Last month, State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D) of San Francisco brought forth trailblazing legislation, Assembly Bill 390: The Marijuana Control, Regulation and Education Act, to legalize and regulate the commercial production and sale of marijuana to adults 21 and over.
Marijuana is already the most widely-used drug in the United States, despite being prohibited since 1937.
What’s the yearly price tag on enforcing this ban? Upwards of $8 billion a year. In addition, the war on drugs has not only allowed a multimillion-dollar network of organized crime to thrive on the wallets of pipe-toting Americans, but overcrowded our prisons with non-violent drug offenders.
What’s the estimated annual sales revenue estimate that legalization could bring to California? The Los Angeles Times estimated that it could be as much as $14 billion – which would generate approximately $1 billion in annual tax revenue for the state. If you further take into account the money saved on prison systems and all the jobs it would bring non-medicinal shops/growing houses to California. It’s like Christmas, but better.
Our culture is already saturated with references to marijuana. Movies from “Pineapple Express” to “Reefer Madness” to “How High” can be found in every store; musicians from Tom Petty to Lil Wayne express their admiration for the plant frequently – even President Obama has admitted to trying a puff. Why wouldn’t the state want to join in on the fun?
Plus, legalizing the substance would allow for restrictions (hence the proposed 10 plants maximum for personal use) to be placed on usage and driving high would amount to a similar penalty as a DUI.
OK, so as wonderful as this all sounds to me, I can sort of see where some of the opposition is coming from. Would this make marijuana accessible to kids? Yes – but only as much as alcohol and cigarettes are available to them. Good thing marijuana is not nearly as harmful as alcohol or cigarettes. I’ve never seen someone take a toke and start a fight, vomit down her front, or accidentally sleep with his neighbor. But, I’ve seen all three happen under the influence of alcohol.
Plus, there hasn’t been one reported death of marijuana overdose. Not one. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, an estimated 5,000 deaths a year of people under 21 are in relation to alcohol, causing more deaths than all illegal drugs combined. If you’re going to use this argument you better have a firm belief in reinstating the prohibition of alcohol, otherwise it’s just hypocritical and inconsistent.
Another opposing point is the infamous marijuana-as-a-gateway-drug theory. This has been argued many times before when arguing against the legalization of medical marijuana, but no matter how numerous the statistics to prove this theory wrong are, people still want to use it. According to a Rand Study, for every 104 Americans who’ve tried marijuana, there is one cocaine user and less than one heroin user. Plus, the bill allocates special fees to fund drug abuse prevention programs; schools could teach about the advantages and disadvantages, risks and repercussions, etc. associated with marijuana, and hopefully make for a well-informed youth because of it.
I guess I retract my previous statement. I don’t see where the other side is coming from. Call me Cheech or Chong, but I can firmly say I believe that the passage of this bill would benefit California. This is a billion dollar industry that is only expanding. If they could repeal the prohibition of alcohol for the Great Depression, we can repeal marijuana for the mess we’re in now. As we watch with great hope that Bill 390 passes, we wait for the dreary regulations stating how and where it would be sold; we can at least take heart in the fact that the predicted price for an ounce of premium grade, pesticide free, state-grown marijuana will be around $50.
Britney Huelbig is a social sciences sophomore and a Mustang Daily guest columnist.