Calif. on the road to legalize marijuana
By Kathleen Miles, Huffington Post
Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of Californians support legalizing, regulating and taxing recreational marijuana in the state, according to a Tulchin Research poll.
The figure, based on responses of 1,200 likely 2016 voters surveyed during the last two weeks, shows a “solid majority” back proposals to legalize adult recreational marijuana, the San Francisco-based pollster said. The poll found 32 percent oppose legalization and 3 percent were undecided.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and American Civil Liberties Union representatives released the poll results during a news conference Thursday and announced the launch of a two-year research effort focused on proposals to legalize recreational marijuana. Newsom will chair a panel of 16 experts, including professors, medical professionals and policy researchers, who will study legal and policy issues involved in adult recreational marijuana.
“This is about real people,” Newsom said to the Huffington Post. “Communities are devastated because of this abject thing called the drug war. Forget the politics. This is the right thing to do.”
Hopefully the federal statutes on marijuana are dropped by then.
Think of the tax dollars that could be save by decriminalizing mj.
Less work for law enforcement
Less work for the courts and other parts of the legal system.
More space in jail and prisons for real, violent criminals.
And then add into that the dollars that would be generated by taxing it.
Legalization should have been done years ago. Instead of pouring countless resources into the “war on drugs” with little or no return for those dollars and lives spent, the taxes generated by its sale and distribution create a positive cash flow from which to build and maintain roads and schools.