California tax officials: Legal pot would bring $1.4B

Free it!

Not to mention all of the dollars being taken out of the country by Mexican/Canadian/other(to a lesser degree) smugglers. On top of the revenue from sales, it'd actually keep more money circulating within the country!

I see no problem with this. The studies are in. All that's left is the prejudice...

The unintended consequence is that it would crush some of the already struggling local economies in northern California. While taxes are not paid directly by growers, the revenue generated is spent in the local taxable economy. Legalizing would cut local revenue so badly the town I used to live in, Nevada City, CA, would likely become a ghost town. It's just one of many. It would be the end of the gold rush part 2 for much of northern CA.

Wow. Do these bureaucrats ever underestimate how much money could be legitmately taken in. Legalizing it would start the ultimate California Acapulcho Gold Rush of 2010 because millions of touristas would flock to California year round from all points on the globe. Gov. Schwarzenegger and his wife have themselves been in the Visit California adverts. Obviously they want to attract people to support the tourist trade. So if the Man himself signs that law, so many tokers will flock to California to see Disneyland, Haryrood, Knotts Berry Farm, the Redwoods, Malibu
et al-after they buy their Zs,- that it will rival the National Geographic migration of wildebeasts in Africa.
A paltry $1.4 Billion. Haw,Haw,Haw. Try $140. Billion on for size, California. It never pays to ignore the big picture. Man.for such a big place as the Great Bear State, these defeatists sure think small, don't they ?

50 states!!!!!

I think the value of legalizing cannabis will be much more than people realize. Freeing hemp for industrial purposes would be one of the byproducts of legalizing cannabis. Companies would be free to develop hemp into environmentally friendly products. Hemp could replace many of the items now being made of plastic and replace them with a biodegradable plastic, made of hemp. There are so many uses for hemp, it will be years before all the benefits are realized.

Environmental friendly hemp could be an industry unto it's self. Many people think the legalization of cannabis is only drug related, but hemp has been a casualty in the 'war on drugs'. Even though hemp has no drug qualities, it's development has been stifled due to the war on drugs.

Hemp would help farmers gain new market shares in farming. Hemp filters the air during growth and makes environmentally friendly products when it's wonderful fiber is utilized. We must move away from 'Reefer Madness' and return to 'Hemp for Victory'. Our forefathers knew the benefits of hemp. Their voices were removed from educational material, leading ordinary Americans to believe cannabis hemp was only a drug. It's not! Hemp has industrial history and that history needs to be discussed and future utilization of hemp explored. It would help our economy and our environment.

I bet that all of those in this board wants to legalize weed not because they give a shit about revenue or taxes..its because they want to simply fucking want to smoke it..

AS A MATTER OF FACT, legalize it..let the government take charge of this shit..watch fuck this up and ruin thus mythical ganja..

(revenues made would go to curing these morons who gets thier shit in a buch from smoking weed)

I do not completely disagree with this whole idea. But, if California needs a constant revenue flow, its simple. DRILL FOR OIL. There is an abundance of oil off the coast, why not utilize it. Texas is doing it and they arent billions in debt.

The great depression was one of the contributing factors to removing the prohibition on alcohol. Looks like history is repeating itself. Our financial woes & Calif. in particular are pushing them to consider anything that makes sense and could ease some of the strain. I say go for it.

California has always been the innovator; at least in my lifetime. I'm going to like it VERY MUCH if they remove the provision about the Fed backing off first. That's going to force a constitutional crisis and I, for one, would like to see it. The Fed acts as if it's in "loco parentis" to the states; and it "just ain't so." It's not the fed's job to dictate to the states. If Calif. wants to legalize it, then it's up to them.

And you can wager your last dinero that those states that have fought and won the medical marijuana bill are going to be watching closely. The cry will go up that if Calif. can do it, so can we. And then things will get REAL interesting.

Go California !! Do what you're best at !! Show us the way !!

Please legalize weed already! Prohibition DOESNT WORK! On top of that instead of making money off of it were SPENDING money to increase gang violence and put people in prison for a victimless "crime". Free the weed!

small steps but it all comes about the fact that the gov spends so much fighting this and calling it a problem is in the past by the leagiztion of pot it would automaticly reduce the cost of enforcement and jail times reduce court cost and produce some cold hard cash that the state needs , and it also setting the presence for the rest of the states to follow, once there see the money flow and the public get over the fact , just like booze in the proabition when the good church ppl didn t want us to drink now look at the tax on that and how much we depend on it. the time are a changing . go cali go cali go cali

See weed does more good than most people believe. And you don't wanna legalize it. It'll certainly get California out of the deficit.

I am all for it!!!!!!!!hopefully the movement reaches the east coast.