Sacramento, CA: Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced this week that he believes that California legislators ought to publicly debate the merits of taxing and regulating the production and sale of cannabis for adults.
“I think it’s time for a debate (regarding taxing and regulating the sale of cannabis for adults),” Schwarzenegger said. (*Note: his comments come at the very end of the video.) “I think all of those ideas of creating extra revenues, I’m always for an open debate on it. And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect did it have on those countries? … It could very well be that everyone is happy with that decision and then we could look at that.”
The Governor’s remarks came less than one week after a Field Research Corporation poll of 901 registered voters reported that 56 percent of Californians agree with the statement: “Legalize marijuana for recreational use and tax its proceeds.”
A separate Zogby poll of approximately 4,000 voters released this week indicates that just over half of Americans nationally support legalizing marijuana.
Current estimates indicate that California’s budget deficit will grow to $28 billion by the end of the 2009/2010 state budget year.
In February, California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced legislation — Assembly Bill 390: The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act — to tax the commercial production and retail sale of cannabis.
A fiscal analysis of this proposal by the State Board of Equalization estimates that AB 390 could raise more than $1.3 billion yearly in tax revenue for the state of California.
Last week Oakland City Council members approved a 1.8 percent tax on medicinal marijuana sold by the city’s four licensed dispensaries. Lawmakers believe that the tax could generate between $400,000 and $1 million annually for the city.
The citywide measure will be decided upon by voters on July 21, 2009.
For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Deputy Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org.