cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Growers Could Fix Budget





Marijuana Growers Could Fix Budget
Posted by CN Staff on August 12, 2007 at 06:18:53 PT
By Thadeus Greenson, The Times-Standard
Source: Times-Standard 
California -- Conventional wisdom holds that pot heads are the last ones to turn to in a budget crisis, but one advocacy group is asking the state of California to do just that. As the state's budget impasse plods into its 42nd day, a coalition of marijuana growers and sellers is begging the state to let them help -- to the tune of $1 billion. The group, Let Us Pay Taxes, says legalizing and taxing marijuana is a simple solution to the state's revenue woes, and one that is long overdue.
Locally, law enforcement officials, growers and economists say any decision regarding the legality of marijuana would have drastic effects on Humboldt County. ”This is a $10 to $50 billion a year business,” said Clifford Schaffer, spokesman for Let Us Pay Taxes. “The question is, where does the money go? Right now, it's going to the bad guys. There is no reason to send billions of dollars a year to foreign criminals when good, patriotic Americans can make the best product in the world.” The $1 billion offer doesn't seem to be making much headway in Sacramento, despite the state facing a reported $700 million gap in its proposed budget. ”We're not going to respond to publicity stunts,” said Aaron McLear, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's press secretary. “We're working hard with the Senate to try to close this budget.” McLear said the offer is not being taken seriously and the governor is not considering legalizing marijuana in any way. Mike Gray, an author and longtime critic of the war on drugs, said the offer is very real. ”The money is there,” Gray said. “The potential tax revenue for the state of California is $1 billion if marijuana were normalized. This will hopefully bring public attention to the fact that we have a group of people here who are literally willing to solve the budget crisis. They are saying, 'Please, tax us.' This is a bunch of people coming with cash saying, 'Please, take it.'” Publicity stunt or not, the group may have a point. Since California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996, marijuana growers, sellers and law enforcement have been left in a kind of limbo. Perhaps nowhere has this been more evident than Los Angeles, which now has more than 400 medical marijuana clinics. The Los Angeles City Council recently voted 10-2 to pass a measure requiring existing clinics to register to pay city taxes, obtain seller's permits and business insurance. About the same time, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency officials raided clinics in the city and sent out 150 letters to local property owners warning them that if they rent to tenants growing marijuana, their properties could be seized. Gray said this is a classic issue of the federal government infringing on states' rights, as outlined in the 10th Amendment. Things seem to be coming to a head locally as well. Arcata Police Chief Randy Mendosa said current law regarding medical marijuana is ambiguous to the point that it is hard to enforce and easy to cheat. ”Of every police chief I know, no one that I know has a problem with Proposition 215 or the intent of it, the problem is the cheating,” Mendosa said, adding that $100 to $200 and a visit to the right doctor can get the healthiest of people a 215 recommendation. “Judging on the number of grows in Humboldt County, including Arcata, there would have to be a lot of chronically sick people if we need the number of major grows we have.” Mendosa said the high number of grows represent a myriad of public safety concerns, from home invasions to fires stemming from poorly planned grows. ”I'm not involved in the politics of this,” Mendosa continued. “Whatever the people want to make the law, as a law enforcement officer, I will comply. We just need some better clarification and guidelines so we can do our job.” The issue is also manifesting itself in an increasing number of huge-scale grows, believed to be conducted by foreign drug cartels, in the expansive forests of the North Coast. On Friday, officials announced the discovery of a grow believed to be linked to Mexican drug trafficking and more than 130,000 plants were eradicated near the Trinity County line, according to the Sheriff's Department. The plants would have had an estimated street value of more than $450 million at harvest time, according to the Sheriff's Department. Assuming law enforcement can't catch everything, it appears that Schaffer is right, and a good deal of money is leaving the country in the hands of criminals. One local grower, who requested anonymity for fear of facing a negative social stigma and being targeted by law enforcement despite his 215 card , said he's seen what's left behind from some of these large-scale outdoor grows and it's not pretty. ”I've seen barbed wire, plastic hoses and nutrient jugs just left there,” he said. “Nobody cleans up afterward, they just cut it and run.” He said legalization would mean fewer growers invading public land, which would cut down on pollution and the dangers of hikers stumbling onto these giant grows and the people who protect them. It seems there is a growing movement to make legality the law of the land regarding marijuana. An Internet petition being circulated by Let Us Pay Taxes has been signed by more than 2,000 people in just a few days. Gray, who authored Drug Crazy: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out, said the time has never been better for an all-out campaign for legalization. ”The momentum is clearly underway,” Gray said, adding that, in addition to the Let Us Pay Taxes campaign, a variety of marijuana law reform organizations are planning a massive demonstration in Sacramento in the coming months. “We will be lobbying for a day, and having a public demonstration for another. Then, we hope to move on to Washington. We're going to keep this up. This is the beginning of a continuos campaign on this issue.” Locally, the campaign seems to be gaining steam as well. Two months ago the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to local Congressman Mike Thompson urging him to press for legalization. ”The time has come to call upon our leaders in federal government to initiate, sponsor and support legislation that calls for the legalization, regulation and taxation of this multi-billion dollar crop,” the letter states. In Humboldt County, Supervisor Roger Rodini and Arcata City Councilman Paul Pitino both stated that they would support legalization. But legalization might come with its own set of problems for the county, said county Economic Development Coordinator Jacqueline Debets, adding that because marijuana is currently an underground economy there are no concrete numbers and she is left to hypothesize. ”Clearly, there's cash moving around and, from a morally neutral point of view, that's a good thing,” Debets said. She said it's possible legalization would thrust marijuana growing onto the massive scale of agribusiness, and mom and pop growers wouldn't be able to compete. ”The only advantage we have on the North Coast