect of legal pot on the county. "I anticipate that most of the revenues will come from the state with specific spending restrictions related to health and public safety services," he said.
"If the voters approve legalizing, I suspect our early challenges will be land-use issues, code enforcement issues and young kids bringing Mom and Dad's pot to school," he said. "Of course we will also be dealing with oversized green signs being put up at every intersection near a dispensary."
Moreno Valley Mayor Yxstian Gutierrez said he has not taken a stance on the proposed marijuana legalization measures. He said he'd like to see more information about what the impact could be first.
"I've heard both sides," Gutierrez said. "There could be some potential revenue from it. I also think we need to look at what some of the ramifications of it could be."
Temecula Mayor Mike Naggar said there are plenty of ways for the state to generate revenue without creating a new cash crop.
"I don't think we need to delve into the marijuana market to make ends meet," he said.
Legalized pot's $1 billion bounty would boost California's general fund by almost 1 percent, just like that.
California would join the three renegade Western states, as well as Alaska and the District of Columbia, in legalizing marijuana for recreational use. And, as America's biggest contender, California would force the issue onto the national stage in a way that could no longer be ignored in Washington, D.C.
"If California votes for legalization — and Massachusetts is another big one people are looking at right now — we'll have something like one-third of the country saying marijuana is legal for all adults," said Sam Kamin, a professor specializing in marijuana law at the University of Denver who has been watching the Colorado experiment unfold. "That would put a lot of pressure on the federal government to finally change."
The problem: Despite state laws saying marijuana is legal, it remains verboten under federal law. Cannabis is a Schedule I drug under the Controlled Substances Act, lumped with heroin and LSD as a highly addictive drug that has "no currently accepted medical use."
Despite that, more than 20 states — including California — have passed medical marijuana laws on the belief that it does, indeed, have medical efficacy. California kicked it all off in 1996 when voters passed Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act, with 56 percent in favor.
The past 20 years of implementation, regulation and enforcement have been extremely problematic and uneven from one end of the Golden State to the other. But recent efforts to standardize the regulation of medical marijuana would be drafted into service by the passing of a state initiative legalizing recreational use of marijuana.
The last time Californians voted on marijuana legalization — in 2010 — they said no, with 53.5 percent voting against.
Critics then and now fear that the drug will get into the hands of minors and lead to more driving under the influence.
Times have changed, and legalization now stands a solid chance of passing, with 55 percent of likely voters saying that marijuana should be legal, according to a poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, released last April.
In 2010, only 49 percent of likely voters said the same in pre-election polling. That's a sizable six-point increase.
"Majority support for marijuana legalization is a consistent finding in our recent polls, and a change from a few years ago that coincides with legalization in other states," said Mark Baldassare, the Public Policy Institute's president and chief executive.
"The fact that marijuana legalization could be a major source of revenue growth and cost savings will be important to fiscally conservative California voters," Baldassare said. "Still, there will be many questions about how to implement a new law in the current state and federal context."
Supporters need to gather about 366,000 signatures to qualify the initiative for the November ballot, a task made easier by the half-million dollars that former Facebook President Sean Parker has tossed into the kitty.
It costs about $2 million to $3 million to gather the requisite signatures.
"There are lots of good reasons to legalize, but money isn't necessarily one of them," said Kamin, the University of Colorado law professor. "It's not going to make you rich, and you don't want the government to become dependent on people smoking pot for revenue.
"I just happen to be one of those people who has concluded that the costs of marijuana prohibition are higher than the costs of legalization."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: ELECTION 2016: Legalized Pot Could Bring In $1 Billion, Analysis Finds
Author: Teri Sforza
Contact: The Press Enterprise
Photo Credit: David Zalubowski
Website: The Press Enterprise