Author: Kelsey Longmuir
Assembly Bill (AB) 390 was introduced to California’s assembly on Monday, Feb. 23. The bill, championed by Democratic Assembly member Tom Ammiano from San Francisco, would legalize the sale, cultivation, possession and consumption of marijuana by persons over the age of 21 in the state of California.
Since the bill’s introduction, debate about the possible implications for the economy, agriculture, health and crime has been substantial and polarized. The bill is touted by advocates as a potential solution to California’s economic problems and according to the bill, the drug would be taxed and regulated with a system similar to the one already in place for alcohol. Supporters, including retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James P. Gray, have characterized marijuana as California’s biggest cash crop.
Assistant Economics professor Bevin Ashenmiller directed The Weekly to a 2008 report by Harvard University Economics Professor Jeffrey A. Miron which describes the anticipated revenue of legalized marijuana. “Marijuana legalization. . . would save $7.7 billion per year in state and federal expenditures on prohibition enforcement and produce tax revenues of at least $2.4 billion annually if marijuana were taxed like most consumer goods,” the report said. “If, however, marijuana were taxed similarly to alcohol or tobacco, it might generate as much as $6.2 billion annually.”
Ashenmiller agreed with the premise of the Miron article. “I believe that there is no doubt that legalization of marijuana would generate tax revenue for the state of California,” Ashenmiller said. “I believe that it would also free up law enforcement in cities like Los Angeles to focus on more violent crime while depriving former marijuana dealers from profiting in their role as middlemen.”
Opponents of the bill believe that legalizing the drug would create an opening for more problems and possibly allow for more rampant drug use. “This would open another door in Pandora’s box,” executive director of Save Our Society From Drugs Calvina Fay said. “Legalizing drugs like this would create a whole new set of costs for society.”
Associate Politics Professor Regina Freer, who also serves as a mayor-appointed planning commissioner for Los Angeles, is aware of the central themes of the debate. “Consider the possible disappearance of an underground economy, the debates over morality, healthcare issues that range from access for patients who are suffering to access for young people who aren’t,” Freer said. “Will this make it easier or more difficult to control such access?”
Another major concern with the bill is its potential for increasing the gap between federal and state law on marijuana regulation. Such a gap would create a grey area for inter-state drug relations. Though 13 other states have legalized medical marijuana since 1996, California would be the first state to completely legalize it.
The bill seeks to address concerns of opponents by focusing the attention of law enforcement officials on keeping marijuana out of the hands of youth, and preventing the use of marijuana while driving. Additionally, the bill specifies that a portion of funds raised would be used to set up drug abuse prevention programs.
The issue of youth access is an aspect of the debate that affects Oxy students directly. An Oxy student marijuana dealer, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “AB 390 would effectively kill the black market system that we are all used to. The days of dealers would die, probably to be replaced by some Marlboro marijuana brand.”
Other students believe that the increased accessibility to the drug would, ultimately, be beneficial. “It would severely lessen the cost of marijuana, and who isn’t down with that?” Andy Garon (sophomore) said.
The bill plans to place a $50 tax on every ounce of marijuana, a price that would equate to about $1 per joint. According to Ammiano, the price of an ounce will be cut in half even with the tax.
A related international example showcasing possible positive effects, Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001 and has since seen an improvement in the management of all drug-related problems, as reported on Salon.
Though President Obama does not currently support the decriminalization of marijuana, Attorney General Eric Holder said in a Feb. 25 press conference that the raids on medical marijuana clinics would stop.
The bill is being sent to both the public safety and health committees since it has possible implications for multiple areas. It is scheduled to be heard in committee this spring. It is widely speculated that even if the bill is passed it will be taken to the California courts by opposition groups.
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