miércoles, 6 de mayo de 2009

Schwarzenegger: Calif. needs pot debate

Says he doesn't support legalization; others say it could boost tax revenue


msnbc.com news services
updated 5:30 p.m. ET May 6, 2009

DAVIS, Calif. - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says it's time for a debate on whether to legalize and tax marijuana — though he says he's not supporting the idea.

The Republican governor, whose term in office expires at the end of next year, was asked about the idea of treating pot like alcohol at an appearance in northern California on Tuesday.

"No, I don't think it's time for that, but I think it's time for a debate," he said. "And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what effect it had on those countries, and are they happy with that decision."

The former Hollywood actor, who has admitted smoking marijuana in the past, cited his native Austria as a country where "they want to roll back some of the decisions that were made in European countries."

He said a decision to legalize marijuana, which has been outlawed in the United States since 1937, should not be made on the basis of raising revenues alone.

Poll finds support for legalizing
Schwarzenegger's comments come days after a statewide Field Poll found that 56 percent of California voters support the idea of legalizing cannabis for recreational use and taxing its proceeds.

A bill introduced in the state Legislature by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a Democrat from San Francisco, would do just that — permitting taxed sales of marijuana to adults while barring sales to or possession by anyone under age 21. He would tax it at $50 an ounce.

A similar regulatory structure already exists for alcoholic beverages.

Ammiano said his proposal would generate up to $1.3 billion in revenue for the state, which faces another multibillion-dollar budget shortfall just weeks after a landmark deal closing a $42 billion deficit.

He and others who support legalizing pot say such a move also would improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes and would end environmental damage to public lands used for illicit cannabis cultivation.

But in 2004, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have eased rules on how much medical marijuana patients can possess in California.

Voters in California, the nation's most populous state, became the first to approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 1996, putting the state at odds with federal law. A dozen other states now have similar laws.

Shift in Obama administration
Under the Bush administration, federal agents stepped up raids against medical marijuana dispensaries in California and other states that have passed similar laws.


Full Article Here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30587296/?gt1=43001


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