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SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2009

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Recession Sparks Efforts to Legalize Pot

(Newser Summary) – The recession has given marijuana-legalization advocates an unexpected boost, Time reports, as cash-strapped states are tempted by possible revenues from pot taxes. With an existing medical-marijuana market and cuts to education and health services pending due to a huge budget deficit, California advocates are preparing both legislation and ballot initiatives to regulate and tax all marijuana sales for adults 21 and over.

Fifty-six percent of registered California voters support legalizing and taxing pot, a recent poll shows, and Oakland just passed a bill to take a bigger piece of medical-marijuana revenues. “There’s no doubt that the ground is shifting on marijuana,” says an executive at the Drug Policy Alliance. “The discussion about regulating and taxing marijuana now has an air of legitimacy to it that it didn’t quite have before.”

—Nick McMaster
Source: Time

More about:  recession • California • marijuana • Arnold Schwarzenegger • budget deficit • legislation • medical marijuana • Oakland • taxation • ballot initiative

Marijuana plants sit on a shelf at Coffeeshop Blue...
Marijuana plants sit on a shelf at Coffeeshop Blue Sky cannabis dispensary, July 22, 2009, in Oakland, Calif.   (Getty Images)
A bud grows on a marijuana plant at Oaksterdam University,...
A bud grows on a marijuana plant at Oaksterdam University, July 22, 2009, in Oakland, Calif.   (Getty Images)
Different strains of medical marijuana are displayed...
Different strains of medical marijuana are displayed in a three-ring binder at Coffeeshop Blue Sky cannabis dispensary, July 22, 2009, in Oakland, Calif.   (Getty Images)
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I think it's time for a debate. I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs. - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger,
in May

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34 comments
VIEWING:
 
JonmarkP
Jul 24, 09 6:07 PM CDT
Whatever it takes. Don't smoke it myself, but it's a hell of a lot less dangerous than alcohol. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
+16
Jayster999
Jul 24, 09 6:11 PM CDT
So, we're going to bring America back to being a productive nation by becoming a bunch of stoners? Yeah. Riiiight. Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
-26
IN RESPONSE:
freethemall
Jul 24, 09 7:54 PM CDT
You ought to try some, Jayster. It expands ones mind.
Vote up! Vote down!
+3
IN RESPONSE:
shonangreg
Jul 24, 09 8:35 PM CDT
No one will force you to get high just like no one forces us to get drunk (obvious exceptions excluded). Once the repression stops, you'll see ads for responsible consumption just like you see for alcohol now.
Vote up! Vote down!
+11
IN RESPONSE:
Shannonals
Jul 24, 09 9:10 PM CDT
It's sad to say, but more and more people are doing it anyway, so why not tax it and reap in the funds?
Vote up! Vote down!
+8

View all 34 comments »

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 Oakland Proposes 
 Nation's First Pot Tax 

City council approves pot levy; voters to decide in July

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Apr 30, 09 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) - Oakland’s city council has approved a provision to apply a 1.8% tax to marijuana sold at medical dispensaries. If voters endorse the measure in July, Oakland would be the first city in the US to tax pot, reports the Wall Street Journal . Backers say it would bring in somewhere between $400,000 and $1 million annually for the cash-strapped city. More »

More about:  California • drugs • marijuana • budget • medical marijuana • Oakland • taxation

Oakland First City in Nation
to Pass Pot Tax

Voters back levy on medical marijuana that could raise $1M

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Jul 22, 09 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) - In a landslide, Oakland voters yesterday made their city the nation's first to levy a special tax on medical marijuana, the Los Angeles Times reports. By an 80% margin, voters backed a tax of $18 on every $1,000 in pot sales, a move that may catch on in other cities. Currently, Oakland businesses pay $1.20 on every $1,000 in sales. More »

More about:  drugs • taxes • marijuana • medical marijuana • Oakland • taxation

OPINION

 Top 5 States of Confusion 


Politico Politico Jul 3, 09 12:14 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) - It’s not easy being an elected official in a time of crisis, but a select few governors are having a particularly tough time. And some of them are even trying to get reelected . Politico looks at the 5 worst-off states: California: No surprise here. The state's issuing of IOUs is just the one item on "a list of maladies longer than its famed coastline." At least Arnold Schwarzenegger can't run for another term. More »

More about:  recession • California • New York • unemployment • Arnold Schwarzenegger • Michigan • Arizona • New Jersey • David Paterson • budget deficit • state legislature • Jennifer Granholm • Jon Corzine • Jan Brewer

Legal Pot Backers Target 2010 Calif. Vote

Advocates step up efforts to have legalization put on next year's ballot

San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle Jun 11, 09 10:30 AM CDT
(Newser Summary) - Advocates of marijuana legalization—and taxation—have stepped up their efforts to include the issue on California's November 2010 ballot, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Backers say the tide of public opinion has turned strongly in favor of legalizing and taxing pot for personal use, especially in light of its potential to help alleviate the state's catastrophic budget woes. More »

More about:  California • marijuana • Arnold Schwarzenegger • marijuana legalization • Oakland • state budgets • Jerry Brown

New 'University' Goes to Pot

Oaksterdam U. preps students for the medical marijuana industry

NPR NPR Mar 10, 08 3:21 PM CDT
(Newser Summary) - It's sort of a slacker's med school: An Oakland activist started Oaksterdam University to train students to work in the medical marijuana industry, reports NPR. Oaksterdam offers a single $75 course, which teaches students about pot's political and legal history as well as the botany of the much-loved herb. "You don't want seeds in your cannabis," says the founder. "It's like seedless grapes." More »

More about:  California • marijuana • medical marijuana • Oakland • cannabis • botany

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