is some kind of reputation,” Debets said. “It's not based on anything. A legitimate business could be created around that, but whether that would last or anyone could really make anything out of that is 99 percent of the equation.” A glance at the Attorney General's statistics of the numbers of plants seized by the Campaign Against Marijuana Planters, shows that, despite reputations, Humboldt County might be small potatoes in the larger picture. According to the statistics, Humboldt County growers had just under 60,000 plants seized in 2006, a mere 19 percent of the numbers from Lake County and just enough to put Humboldt County ninth on the list of California counties. The local grower said this disparity between reputation and statistics might be due to Humboldt County's government and law enforcement taking a lax attitude toward marijuana grows. He said he personally favors legalization because it would mean that he could make a legitimate living, but worries about the affects of the increased governmental regulations that would surely follow. He also said he thinks many local growers, many of whom chose the profession because of its off-the-grid nature, might have major problems paying federal taxes, some of which would go toward military spending and the war effort. Ultimately, though, he said legalization might take a lot of money currently circulating around the Humboldt County economy elsewhere. ”I can see people who want to make money leaving here and using their expertise elsewhere,” he said. “I would be stoked on that personally. I would love to put my resume in with a big company and get a job. I think there would be a lot less dope growing in Humboldt County.” The grower said legalization might also push prices down and make the business less profitable, but he pointed out that all of the medical clinics he's been to have higher prices than he would find in less legal surroundings. Even if it did push prices down, he said he would ultimately be for it. ”You might lose money in the end, but you wouldn't have to worry about the legality of it and all the stress,” he said. “You could deposit your money in the bank as opposed to burying it somewhere.” Complete Title: Marijuana Growers Say Legalization Could Fix Budget by Generating $1 Billion in TaxesSource: Times-Standard (Eureka, CA)Author: Thadeus Greenson, The Times-StandardPublished: August 12, 2007 Copyright: 2007 MediaNews Group, Inc. Contact: editor times-standard.comWebsite: http://www.times-standard.com/Let Us Pay Taxeshttp://www.letuspaytaxes.com/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on August 13, 2007 at 05:01:37 PT
Dankhank
Little boxes on the hillside,Little boxes made of ticky-tackyI looked for the meteor showers but our sky was overcast so I didn't see anything. For those interested this is an article I found in my California E-mail group about Emery's situation.http://www.orato.com/node/3170?PHPSESSID=54d614040a1e3af1e8fd5e05063f0bac
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Comment #10 posted by Dankhank on August 12, 2007 at 23:27:02 PT
Weeds ...
yea, baby .... Weeds gonna be Gooooood ...we're ready here ... bring it on!also, anyone up late tonight, the annual Perseid Meteor Showerhttp://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/22jul_perseids2005.htm
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on August 12, 2007 at 20:55:14 PT
Dankhank
I'm looking forward to the start of the 3rd season of Weeds. I don't know where the show will go but I'm sure it will be quite a ride! http://www.homegrownseries.com/
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 12, 2007 at 18:41:21 PT
Dankhank
He sure hadn't done his homework on that one. I was surprised by his lack of knowledge on the subject. I still like him though. I believe he is a good man.
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Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on August 12, 2007 at 18:23:20 PT
Bill Richardson
garnering some interesting notice these days ...In the aftermath of his incredible gaffe regarding whether gayness is nature or nurture it begs one to ask,"WTF were you so unprepared for that question?"We all know his breadth of political credentials, so what gives? I still like him, but, I shake my head ... what was he thinking? Why was he so inept? How could he have not anticipated that question? check this out ...http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/08/12/logo-debate-richardsons_n_60081.html 
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 12, 2007 at 17:59:12 PT
whig
Free is really how plants should be. No one can really own what wasn't made by man. Strains can be unique like dogs are unique. You can breed dogs as an example for different qualities and the same goes for plants. Isn't one of the wonders of gardening developing a strain of green beans or strawberrys or some other fruit or vegetable? I grew Saint John's Wort, Catmint and Skullcap and it was fun to do a number of years ago. I even grew and harvested Valarian Root. Nature really is a gift.
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Comment #5 posted by whig on August 12, 2007 at 17:37:12 PT
FoM
I think it could become essentially free if people could just grow it. But even so, there are really good strains that people will pay for, and a lot of people will be able to support themselves by growing for people who can't or don't want to grow for themselves.Seriously, if cannabis were as common as coffee, would that be a bad thing?
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 12, 2007 at 16:16:20 PT
user123
When cannabis is legal it will drop in price because of supply and demand. The supply would really increase so that would drop the price.
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Comment #3 posted by Toker00 on August 12, 2007 at 14:25:47 PT
OT: Cheney thinks Iraq a quagmire
What changed his mind?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BEsZMvrq-IToke.
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Comment #2 posted by user123 on August 12, 2007 at 11:30:49 PT:
Down the Road
This taxing argument is brought up every couple of months. Has anyone thought that you can't estimate the amount of taxes a state would eventually collect if the product becomes legal. Are people still going to pay around $60 an eighth if it's legal? No. The price will come down. However, new or re-newed smokers might consume so much that the taxes will be in line w/estimates.
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Comment #1 posted by John Tyler on August 12, 2007 at 08:15:04 PT
money talks
They say money talks, so a billion dollars must talk pretty loud. Lets hope it can talk some sense into the current crop of politicians. Repealing cannabis prohibition is the only sensible course of action. Cannabis re-legalization would be good for the economy, government, business, agriculture, and for the body, mind and soul. I think it would also go a long way to bridging the rift of mistrust between the people and the government and the police. After a brief period of readjustment after re-legalization people will look back and wonder what all the anti-cannabis fuss had been about.
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